Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Understanding - James 2:14-17
James 2:14-17 (NASB)
14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
There is a good chance that you have been told this is saying that we are saved by works. You may have been taught that this says we are saved by works alone, or maybe that it means we are saved by faith and works. As with any other misinterpreted scripture, this verse never comes right out and says that. It is only interpreted to mean as much.
The problem with that interpretation is that it causes a direct contradiction with another scripture in the Bible.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This scripture is what I would call a 'Primary' scripture. It is so plainly stated that you simply cannot come up with a secondary interpretation other than what it clearly says.
How are we saved? It says we are saved through faith. Is it of our own doing? It says it is not of our doing but it is a gift of God. Does it have anything to do with works? It says plainly that it is not a result of works so that we will not be able to boast. The only question left in this verses is what we would boast of and there is only one logical answer for that. So we cannot boast that we saved ourselves.
The real question is, if the Bible clearly states that salvation is a gift of God, and it is not a result of works, how then can we possibly interpret James to be saying we are saved by works? In doing so, it creates a clear contradiction in God's Word. There are only two options here....
1) You can interpret James to be saying we are saved by works, but to do so, you must accept that there is a clear contradiction in God's Word. If you accept that, then you are by default saying that the Bible is not the true and trusted Word of God, because God is perfect and His Word would never contradict itself.
2) You can accept that since God's Word cannot have any clear contradictions, there must be another interpretation for James 2:14-17. Since we already know that Ephesians 2:8-9 states everything plainly, the alternate interpretation must be with James.
Now you can accept that God's Word has a contradiction if you want. In accepting that, you are saying that you can no longer trust the Bible to be the true Word of God. If you cant trust it to be without contradictions, then how can you trust anything it says? If it has contradictions it means it is nothing more than a book written by man.
I on the other hand, believe with all my heart that there are no real contradictions in the Bible. I believe when we think we have a contradiction, it is not because there is a problem with the Bible, but the problem lies in how we are interpreting the scriptures. So I will go with option 2 and say there must be an alternate interpretation to James.
You see, James never once comes out and says that we are saved by works. He only judges one faith by their works. That is entirely a different thing. It means that works is not the cause of salvation, but is only a result of true faith. That true faith is the cause of salvation.
James is telling us that we are saved by true faith. A faith where we believe with all our hearts. When we truly believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord, God changes our spirit and we will naturally want to do good works. So basically there are two different consequences to having true faith. 1) We are saved. 2) We will do good works out of the goodness of our hearts.
In other words, we are not saved by works, but instead he is saying that if we have true faith, our faith can be judged by our works.
One thing I have learned in my life with God, is that God is not going to just supply you with faith. When we turn to Christ, it is because God has given us a new spirit and because of that, we will have faith. But that faith can either grow from there or dwindle. That will depend on our own actions. If we strive to get right with God, as we study His Word and get to know Him better, our faith will grow. IF we just go to church once a week and put Him on the shelf the rest of the week, then our faith will dwindle. The closer we get to God, and the stronger our faith becomes, the more we will naturally want to do good things for others. One only needs to analyze the way the act and treat others to be able to judge the level of their faith. That is what James is telling us.
14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
There is a good chance that you have been told this is saying that we are saved by works. You may have been taught that this says we are saved by works alone, or maybe that it means we are saved by faith and works. As with any other misinterpreted scripture, this verse never comes right out and says that. It is only interpreted to mean as much.
The problem with that interpretation is that it causes a direct contradiction with another scripture in the Bible.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This scripture is what I would call a 'Primary' scripture. It is so plainly stated that you simply cannot come up with a secondary interpretation other than what it clearly says.
How are we saved? It says we are saved through faith. Is it of our own doing? It says it is not of our doing but it is a gift of God. Does it have anything to do with works? It says plainly that it is not a result of works so that we will not be able to boast. The only question left in this verses is what we would boast of and there is only one logical answer for that. So we cannot boast that we saved ourselves.
The real question is, if the Bible clearly states that salvation is a gift of God, and it is not a result of works, how then can we possibly interpret James to be saying we are saved by works? In doing so, it creates a clear contradiction in God's Word. There are only two options here....
1) You can interpret James to be saying we are saved by works, but to do so, you must accept that there is a clear contradiction in God's Word. If you accept that, then you are by default saying that the Bible is not the true and trusted Word of God, because God is perfect and His Word would never contradict itself.
2) You can accept that since God's Word cannot have any clear contradictions, there must be another interpretation for James 2:14-17. Since we already know that Ephesians 2:8-9 states everything plainly, the alternate interpretation must be with James.
Now you can accept that God's Word has a contradiction if you want. In accepting that, you are saying that you can no longer trust the Bible to be the true Word of God. If you cant trust it to be without contradictions, then how can you trust anything it says? If it has contradictions it means it is nothing more than a book written by man.
I on the other hand, believe with all my heart that there are no real contradictions in the Bible. I believe when we think we have a contradiction, it is not because there is a problem with the Bible, but the problem lies in how we are interpreting the scriptures. So I will go with option 2 and say there must be an alternate interpretation to James.
You see, James never once comes out and says that we are saved by works. He only judges one faith by their works. That is entirely a different thing. It means that works is not the cause of salvation, but is only a result of true faith. That true faith is the cause of salvation.
James is telling us that we are saved by true faith. A faith where we believe with all our hearts. When we truly believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord, God changes our spirit and we will naturally want to do good works. So basically there are two different consequences to having true faith. 1) We are saved. 2) We will do good works out of the goodness of our hearts.
In other words, we are not saved by works, but instead he is saying that if we have true faith, our faith can be judged by our works.
One thing I have learned in my life with God, is that God is not going to just supply you with faith. When we turn to Christ, it is because God has given us a new spirit and because of that, we will have faith. But that faith can either grow from there or dwindle. That will depend on our own actions. If we strive to get right with God, as we study His Word and get to know Him better, our faith will grow. IF we just go to church once a week and put Him on the shelf the rest of the week, then our faith will dwindle. The closer we get to God, and the stronger our faith becomes, the more we will naturally want to do good things for others. One only needs to analyze the way the act and treat others to be able to judge the level of their faith. That is what James is telling us.
