Do Paul And James Contradict Each Other?

Throughout my study of the Bible I have seen the various ways Paul tries to get the point across that we, as Gentile believers, are saved by “grace through faith” and not by works. (Ephesians 2:8). All throughout his letters you see him rebuking the different nations for digressing back to works based salvation. The Galatians thought they had to be circumcised and the Corinthians thought they had to speak in tongues. No matter how many times Paul preaches that we are saved solely through God’s grace, some people still don’t get it. So, after reading Paul’s letters I skipped to the book of James and saw many things that are the exact opposite of what Paul preached, but then looking back at the first verse I knew that James was speaking to the “12 tribes of Israel” meaning the Jews. That explains the contradictions. But the purpose of the paper is not to prove that different books are written to different people as 2 Timothy 2:15 says, I will leave that for another paper, but to prove that James and Paul preach opposite messages, in terms of salvation.

                First, I’ll start by laying down some key verses found in the books of Paul that most of us already know. Romans 3:28 says, “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” Therefore, our faith must not rest upon observance of the law, and observance of the law =works. This is shown in Romans 4:4-5 when it says “Now to anyone who works, their wages are not credited to then as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to anyone who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” So, our works have NOTHING to do with salvation. Verse 4 says that when someone works they are owed money, and therefore it is not a gift. If I work 10 hours at McDonalds they will give me $70, not because they want to throw money away, but because they owe me. They are required to give me money based on my actions. In terms of salvation, Paul tells us that God’s grace is a free gift and cannot be earned. Nothing we can do can merit grace. Grace is not owed to us because of our actions; therefore we must have complete faith in Jesus’ finished work and realize there is nothing we can do to achieve salvation. Verse 5 clearly portrays this when it says “to anyone who DOES NOT WORK…” So, can works be any part of attaining righteousness? Can it be .0001%? No! Romans 11:6 says, “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” You can’t have part works and part grace; according to the definition Paul’s gives us, that is impossible. It’d either 100% grace or 100% works, the 2 cannot be combined. In order to attain righteousness we must not work, but trust God. Is this saying not to do any good works ever? No. Once we are saved, and even before, we should do good works, but those works should not ever be mixed with our perception of salvation.

Romans 9:16 says, “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” This also testifies to the fact that not even a desire to do what is good can save us. God’s mercy is all that can save us. Faith, putting your trust in God and Jesus, is the only way to be saved; nothing you do, but believing in what Christ did. Christ did all the work for you; just believe that and you in. Romans 10:4 reiterates that point when it says, “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Christ fulfilled the law FOR us; we don’t have to do anything! Just believe. Galatians 3:3 says, “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?” Human effort is what Paul is trying to steer away from (again, I am only talking in terms of salvation.) God’s grace requires and demands no effort on our part. Nothing we can do can help us attain salvation.

I hope it is clear to everyone that we are saved by faith alone. Faith in Jesus and God’s grace. No amount of works can help us, or should be done, to attain righteousness.

Now, onto James. Here, I will start with a bang to keep you interested. Do you believe we are saved by faith alone? If so, then why does James in 2:24 say, “You see that people are justified by what they do and NOT BY FAITH ALONE.” Paul clearly says we are justified by faith alone, but James says we aren’t (they must be talking to 2 different people). Now, for some other verses in James.  Chapter 2 verse 12 says, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law…” Now, according to Paul, do you think we should act as if we are going to be judged by the law? I don’t think so. We should act as if we are saved by God’s grace, not judged by the law, but called to do good works. Then move down to verse 14 which states, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if people claim to have faith but have no deeds (NIV or “works” in KJV)? Can such faith save them?” The implicit answer is no. So what James is saying that faith without works cannot save you. This goes against what Paul says in Ephesians 2:8. This point is reiterated in James 2 verse 17: “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” But Romans 9:19 told us it did not depend on human effort. James literally says works MUST accompany faith, or that faith is dead, Again, James preached faith + works; not faith alone. One last time James says in 2:26, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” I don’t think it can be spelled out more clearly that James believes salvation/righteousness = faith +works.

Now comes the confusing part, but eye opening once you understand it. Both James and Paul use the story of Abraham to back up their points. In Romans chapter 4. In verse 3 Paul writes, “What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” In verse 13 he says “It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would he heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.” Verse 16 says, “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace…” Paul shows us continually that is was strictly Abrahams’ faith that saved him and not any works. Not let’s go to James. 2:20-22 says: “You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our fat her Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the alter? You see that his faith and his actions were working TOGETHER, and his faith was made complete by what he DID.” So, James is saying that Abrahams’ works + faith gave him righteousness. So, is Paul or James correct, being that they say 2 opposite things?

Well as it turns out, unsurprisingly, they were both right. Paul recounts the story in Genesis 15 and James recounts the story in Genesis 22. So was Abraham declared righteous twice? Yessir. Romans 4:11 says “…So then he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised (Gentiles), in order that righteousness might be credited to them. AND he is then also the father of the circumcised (Jews) who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” Continuing in verse 16; “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring- not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’” So, why did Abraham have to be declared righteous twice? So he could be the father of all who believe. In order to be the Gentile’s father he must be justified by faith. And in order to be the father of the Jews he must be justified by faith + works.

Finally, I think it is correct to say that Paul and James preached different messages in terms of salvation. Paul said we just need faith. James said it is faith + works. These 2 messages do not conflict with one another because Paul is talking to the Gentiles and James it talking to the Jews.