In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul writes: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." In fact most of Ephesians 2 is dedicated to the concept summarized in these verses.
In James 2:17 and 2:20, James writes "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." and in 20: "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? " James dedicates all of James 2 to explaining the role of works.
James and Paul seem to be saying different things. Are they at odds with each other theologically? Can they both be right? Any help for my Bible study is appreciated.
2006-11-01 05:20:13 · 22 answers · asked by Blessings 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
No, they are not at odds with each other. In fact, they are reinforcing each other. What Paul is saying to the Ephesians is that you cannot save your own soul (gain eternal life in Heaven) by doing good deeds alone.
In James we see the same professions about faith, but he elaborates a little further. If we have faith, but do nothing with it what good is faith? It's just like having the ability to do something...i.e. if you have the ability to sing beautifully, but choose not to sing what good is it to have that talent? That talent might as well be dead to you.
Does not the Bible also say, "Let your light shine before men so that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven"? It is those works, through faith and by faith, that allow our light to shine before men. But no man can save his own soul by doing good work, unless he has faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ.
2006-11-01 05:34:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
No friend they are not saying the same thing. Look at the scriptures Paul is speaking about salvation.... James is speaking about Faith alone.
Let me explain..... when the children were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.... God fed them... the word tells us that manna was given every night.... They could have all the faith in the world that God would care for them.... but they still had to get up and go collect the manna.
You can have Faith that God will provide you with a good job.... but you still have to fill out applications....In James it was showing us that we must have faith, but we must move in that faith. If we want to accomplish something in our lives we can know (have faith) That God will provide for us the things we need to accomplish this task but we still have to put in the work of actually accomplishing it.
Paul was trying to show us that we cant "earn" our salvation. You can be a volunteer, you can do wonderful things in your life. But those actions are not what brings about your salvation. None of us are "good enough" to earn salvation. That is by Faith in Jesus Christ alone and his free gift to us. He paid the price so that anyone that accepts him and comes to him can have salvation we dont earn that.... he already did.
2006-11-01 05:27:13 · answer #2 · answered by PreacherTim63(SFECU) 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is what we call a paradox. It's an apparent contradiction but when you study it, you will see that it is not.
Paul and James are not disagreeing here. They are both right.
Some have said that Paul is talking about your relationship to God and James is talking about your relationship to people.
Others say this: James was warning of the wrong kind of faith -- that is mere intellectual assent or belief in facts. Even if these facts are true, this type of faith can not save. Paul's concern is over a different error. Faith with the wrong object. Paul was addressing those who were trusting in their own works or obedience rather than trusting Christ alone for salvation.
This kind of faith -- faith in works -- does produce a changed life. Like the Pharisees, people who believe that works are necessary for salvation are zealous to perform these works. But neither faith in facts nor faith in works saves. For both Paul and James, true salvation is found in believing, trusting, and having faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross alone for salvation.
2006-11-01 05:23:54 · answer #3 · answered by cnm 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not at all...In Ephesians Paul is saying in fact that is not through
anything (men) did to deserve this Gift,It is through the undeserved
kindness of God that you recieve the Gift of Faith.And James is
stating that now that you have been Granted this Gift, in which you
had no Works or even the right to have,If you will go a little further
in james to;2:22 you will read;(nwt)" You behold that [his] faith
worked along with [his] works and by his works [his] faith was
perfected." and in '24' "You see that a man is to be declared
righteous by works,and not by faith alone."so you have to do
"work"in order to appreciate the undeserved gift of Faith.they go
hand in hand.
2006-11-01 06:38:43 · answer #4 · answered by OldGeezer 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is a difficult reconcilliation. Martin Luther staked his reputation on the "faith alone" argument. He was battling the Roman assertion that people could buy or earn divine favor through their own efforts. He understood that commerce was a human invention and salvation reserved for those who could pay was a fraud. God does not show favoritism, except possibly toward the poor and helpless.
But "sola fide" has its own pitfalls. Once a person acknowledges that he is powerless to affect his ultimate destiny, and that the solution is simply to trust and accept God's forgiveness, he tends to get smug. If God forgives everything and his final reward is guaranteed, his acts become irrelevant and he may start acting as he did before, thinking it doesn't matter.
Remember that passage in which Paul warns against community members who stand around waiting for Jesus and don't work? ("Be busy, not busybodies," one translation had it.) It was a problem even in the early days, long before Luther!
James is the counterweight. He is cautioning us not to become arrogant and assume that we are unimpeachable just because we're a friend of Jesus. (Remember what Matthew said about people coming to Jesus and crying, "Lord, Lord"?) James says if you are truly engaged in your faith, if you are faith-full, it will show in your acts. The acts demonstrate the faith, they do not substitute for it. If a Christian doesn't act in a Christian way, they need to consider whether they are taking their faith seriously or just faking it.
2006-11-01 05:39:15 · answer #5 · answered by skepsis 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is a common question...and a good one. James and Paul are not butting heads here. They are really writing hand in hand so to speak. Yes it is by grace through faith and not of our own doing that makes us children of God. And yes our faith is shown in our actions. I believe that in our actions can one see that our salvation have really taken place. I would question someones salvation if their life bore no fruit of a relationship with Christ. Our faithful actions are a direct result of our salvation which God worked in our hearts.
2006-11-01 05:27:56 · answer #6 · answered by Chantla 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Easy. Don't try to do good things just so others will see and think better of you. See, the Pharisees/Temple Higher-level type priests were famous for praying long prayers OUT LOUD so others would think, "Wow! What a righteous dude!" Is that wrong! Yes!!! You do not need to pray super righteously and out loud do you? No. But if you are in public and are praying you could easily be mistaken for taking a 5 minute nap, meditating, etc. Which is the "good works" as you mentioned in Matt 5:16? The second example I gave, of course. See?
2016-05-23 03:29:40 · answer #7 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are not at odds. Paul states we can only be saved by faith in Jesus. There is nothing we can do to earn salvation. It is a gift from God.
James is reinforcing Paul's point by saying works are EVIDENCE of our faith. When we have faith, we want to do good works out of gratitude to God for all He gives us, even though we've earned nothing and deserve nothing from Him. We don't have real faith unless we want to action that faith and our actions show in good works.
Both say works are not to be bragged about - they are strictly to be done out of gratitude for God's Grace and Mercy. They are only a product of our Faith in Jesus.
2006-11-01 06:48:47 · answer #8 · answered by AM 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They're not saying different things, they're just writing from different perspectives and for different purposes.
We are saved by faith alone, not by our works; HOWEVER, once we're saved, the love we have for God is supposed to produce "fruit" or "works" in our lives. An excellent example of this is LOVE. Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 13 that a person may speak in tongues, speak prophecy, or give to the poor; but if he doesn't LOVE his fellow human beings, the tongues, prophesies and giving is of no use. Certainly, God doesn't recognize it as a "fruit."
In fact, I think you could say that ALL good "works" or "fruit" produced by a Christian results from love.
Read through 1 Cor. 13 and 1 John (there are a number of verses related to "fruit" being an outworking of love in this Epistle).
I hope this helps.
2006-11-01 05:33:17 · answer #9 · answered by Suzanne: YPA 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I believe Paul is speaking of your received salvation. You cannot earn your salvation from God. God gives it as a gift to the faithful, so that no one can boast.
While James is speaking after your salvation. If you cannot use your faith to lead the lost to God, or heal the sick, or cause the lame to walk...then what good is your faith. If you have it great!, but what good is it if you do not use it for the good of God.
2006-11-01 05:27:06 · answer #10 · answered by Ron B. 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋