Well, maybe not quite. But almost!
Discuss the relationship between faith and works as found in the
Epistles of Paul and James, compared to the rest of the New Testament
The relationship between faith and
works has been highly contested between Catholics and Protestants since the
Reformation, at which time Luther infamously inserted the word “alone” in Rom. 3:28.[1]
The writers of the New Testament who deal most explicitly with this question
are Sts Paul and James, and the problem lies in how to reconcile their
apparently conflicting views. This paper will attempt to show that no such
conflict actually exists; rather, their views are complementary, and only
appear to contradict each other because they use the same terms in different
ways. It will then be demonstrated that this resolution is in harmony with the
rest of the New Testament writings.
Faith is a key part
of Paul’s theology, verified in the sheer number of his references to it,
compared to the rest of the New Testament.[2] He
defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”.[3]
When mentioned in connection with salvation or justification, faith
seems to be used to mean a trusting acceptance of the promises God has made
through His Son, Jesus Christ the Lord and Saviour; that is, the Gospel.[4]
This faith, by necessity, includes assenting to a particular set of truths,[5] as
revealed by God (the ultimate object of faith),[6]
who can neither deceive not be deceived.[7] Christ’s
identity and his teachings cannot be separated from each other, since he
himself is the fullness of revelation, and “the
truth”, so any truth he teaches cannot be divided from who he is.[8] Once
one has taken the step of assenting to the one faith,[9] if
one is consistent, the rest follows of itself.[10] Paul
doesn’t limit faith to mere intellectual acquiescence, but rather, it includes
the complete response of the believer’s entire person, and their submission in
accord with the “obedience of faith”[11]
to Christ.[12] Hence,
it is this kind of faith that he means when he says that “a man is justified by
faith apart from works of law.”[13]
Understanding
what Paul means by justification is essential for discerning his view of the
connection between faith and works. It is his way of summarising God’s work of
salvation,[14] and it describes
“an effect worked in those who believe what God has done in Christ”,[15] and
this effect has is referred to both as a past and a future experience.[16] The
reality of what occurs in justification is so deep that Paul describes it from
many different angles; those who have been justified are “heirs in hope of
eternal life”,[17] made
children of God[18] as they
are given the spirit of sonship,[19]
and they are at peace with God,[20]
as a result of having been freed from sin.[21]
While Paul is quite clear that faith is essential for salvation, he never
claims that faith alone is sufficient.[22] He
also makes clear that justification, which occurs by grace through faith,[23]
is a gift freely bestowed on man by God,[24]
and so cannot be earned,[25]
nor boasted about because of one’s own efforts.[26]
Thus, according to Paul, coming into and remaining in an intimate relationship
with God occurs through the undeserved gift of justifying faith, and not
through doing the works of the law.
Faith, as
opposed to the law (a nuanced concept that Paul uses in multiple contexts),[27] as
the means to justification is a major theme in Pauline literature; this is true
most particularly in his letters to the Romans and Galatians. Using the word
law in different contexts leads to some apparent contradictions in Paul’s
theology. For example, in Rom. 2:13, he says that it is “the doers of the law who will be justified”, while on
the other hand, in Rom. 2:28 he says “a man is
justified by faith apart from works of law.”[28]
This may be clarified by considering what exactly is meant by “works of the
law”. The second time[29]
Paul uses the word “works” in Romans, it is within the phrase “works of the
law”, and thereafter, he simply refers to “works”. This suggests that
throughout he is using shorthand for “works of the law”, which are types of
work distinct from “good works” (the type of works James refers to),[30]
as works of the law consist in obeying specific commands of God for how Israel
are to live.[31] Therefore,
returning to the example above, the first statement should be understood in the
broader context of what Paul is saying about the law, and man’s inability to
obey it. Since it is impossible for anyone to do everything which the law
commands, no one can be justified by doing what the law commands and thus there
is no contradiction.[32]
In regard to good works, Paul writes that believers are created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God has prepared beforehand.[33]
He also says that they should live a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to
Him, part of which entails bearing fruit in every good work.[34]
They should purify themselves and be immersed in the Sacred Scriptures, so as
to be ready and equipped to be useful to the Master, by doing good works.[35]
He advises the Hebrews to “stir each other up to love and good works”,[36]
after encouraging them to be faithful to the confession of their hope,[37]
in accord with his fundamental definition of faith mentioned previously.[38]
For St Paul, faith and love are inseparable. He
consistently ties together faith, hope, and charity, and also mentions them in
pairs, to show how they collaborate in their unity.[39]
Of particular note is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, in his famous
treatise on love: “if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not
love, I am nothing”, and, “So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the
greatest of these is love.” Paul also talks about the importance of faith
working itself out in charity,[40]
which requires good works, and yet good works without love are nothing.[41]
When St James speaks of faith in his epistle, he uses it in
a different sense to Paul.[42]
This is made clear when he says “even the demons believe- and shudder”.[43]
The demons are undoubtedly not justified; hence, the type of faith James is
referring to is not the faith that justifies. Rather, by “faith”, he means a response
to God consisting of mere intellectual assent, lacking in repentance, and not
an outpouring of trust, humble gratitude and acceptance, and obedience, which
works itself out in love, which is Paul’s understanding. Thus, when James says
“faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead”,[44]
and “a man is justified by works and not by faith alone”,[45]
by speaking of the two concepts separately, he is spelling out the inner
workings of faith more explicitly than Paul in Romans, who assumes this
implicitly in his definition of faith. This is seen in the example that both
writers give of Abraham’s faith- their different approaches colour their
explanation of his justification, and complement each other, as “in Abraham, as
in every Christian who acts consistently, faith and works totally imbue each
other: works show forth faith, and faith inspires and performs works.”[46]
In the Synoptic Gospels, during his life, Jesus speaks of
faith as trust in him, and belief that he is who he claims to be- the Son of
God. After the ascension, those preaching the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ use
faith to mean trust in the person of Jesus, and therefore in the work of his
death and resurrection as having power to give the believer eternal life. Paul
and James’ unification of faith and love seem to participate in a continuity of
Jesus’ definition of faith, if we note these statements: “For it is not
the hearers of the law
who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified”;[47]
and “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”[48]
There is a striking parallel between these ideas, and those expressed by Christ
himself in Matthew 7: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does
them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock”;[49] “Not
everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but
he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”[50]
In Acts Paul confirms the above discussion of his concept of faith as necessarily
embracing obedience, as he says that those who repent should perform deeds
worthy of their repentance.[51]
The Johannine
literature focuses very much on the centrality of love. In John’s Gospel he
records Jesus saying that the Father loves his disciples, because they have
both believed in the Son and loved Him.[52]
In his first epistle, John states that Christians have confidence before God if
they keep His commandment[53]:
that they believe in His Son Jesus Christ and love one another.[54] Loving
one’s fellow believers follows naturally if one loves and believes in God.[55] John
gives the central reason for the importance of love- God is love, and as such those who do not love do not know God, and
therefore do not have faith in Him.[56] A
summary of all that John considers to be tied together is found in Rev. 2:19:
“I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance”.
Indeed, the necessity of endurance in faith until death, manifested in constant
love through works, according to which each man will be judged, is a theme that
appears repeatedly in Revelation,[57] as
well as in the synoptic Gospels,[58]
and Paul’s letters.[59]
James also weighs in on this idea: “Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood
the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who
love him.”[60] John
uses the specific word “works” in his Gospel in a different sense to his other
writings, and to Paul and James, as it usually refers to the signs or miracles
Jesus performed, to elicit this faith in his disciples.[61]
This is reiterated in the reason he gives for writing the Gospel, which is to
record the great works that Jesus did to reveal who he was, that the readers “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” that
they may have life in his name.[62]
Turning our
attention to the Catholic Epistles, Jude makes the point that the contents of
the faith are unchanging, which, given the unchanging and absolute nature and
person and teachings of Jesus, the Truth, makes sense.[63]
He reminds that the endurance of faith is only possible with God,[64]
and of the importance of grounding oneself in the faith and remaining in God’s
love.[65]
Peter speaks of trails that test the genuineness of one’s faith,[66]
implying that a type of faith exists that is not genuine. This could be
identified with the “dead faith” spoken of by James. The outcome of genuine
faith is the salvation of one’s soul.[67]
He also speaks of faith as being in that which is not seen,[68] as
Paul does.[69] Peter
relates obedience[70]
to faith and hope,[71]
and says that obedience should look like being holy in all one’s conduct, for
each will be judged according to their deeds.[72]
He further instructs his audience to endeavour to supplement their faith with
virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection,
and love, for if these are lacking then one is unfruitful, since they have
forgotten that they have been cleansed from their sins.[73]
He also makes mention of the seriousness of not enduring- for those continuing
in sin after receiving the Gospel, it would have been better for them never to
have known than to know and subsequently abandon the truth.[74]
In conclusion, the
witness of the New Testament regarding the role of faith and works with regard
to salvation is consistent. In particular, the notorious conflict between James
and Paul does not, in fact, exist. The confusion is due primarily to their
differing use of terminology, and they actually both espouse the idea that only
a faith which commits the whole person to obedience of Christ, which involves
living charitably, can justify a person. Their different presentations of the
relationship between faith and works in fact complement each other, and contribute
significantly to the rich framework of soteriology found in the New Testament.
REFERENCE LIST:
Brown, Raymond, An
Introduction to the New Testament, (Doubleday: New York , 2007)
Casciaro, Jose Maria (ed.), The Navarre Bible Catholic Letters
(Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2005)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
(Libreria Editrice Vaticana: Citta del Vaticano, 1993)
(Accessed 19 October 2012)
Hahn,
Scott (ed.), Catholic Bible Dictionary
(New York: Doubleday Religion, 2009)
Hawthorne, Gerald., Martin, Ralph., Reid, Daniel. (Eds.), Dictionary of Paul and His Letters
(Leicester, England: Intervarsity Press, 1993)
Leon- Dufour, Xavier, S.J. (Ed.),
Dictionary of Biblical Theology, (London:
Geoffrey Chapman, 1969)
New Catholic Encyclopedia 2nd Edition Volume 8, Berard Marthaler (ed.) (Washington, D.C.: Thomson Gale,
2003)
The Holy Bible Revised
Standard Version Catholic Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004)
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Anchor- Yale Bible Dictionary Volume 2, David Noel Freedman (Ed.) (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1992)
Anchor- Yale Bible Dictionary Volume 3, David Noel Freedman (Ed.) (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1992)
Brown, Raymond, An
Introduction to the New Testament, (Doubleday: New York , 2007)
Burtchaell, James., “A Theology of Faith and Works: The
Epistle to the Galatians--A Catholic View”, Interpretation,
Vol 17: Issue 1 (1963): pp. 39-47 ATLA
Religion Database with ATLASerials. EBSCOhost (accessed October 19, 2012)
Casciaro, Jose Maria (ed.), The Navarre Bible Catholic Letters
(Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2005)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
(Libreria Editrice Vaticana: Citta del Vaticano, 1993)
(Accessed 19 October 2012)
Hahn,
Scott (ed.), Catholic Bible Dictionary
(New York: Doubleday Religion, 2009)
Hawthorne, Gerald., Martin, Ralph., Reid, Daniel. (Eds.), Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (Leicester,
England: Intervarsity Press, 1993)
Heen,
Erik., & Krey, Philip. (Eds.), Ancient
Christian Commentary on Scripture New Testament X Hebrews (Downers
Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2007)
Leon- Dufour, Xavier, S.J. (Ed.),
Dictionary of Biblical Theology, (London:
Geoffrey Chapman, 1969)
New Catholic Encyclopedia 2nd Edition Volume 8, Berard Marthaler (ed.) (Washington, D.C.: Thomson Gale,
2003)
The Catholic Bible Concordance Revised
Standard Version Catholic Edition C.W.
Lyons and Thomas Deliduka (compilers) (Steubenville: Emmaus Road Publishing,
2009)
The Holy Bible Revised
Standard Version Catholic Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004)
[1] Raymond
Brown, An Introduction to the New
Testament, p. 732, footnote 22
[2] He uses
the noun pistis 142 times, compared
to 101 times in the rest of the New Testament- Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, p. 285
[3] Heb.
11:1. NB: Unless otherwise noted, all biblical references will be taken from
RSV; furthermore, the letter to the Hebrews will be considered to be a Pauline
Epistle in this paper, since it has been “long associated with Paul”- Raymond
Brown, An Introduction to the New
Testament, p. 410
[4] New Catholic Encyclopaedia 2nd
Edition Vol 8, p. 592; Rom. 1:16
[5] New Catholic Encyclopaedia 2nd
Edition Vol 8, p. 592
[6] Ibid.
[7] CCC 156
[8]
Jn. 14:6, emphasis added
[9] Eph. 4:5
[10] New Catholic Encyclopaedia 2nd
Edition Vol 8, p. 592; Scott Hahn, Catholic
Bible Dictionary, p.498
[12] Scott
Hahn, Catholic Bible Dictionary,
p.498
[13] Rom.
3:28
[14] Scott
Hahn, Catholic Bible Dictionary, p.
497
[15] Raymond
Brown, An Introduction to the New
Testament, p. 577
[16] Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, p.
518; Rom. 2:13, 8:33; Gal. 5:4-5
[17] Tit.
3:7
[22] Hahn, Catholic Bible Dictionary, p.498
[23] Eph.
2:8
[30] This is
further evidenced in that the first reference to “works” (Rom. 2:6), Paul is talking about
human acts in general, whether good works or evil works.
[32] This
idea is reinforced in Gal. 2:16
[33] Eph.
2:10
[35] 2 Tim.
2:21; 2 Tim. 3:17
[36] Heb.
10:24
[37] Heb.
10:22-23
[38] Heb.
11:1
[39] CCC 1812-
1813
[40] Gal.
5:6
[41] 1 Cor.
1:3
[42] Dictionary of Paul and His Letters p.
459
[43] Jas.
2:19
[44] Jas.
2:17
[45] Jas.
2:24
[47] Rom.
2:13
[48] Jas.
1:22
[49] Raymond
Brown, An Introduction to the New
Testament, p. 734, Mt. 7:24
[50] Mt.
7:21
[51] Acts
26:20
[52] Jn.
16:27
[53] Jn.
13:34
[54] 1 Jn.
3:21-23
[56] 1 Jn.
4:8, 20
[57] Rev.
14:12-13; Rev. 2:2, 5, 23; Rev. 2:26; Rev. 3:2-3, 11, 15-16; Rev. 19:8;
[58] Mt.
10:22, 24:13; Mk. 13:13; Lk. 21:19
[60] Jas.
1:12
[61] Jn.
5:20
[62] Jn.
20:31
[63] Jude
1.3
[64] Jude
1:24
[65] 1:20-21
[66] 1 Pet.
1:7
[67] 1 Pet.
1:9
[68] 1 Pet.
1:8
[69] Rom.
8:24; 2 Cor. 4:18; Heb. 11:1; cf. Jn. 20:29
[70] 1 Pet.
1:14, 22
[71] 1 Pet.
1:21
[72] 1 Pet.
1:15,17
[73] 2 Pet
1:5-9
[74] 2 Pet.
2:20-21
Couldn't agree more! (Surprise, surprise!) And so many bible verses make me happy too! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, just opened this in internet explorer, it really doesn't like my footnoting. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteYay for the Bible!