By Faith Alone

 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.  (James 2:24)

Yes, the title and the first line do seem to contradict one another, don’t they? Faith alone, or Sola Fide, is the foundational belief that came out of the Reformation but, not surprisingly, has been completely rejected by both Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism. In fact, Catholic and Orthodox believers often tell Protestants how wrong they are for their belief in ‘Faith Alone.’ So, does not James 2:24 make it clear that faith alone is not true? Is there a contradiction here? 

I’ve had enough encounters with Roman Catholic (RC) and Eastern Orthodox (EO) believers and with the exception of one, all have chosen the easy route of name calling and dogmatic proclamations. I already know they disagree with me but they generally misrepresent what Protestants believe and present a dogmatic statement with zero proof for what they believe and act as if that settles the whole conversation. It always makes me chuckle a little to see RCs and EOs quote a Bible verse for their own belief in something and then rebuke Protestants for quoting Scripture because they don’t have the authority to do that, or don’t have the right or ability to interpret Scripture, or all Protestants disagree with one another anyway because there are 40,000 denominations. These are great tactics to avoid actually refuting the Protestant view, but none of these types of answers allow them to prove their dogmatic statements. So, if someone is going to comment on a post of mine, they are going to be expected to explain why they disagree, and it’s going to need to be more than quoting James 2:24 or telling me angrily that I’m wrong. 

Far too often, the Bible is used to ‘proof text’ a concept while rejecting or downplaying other verses that would seem to directly contradict their belief. And Protestants do this as well, though much less often. But to understand a passage, one has to look at the totality of what Scripture says and not use a single verse to define a concept. So, before we can look at James 2:24, we have to understand what the rest of Scripture says and why the Reformers made it their central doctrinal belief. 

Justified By Faith

nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. (Gal 2:16)

In both Romans and Galatians, the Apostle Paul makes it clear that faith in Christ is what justifies mankind before God, and this verse exemplifies this biblical truth that Paul hammers upon throughout his Epistles. This is a compelling verse to start with, but let’s make sure we understand exactly what Paul is saying here. Let’s start with the word ‘justified’, which is the Greek word ‘dikaioō’ { dik-ah-yo'-o } and means “to judge, declare, pronounce, righteous and therefore acceptable.” [1] Scholars Louw and Nida define the word as, “the act of clearing someone of transgression—‘to acquit, to set free, to remove guilt, acquittal.’” [2] 

So, what we see in this verse, as well as many others, is the idea that, concerning works, mankind is NOT acquitted or set free, and not judged or pronounced righteous and is therefore unacceptable in the eyes of God by performing works of the law. Works by themselves gain you nothing. So, go ahead, take a minute or two to read the definition for the Greek word for justified into the verse above. It is quite instructive to do this. There are three usages of the word, justified, in Gal 2:16. The first and third usages are the negative aspect and refers to works, while the second is the positive aspect and refers to faith. 

Next, ask yourself, is there anything in this verse about works being required for salvation, or that works are in any way helpful in justifying you before the holy wrath of God for our sin? That is what we’re talking about here. What does the middle of this verse say again? 

… through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; …

‘Through faith in Christ … so that we may be justified by faith in Christ.’ So, our justification is based upon our faith in Christ, upon believing in Christ Jesus. That is a powerful statement. But it’s not the only verse, but let’s look a bit further at 'works.’ 

Works of the Law

The above leaves us with a question: how should we define, ‘works of the law,’ as we see in Rom 3:20 and here in Gal 2:16? The website ‘Got Questions’ provides a great and concise answer, 

The “works of the law” are the actions performed to fulfill the Mosaic Law found in the first five books of the Old Testament. Keeping the Sabbath, being circumcised (the issue before the Galatian churches), eating “clean” foods, and other ceremonies are powerless to justify us in the sight of God. In addition, following the morality of the law (not murdering, not committing adultery, not stealing) is insufficient to make us right in God’s eyes. No act on the part of sinful creatures can result in God’s declaring them to be righteous in His sight. 

What are the works of the law (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16)? | GotQuestions.org 

And therein lies the problem: there is nothing I can do to be justified in the eyes of God, except what He has told us in His word. And that leads us back to the middle portion of Gal 2:16 – only believing that Jesus was the promised Messiah, only faith in Jesus can give us the justification we long for. 

So, what other verses talk about faith as being our only path to justification, to salvation? 

• Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. (Rom 5:1-2)

• that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Rom 10:9-10)

• “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

• For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9)

• They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)

And those are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Here is a more complete list: John 3:16, 3:18, 5:24; Acts 10:43, 16:31; Rom 1:16-17, 3:22, 3:28, 4:3, 4:5, 4:16, 5:1-2, 7:5-11, 10:4, 10:9-10, 11:6; Gal 2:16, 2:21, 3:8, 3:11-12, 3:24; Eph 1:13, 2:8-9; Php 3:9; Gen 15:6; Tit 3:5; 1 Tim 1:16; 2 Tim 3:15; 1 Pet 2:6-7; 1 John 5:1, 5:5, 5:10, 5:13.

Now I could expound upon any or all of these verses, but they are extremely clear in what they say, our justification is by faith in Christ, and works have nothing to do with that justification. So, if you are going to disagree with our justification before God being by Faith Alone, then you are going to have to refute each one of these verses that tell us that it is by faith that we are saved and that works have nothing to do with our justification before a holy God.

James on Faith and Works

You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:24)

We really cannot leave this topic without discussing James 2:24 because what we read there seems to completely contradict all of the verses I just referenced above. This verse has seemingly become the proof text for requiring ‘works’ as part of salvation for both Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism. So, let’s take some time to look a little closer at this verse. 

This verse is presented here purposely out of context to illustrate the point of how easy it is to misunderstand the meaning of a verse when read while ignoring the context of the passage, as well as what the rest of Scripture says about faith. 

The very first thing that has to be understood is that Scripture cannot and does not contradict itself. If it contradicts itself, then Scripture is NOT infallible and therefore it cannot be considered ‘Scripture’ at all. We are then left with two possibilities: 1) Christianity is a lie because we cannot trust that it represents Jesus and His teachings faithfully if we cannot determine truth from error. Or 2) the RC and EO churches have misrepresented the passage in an attempt to deal with what they consider is a contradiction in Scripture between what Paul taught and what they think James was teaching. Since 1) is not true, then it has to be 2). And as I will explain below, it is the RC and EO churches that have misunderstood the meaning of Scripture in James 2. 

To say it a different way, one of these three views is true: 1) either the rest of the NT has errors concerning “works”, and James is correct, or 2) the rest of the NT is correct and James is incorrect, or 3) there is a meaning and an understanding where both are true at the same time. Because I believe Scripture to be infallible, I reject both 1) and 2), my only other option is 3). And it's not that I am settling for 3) and “hoping for the best”; I believe 3) because I understand the proper relationship between faith and works, as did the Reformers. At least the RCC faithfully represented the reformer’s view in Canon 24 at the Council of Trent, “... works are merely the fruits and signs of Justification obtained …” (See: Canon 24 - Council of Trent Session 6) 

We have already seen that there are quite a few verses throughout the New Testament that refute the belief that works are required for salvation, so let’s tackle James. I will admit that James 2 is one of the harder passages in the New Testament to understand properly, and is why context is very important when reading Scripture. James 2 can be broken up into 3 sections: verse 1-7 are instructions about showing favoritism, verses 8-13 are comments on the law, and verses 14-26 are about the proper relationship between faith and works. So, let’s look at the passage in context, James 2:14-26: 

• 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.

• 18- But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 

• 19- You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 

• 20- But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 

• 21- Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 

• 22- You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 

• 23- and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. 

• 24- You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 

• 25- In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 

• 26- For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Now, let’s look at an outline of the same passage to help understand its context a little better. (it’s helpful but it's not perfect) What this outline helps to visualize is that verses 15-22 are answering the questions posed in verse 14. And verses 24-26 support verse 23.

• 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.

• 18- But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

• 19- You believe that aGod is one. You do well; the demons also believe and shudder. 

• 20- But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21- Was not Abraham
  our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
  22- You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;

• 23- and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God.

• 24- You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

• 25- In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

• 26- For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

(See: Are we justified by faith (Romans) or by works (James)?)

Because this explanation is stated so nicely, I’m just going to quote it,

James begins this section by using the example of someone who says he has faith but has no works, “What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14).  In other words, James is addressing the issue of a dead faith – a faith that is nothing more than a verbal pronouncement, a public confession of the mind, and is not heartfelt.  It is empty of life and action. He begins with the negative and demonstrates what an empty faith is (verses 15-17, words without actions). Then he shows that type of faith isn’t any different from the faith of demons (verse 19). Finally, he gives examples of living faith that has words followed by actions.  Works follow true faith and demonstrate that faith to our fellow man but not to God. James writes of Abraham and Rahab as examples of people who demonstrated their faith by their deeds.

In brief, James is examining two kinds of faith: one that leads to godly works and one that does not. One is true, and the other is false. One is dead, the other alive; hence, “Faith without works is dead,” (James 2:20).  But, he is not contradicting the verses above that say salvation/justification is by faith alone.

Also, notice that James actually quotes the same verse that Paul quotes in Rom. 4:3 amongst a host of verses dealing with justification by faith. James 2:23 says, “and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.'” If James was trying to teach a contradictory doctrine of faith and works than the other New Testament writers, then he would not have used Abraham as an example. Therefore, we can see that justification is by faith alone and that James was talking about false faith – not real faith – when he said we are not justified by faith alone. (Are we saved by faith alone, or do we need works, too?) [Emphasis added]

And something else to keep in mind about this passage, the works following faith in this passage is a faith walked out in front of people and in the form of works. These works are directed for people and towards people, not for God. God doesn’t need to see our works - He already knows our heart! He has already planned for us to do these things (Eph 4:10, 12) because Godly faith produces godly works. We do them because of what God has done for us, not to merit anything for ourselves. These aren’t to pay God off, or to be seen as “righteous.” (earning brownie points with God) Quite frankly, the only thing people would see in works to earn merit, is our self righteousness. That was the example that Jesus gave about the Jews. (See Mat 6:4-6)

And this is completely supported by Paul in Eph 2:8-10,

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Eph 2:8-10)

You caught that, right? Our works are the ones that “God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” God has called each of us to do His works, the ones He has already planned for us to do! Before the foundations of the world were laid, before you were a twinkle in the eye of your parents, God already knew you would be His child, and He planned what He wants you to do for Him in your life. And they aren’t mindless chants on Rosaries, or working the beer station at the next church event. We cannot earn our salvation with works nor can we curry favor with God by them. 

And here are a few more verses that support what I’ve said above,

• Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Mat 5:16)

• Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did. (Act 9:36)

• And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; (2 Cor 9:8)

• so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Col 1:10)

• comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. (1 Tim 2:17)

• Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, (1 Tim 6:17-18)

• All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:17)

• in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. (Tit 2:7-8)

• Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, (Tit 3:1)

• Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Heb 13:20-21)

• Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1 Pet 2:12)

In every verse above, it is referring to believers walking out their faith and doing good works because of the grace of God in their lives, not to obtain that grace. As Peter says in 1 Pet 2:12, the purpose of our works, our good deeds, is to lead unbelievers to “glorify God.” They are not “works for work’s sake” nor do they in any way contribute to our salvation or justification before God, they have a purpose in God’s overall plan for humanity. They were planned for God’s purposes, not ours, therefore they can never ‘merit grace’.  Everything a believer is supposed to do in their life is to bring glory to God. As Eph 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” God saved us because He had already planned out the works He wants us to do, works that serve His purposes. These works were not our idea, or a church leader’s idea. They are not selfishly about ‘us’. God predestined our works; He planned for them long before we were born. Eph 2:10 is yet another proof that works don’t save us, and do not add to our salvation because any works we do were already His plan for us. To merit salvation “we” would need to be the author of the works, and we are not. Let me say that again. For our works to merit salvation “we” would need to be the author of those works, and we are not. Anything we do would be selfishly focused on ourselves. Left to us, we would never do anything, we are too selfish and self-important for that. 

Also, notice in the above verses and their associated passages that these works are an outward demonstration of the inward change that has already taken place in our hearts and lives. Mat 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way …” Where is the meritorious grace we are attempting to “earn” in that verse? There isn’t any. How about Act 9:36? Here is a woman that had a lifestyle of kindness and charitable deeds because of her faith in Christ. So where is the merited grace there? It shows how God had transformed her entire being, which is what He is after in us. How about Heb 13:21, the God of peace has equipped us in every good thing to do His will. There is no way to earn merit, grace or salvation here either. There is nowhere to earn it anywhere in the New Testament - it doesn’t exist. Why not? Because “... works are merely the fruits and signs of Justification [already] obtained …” (Canon 24 - Council of Trent Session 6) The Reformers got it right, and the RCC and EO got it wrong, horribly wrong. The Council of Trent looked at it and studied it for 40+ yr and still got it wrong! And why did they get it wrong? Because their purpose at Trent was to refute the Protestant Reformers, not promote the truths in the Word of God. Their hate for the Reformers overruled their desire to do God’s will and to be that “true” church they claim to be. One cannot understand salvation as presented in Scripture any differently than what was presented by the Reformers. Salvation is not aided or completed by works.

Conclusion

So, as you can see, James 2:24 has a meaning that compliments the whole concept of ‘faith alone’ presented by the apostles in the New Testament. One has to look at the totality of what Scripture has to say and avoid reading our own meaning into what Scripture says. 

And, this is a perfect example of what happens when you develop beliefs outside the confines of Scripture – you end up having to read your beliefs into the biblical texts to maintain the integrity of your beliefs. And all too often you end up creating a contradiction that must be dealt with. 

I started off by looking at what ‘faith alone’ is by examining Gal 2:16, but we could have used any of the over 20 other verses I listed in this article. I then presented some information on what ‘works of the law’ means because that is what our ‘works’ would fit into. And finally, I gave an explanation of what James 2:16-24 actually means and followed up with other verses throughout the New Testament, like Eph 2:10, that support a proper understanding of what those ‘works’ are that God has planned for us to do. They give us no merit whatsoever; they are simply part of the plan of God He has been working since His resurrection. 

So, the next time you see someone post on social media or tell you that works are part of our salvation, you will have a ready answer to point out their true nature - it is our faith alone that saves us and our works are the actions that God prepared for us to do, for the purpose of bringing Him glory. 

Footnotes

[1] Strong’s definition, G1344, Blue Letter Bible, © 2026.

[2] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), p. 556.