Listen to these two verses and think to yourself whether or not they contradict each other:
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5).
"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (James 2:17).
So are we saved by faith or by works?
I. SALVATION IS RECEIVED BY FAITH (Romans 4:1-5).
Paul asks this question about Abraham:
"What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?" (v.1).
In other words, Paul’s question was, “What were Abraham’s experiences concerning this question of being saved by faith.”
If anyone could be saved by works, it was Abraham. But what does Paul say?
In The New Living Translation verse two reads like this:
"Was it because of his good deeds that God accepted him? If so, he would have had something to boast about. But from God’s point of view Abraham had no basis at all for pride."
Why did Abraham have no basis at all for pride? Paul gives us the reason in verse three:
"For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
Here Paul answers his question by quoting what Moses records in Genesis 15:6. What does it mean when it says that faith was counted unto Abraham for righteousness? That word “counted” means “to put on one’s account.” So when Abraham believed God, righteousness was placed on his account.
Most people today have a bank account. Let’s pretend you have a car payment that automatically comes out of your account at the end of each month. But at the end of this month you have only five dollars in your account, and the car payment is four hundred dollars. That means that you’re in trouble. You don’t have enough money to pay for your car. But let’s say someone heard of your need and gave you four hundred dollars to deposit in your account. You now have the necessary amount of money in your account to make you car payment.
The reason why God placed righteousness on Abraham’s account was because Abraham’s righteousness was not enough to save him. Just like your friend would bail you out because you don’t have enough money for your car payment in your account.
For God to place righteousness on a person’s account is justification. Justification is the act of God whereby He acquits a believer of the verdict of condemnation and declares him to be righteous.
Why did God declare Abraham to be righteous? Paul says it was not the result of Abraham’s works. If that was the case then it would be something he earned and had reason to boast about. Abraham was saved when he believed God. He was saved by faith.
This fact is clearly stated in verse five:
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
II. SALVATION IS DEMONSTRATED BY WORKS (James 2:14-26).
In order to properly understand this passage, two significant facts should be observed:
1. Look at verse 14. James does not state that the hypothetical person “has” faith, but merely says that he has faith. This is professing faith. It is phony and counterfeit. Paul refers to the same idea when he says in 1 Corinthians 15:2, “. . . unless ye have believed in vain.”
2. The question, “can faith save him?” is misleading in the King James Version because it gives the wrong impression. James is not asking about faith in general, but that type of faith which one has who makes claims without providing evidence with his life that those claims are true. If we looked at the original Greek, we would see that James is saying, “Can that faith save him?”
Here’s how The New Testament in Modern English puts it:
"Now what use is it, my brothers, for a man to say he ’has faith’ if his actions do not correspond with it? Could that sort of faith save anyone’s soul?"
A. What real faith is not (vv. 15-19).
1. Real faith is not empty words (vv. 15-18). Pious cliches and Christian talk are not the evidence of saving faith. There must be a vocation to go along with the vocabulary. You can be very pious and say to an individual, “Brother, I will pray for you, and I know the Lord will provide.” But why not do something about your brother’s need and do the providing.
2. Real faith is not merely believing in God (v. 19). Lip service is not the evidence of saving faith—even the demons believe.
B. Examples of real faith (vv. 21-26).
1. The example of Abraham (vv. 21-24)
Like Paul, James uses the example of Abraham. But does James contradict Paul in verse 21? James writes,
"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?"
Remember that Paul stated,
". . . Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3).
Was Abraham justified by faith or by works?
Paul was very clear with his words in Romans 3:20:
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall be no flesh justified in his sight."
A key to making sense of this can be found if we look at Paul’s references to God in the book of Romans: “in his sight” (3:20) plus “before God” (4:2). In Romans, Paul deals with man before God. God knows whether or not we are truly saved because He knows our heart. Man, however, does not have that ability. We sometimes can be fooled by a person’s claim of faith, and that is why James puts an emphasis on works. He deals with man before others. The best evidence we can give to others to prove that we are saved is our works.
With this in mind, Abraham’s justification in Romans 4:3 was God’s verdict; while his justification in James 2:21 consisted of man’s verdict.
Further evidence of this can be found if we look back at Genesis 15:5-6.
"And he [God] brought him [Abraham] forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
This is the passage the Paul quotes from. James, though, says that Abraham was justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar. This event is recorded in Genesis 22. Notice that Abraham’s justification by faith occurred before his justification by works. At the time recorded in Genesis 15, Abraham was 85 years old; but in Genesis 22, he was 132. So the two events are separated by 47 years. In Genesis 15 Abraham was justified before God, and in Genesis 22 others saw evidence that he was justified.
Did Abraham offer his son Isaac? The answer is: No, he didn’t. Then what was Abraham’s work of faith? His faith caused him to lift that knife to do a thing which he did not believe God would ever ask him to do. But since God had asked him, he was willing to do it. He believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham never actually offered Isaac, because God provided a substitute, but he would have done it if God had not stopped him. Abraham’s actions demonstrated his faith.
2. The example of Rahab (v.25)
James writes that Rahab was justified by works when she received the Israelite spies and sent them out another way.
When was Rahab saved? We are given an idea in Joshua 2:10-11:
"For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Ammorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath."
These were Rahab’s words to the spies before she helped them escape. It would seem from the way she talked about God that she had already put her faith in Him. If so, that would explain why she was willing to help the two spies. So we see that her justification by faith occurred before her justification by works. Her actions demonstrated her inner faith.
Look at verse 26. The word “spirit” may also be translated “breath.” As a breathless body shows no indication of life, so faith without works exhibits nothing more than hypocrisy Sometimes, though, a breathless body is still alive. Example: people buried alive. This is how the legends of vampires started—the living dead. We could describe some Christians as “the living dead.”
We are not saved by the cooperation of faith and works, but faith finds its channel of expression in works.
As John Calvin put it, “Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone.”
III. SALVATIONS IS FOREVER BY GRACE (Romans 4:6-8).
The reason why we are saved by faith and not by works is because there are only two principles by which God deals with people—grace and law.
A. Grace
According to the principle of grace, God deals favorably with people in a way they do not deserve. Throughout human history God has saved people by His grace.
"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" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
B. Law
The only other principle by which God can deal with people is law. This principle requires God to deal with people in a way the deserve. Since sinners deserve death and hell, they cannot be delivered from this penalty by this principle.
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Galatians 2:16).
The spiritual blindness of the unsaved in evident in that all their religions teach that people are saved by their works, the very principle which bars them from acceptance with God. No one can ever be saved from his sins apart from God’s grace.
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth no in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith" (Galatians 3:10-11).
There is another distinction between Romans 4 and James 2: the works of Romans 4 are the works of the law and the works of James 2 are the works of faith.
The works of the law do not save. James agrees with Paul when he wrote,
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).
The works of faith also do not save, but they demonstrate the reality of our faith.
So if God dealt with us in a way which we deserved, no one would be saved. But God deals with us by grace if we come to Him by faith.
It is the principle of grace that guarantees the eternal security of our salvation. Most Christians agree that we are saved by grace through faith—that salvation is a gift from God that we do not deserve. But for some reason, some people think that this changes following salvation—that we can lose our salvation because of our sin. If that were true, God would stop dealing with us by grace and start dealing with us by law. That would mean that no one could keep their salvation, because none of us deserve to keep it—we all sin.
The life of David is a good example of the security of a believer. Turn back to Romans 4.
The example of David is significant because in his case there is no question of salvation by works.
This is because David deliberately committed some terrible sins:
1. Adultery (2 Samuel 11:1-5),
2. Murder (2 Samuel 11:14-17).
At this point in David’s life he was already saved. Did he lose his salvation because of these great sins? No.
Look at Psalm 51:
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit" (vv. 10-12).
David wrote this Psalm after he had committed the sins of murder and adultery. Notice that he asked God to restore unto him the joy of salvation. He didn’t ask for his salvation back. He asked to have the joy back—the joy that comes with true fellowship with God. Unconfessed sin breaks that fellowship a believer enjoys with God because sin separates us from God. So the joy was lost, not David’s salvation.
In Psalm 32 David writes of both the blessedness of the one whose sins are forgiven and the miserableness of the one whose sins are unconfessed. David had experienced both of these emotions.
"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah." (Psalm 32:1-5).
You probably noticed that Paul quotes part of this Psalm in Romans chapter four. The word “imputeth” in verse in Romans 4:6 has the same meaning as “counted” in verse three. David was thankful that his salvation did not depend on his own behavior—that “God imputeth righteousness without works.” David didn’t have to work to keep his salvation. His salvation was by grace through faith.
David was a murderer, and you may be aware that John wrote in 1 John 3:15,
"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
John was talking about those who persist in this sin—those whose lives can be characterized by this sin. A Christian who has eternal life within him will not persist in this sin. We see this in David’s life. Yes, he did commit murder, but he did not continue in this sin. He was grieved because of it. He lost the joy of his salvation. And he finally confessed it to God.
What people fail to realize is that salvation is by grace from start to finish. We didn’t earn it to receive it, and we don’t earn the right to keep it. It is always something we don’t deserve.
Some make the argument, “If a Christian will keep his salvation no matter what, then that is an excuse to sin.” Paul confronted this thinking in Romans 6:1-2. Let me read how The New Living Translation puts these verses:
"Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?"
We can make three conclusions based on Romans 4:1-8 and James 2:14-26:
1. SALVATION IS RECEIVED BY FAITH (Abraham).
2. SALVATION IS DEMONSTRATED BY WORKS (Abraham and Rahab).
3. SALVATION IS FOREVER BY GRACE (David).
From these three conclusions we can make three applications:
1. If you’re trusting in your good works to save you, you can’t be saved.
2. If you say you have been saved, live like you have been saved.
3. If you’re living in fear, wondering if you’re saved or not, stop.
