James and Paul: Are They At Odds With Each Other?

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Since the Reformation in the 16^th Century the teachings of the Apostle Paul and the Elder James have often been portrayed as being at odds with each other. Much time is spent by theologians and New Testament scholars trying to conclude whether there is a real conflict between the writings of these leaders or not.

It seems to me that there is not really a conflict present, but the topic of faith is approached from a different perspective. This is probably because the supposedly contradictory pieces of writing are addressing different audience needs at the time of their writing. Meaning that the focus of the authors’ messages shift in order to highlight the needs they are addressing. This happens even within Paul’s own New Testament writings, so it is not really surprising that this happens between two different New Testament authors.

We should acknowledge that there is much more of Paul’s writing recorded in the New Testament and so we hear his perspective on many more issues than we do that of James. This is part of the reason why it seems a bit impetuous to judge James and Paul’s writings as being at odds when there is so little of James’ writing to be able to compare with Paul’s. Certainly there seems adequate other examples within Paul’s work of his being in agreement with James on the importance of good works by professing Christians, even if he does not use always these labels. Paul then, unlike James, has much more opportunity to address the fact that salvation is not through works simply because of the volume of his writings available to us. Because of this we are able to see that Paul’s own good works are his way of expressing gratitude to God for the graceful salvation provided through Jesus Christ. Paul’s works, like the traditions of his Jewish heritage, are a response to God’s grace.

James also saw good works as a way of living out God’s grace, and as such he concludes that these grace inspired works are the evidence that a person is living in Christ. The problem seems to arise though in the assumption that James is addressing salvation when he discusses works. It is true that our modern English translations record him using the phrase, “Can such faith save them?” (James 2:14b). The NIV’s wording here is important, because it uses the word ‘such’. It refers back to what James as described previously, that is a person who claims to know Jesus Christ, but does not act like it at all. To James, and Paul is very likely to agree with James on this: this was not the mark of genuine salvation. So a careful reading of the context shows that this then is likely a remark which is almost sarcastic, and is possibly even a comment made in exasperation with people who are not serious at all about the sacrifice Jesus Christ had made for them yet they are quite happy to pretend they are. If this comment had been written in English when first recorded we would probably have put the word ‘faith’ in parentheses to show that James is not referring to genuine faith, but instead to the person’s own imitation ‘faith’. “…such faith…” then is not the same as the faith that James and Paul are both so passionate about people receiving and both James and Paul show a real lack of tolerance for people who display this imitation ‘faith’. And so James’ letter is most likely not discussing works as a way to salvation, but is instead addressing how Christians should live as representatives of Christ after their salvation experience.

Historical studies show us that James was probably writing his letter before Paul’s work was recorded. James, who was more than likely the brother of Jesus Christ was older than Paul and they may not have met till after James had written this letter. They were addressing different congregations, however, both authors may have had reason to believe their letters would be read widely by early believers. While the initial audiences’ locations and circumstances likely differed they would also have have had some similarities, such as general persecution and unsettlement. James’ introduction to his letter makes it clear that his audience had been scattered in different directions. It is most likely that they had been forced to leave their homes  because of religious persecution.

Both writers themselves had lived through persecution of the early church as ministers of the Gospel, and so they were personally aware of the problems their audiences were facing. Paul seems to have more geographical spread to his personal experience through his itinerant ministry, while James is more likely to be centred in Jerusalem at the time of his writing and possibly was not so well travelled as Paul. Both leaders though would have reacted to the circumstances each other was speaking to, and probably would have understood each others’ message even better than we give them credit for now. Certainly they appear to have arrived at a unity of message in the small number of meetings alluded to by Paul in the New Testament record. This doesn’t guarantee us that they would have agreed with each others’ arguments completely, but it does suggest that their differences are not so dividing as history sometimes declares. Douglas Moo points out there is a possibility that if James had written his letter after talking with Paul he may have been more specific about the salvation issue than he is, but then he also may not have been, because that was likely not the purpose or focus of his letter (2000, The Letter of James). Either way it is an interesting thought and should remind us to approach any apparent differences between Paul and James with humility on our part in recognition that we are unlikely to be fully correct about this matter when looking from our present day perspective.

Paul is famous for declaring that our salvation is through faith in Christ; “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:4-10).

James, on the other hand, is famous for declaring that faith without works is dead; “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder” (James 2:14-19).

We have already noted above that James’ phrase asking if “…such faith…” can save a person is very likely sarcastic and said with more than a little exasperation on the author’s part regarding what we could call an imitation faith. We have also noted that James’ is more focused on what Christian living looks like after salvation, however we will see that he is also providing his readers with a criteria for making a judgement of what genuine faith looks like.

The question for us here then is , ‘Are these two New Testament writers’ statements really in conflict with each other?’

Well, first lets acknowledge that Paul in the verse above, and other related verses, is very directly discussing the issue of salvation from sin. He is pointing out that no matter how many good works you or I do, they are not how we get into Heaven. Jesus Christ is the only way to eternity and so believing in him is the essence of salvation. Paul is at pains to stress the unequivocal nature of this, there is no other requirement for entry into eternity with the Father than to submit to, and accept, the grace of God shown through his only son Jesus Christ. This process is what Paul refers to as faith in Christ. I understand that theological discussions get very heavy around the difference between terms such as justification, sanctification, works of the law vs. deeds of action, etc. at this point, but ultimately we are talking here about entry into the kingdom of God.

James on the other hand is urging that the evidence of this salvation is the way a believer lives their life after entering into the Christian faith. He sees a Christian’s life as full of good works which bring glory to God by serving the needs of others.

To see a conflict here is perhaps to read too much into what James is saying in these short paragraphs of what are also relatively short writings, and to not read enough into what Paul demonstrates for us through the entire course of the ministry which followed his conversion to Christianity. In fact it is someways to miss the last part of the quote from Paul above, which says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

There is also a verse in James which is often overlooked as well, which could be the hinge between James’ theology and Paul’s when it comes to works. This verse says, “…do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?” (James 4:5). The correct interpretation of the word πνεῦμα (pneuma) in this verse is debated by scholars. The primary options are: God, the Holy Spirit, or the spirit of the person themselves. If πνεῦμα is indeed referring to either God, or his Holy Spirit than, in this verse at least, it seems more than likely that James is referring to people who already have the Spirit of God living within them. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is something that occurs after the accepting of Christ as Saviour. If this is the correct translation then James is not arguing our salvation, he is instead telling us how we should live as the blessed and grateful recipients of that salvation. On the other hand, if the word πνεῦμα is referring to the spirit of the person themselves, there would be a logical case for the longing of God, expressed through his grace, being the reason people can return to him. This jealousy would not wait for us to perform works in order to accept us, it would take its opportunity the moment a person’s heart turned towards the divine nature of God. Remember God so jealousy longed for our return to him that he was prepared to utilise the drastic means of sending his only Son to the cross to provide a way for that to happen. If this line of thinking is correct it also adds more weight to the argument that James does not believe that works are how people are saved, instead they are saved by the grace that was itself propelled by the powerful longing of God. These options rely on a specific translation and therefore are not strongly evidenced, but neither is any argument that James see salvation as being work based, because these arguments are drawn from inference and potential translations of ancient writings into a modern context and this process can be misleading.

Much clearer though is how Paul thinks that those who have received salvation should live. Remember, we are talking about after receiving salvation through faith. Well, the evidence from Paul own’s writing is that he appears to agree with James on how a Christian should live. In fact it is Paul himself who lists for us the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter 5 that he suggests believers seek to display in our lives. And it is Paul who says, “Do not work only for your own good. Think of what you can do for others” (1 Corinthians 10:24). Even more conclusively Paul passionately says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:7-10).

This is indeed how Paul lived his own life, laying it down, facing persecution, and all manner of hardships in order to declare the Gospel of Christ to the ancient world. The fact is that Paul, by his very ministry, lives out the message James is trying to give us. James, does not at any point disagree that salvation is not by faith in Christ, but he does want Christians to behave like followers of Christ. Interestingly, outside of the Gospels the book of James more closely reflects Jesus’ own teachings than any other book of the Bible. James, as Jesus brother, knew what the evidence of Jesus’ impact was in people’s lives, when they had been genuinely touched by the Messiah, and so he encourages them to let that evidence be clear to all.

In their writings both James and Paul discuss what the life of a Christ follower looks like in practice and what the evidence of being a Christian is. Neither author discusses this in an attempt to void anyone’s salvation, but they both discuss it so that people can judge for themselves how they should live. And, they also, though we may not like to hear it, discuss it so that people can have some idea of whether the people around them are in fact Christ followers.

This point may be alien to us today, but it was hugely important for the ancient church to whom James and Paul wrote. Facing persecution of all sorts for their faith the church needed to be able to tell who was genuinely of their number and who wasn’t. Seekers for the truth were accepted, but those who claimed to be Christian already, yet did not have evidence of this could be spies or worse, sent to harm the church and its people. I am sure the underground church today in many countries can relate to this.

Another situation that both James and Paul were aware they needed to collectively avoid, as leaders in the early church, was the polytheistic religions of the day consuming the young Christ faith by simply adding Jesus Christ to their lists of acceptable gods. If this was to happen the truth of Christianity would be lost. Instead of Jesus being recognised as the Son of God and the only way to return to the Father who created humanity, the Messiah would become just another religious icon among many. The most precious gift the world had ever received would become yet another excuse for bad behaviour, like so many of the ancient gods of Greece and Rome were. Ultimately it was dangerous to humanity for Christ’s name to be added to the ancient pantheon of false gods because it would enforce the belief that the end result of salvation (that of life beyond death) was taken care of for the polytheist by simply adding Jesus to the list of gods they already worshipped. Both Paul and James were equally at pains to avoid this, because they knew that our Lord was not like the other gods of the ancient world, he didn’t come to condone sin and provide fulfilment of wicked desires. Christ came to provide a way to conquer the penalty of sin. He was far more than the temporary reprieves that temple sacrifices brought from sin, he was the complete answer to the problem of overcoming sin eternally.

Seeing the agreement between James and Paul requires of us some humility, for we must admit that while we have been saved by our faith in Christ we are not yet perfected, because perfection is only found in the eternal presence of the Father. Even though the Holy Spirit lives within us and is prepared to guide us, we have to acknowledge his presence and accept his guidance for it to change our earthly lives and benefit those around us. We are on the way to eternity, we have been assured of entry into the Father’s presence by our acceptance of the grace found at the cross. But we are of little benefit to those around us if we are not humble enough to acknowledge that, “We are allowed to do anything, but not everything is good for us to do. We are allowed to do anything, but not all things help us grow strong as Christians” (1 Corinthians 10:23, New Living Translation). Paul wrote those words, but James would certainly agree with them.

                                                                                                    

References:

Bauckham, R. James, Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eds. James D.G. Dunn and John W. Rogerson. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.)

Bruce, F.F. The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, NICNT. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984).

Bruce, F.F. The Epistle to the Galatians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC-13. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982).

Davids, P.H. The Epistle of James: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC-13. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982.)

Fee, G. D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014).

Fung, R.Y.K. The Epistle to the Galatians, NICNT. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988).

Lincoln, A.T. Ephesians, WBC 42. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990).

Longenecker, R.N. Galatians, WBC 41. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990).

Marshall, I.H. Ephesians, Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eds. James D.G. Dunn and John W. Rogerson. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003).

Martin, R.P. James, WBC 48. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988.)

Moo, D.J. The Letter of James, PNTC. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.)