James 2:24
Bible verses · Also called: James 2:24, By works a man is justified, Not by faith only, Faith without works is dead, Jas 2:24
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Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
The text is the New Korean Revised Version (1998), shown under a licence from the Korean Bible Society. Wording may differ slightly from the Korean Revised Version and the Revised New Korean Standard Version. Read in the Korean Revised Version
James 2:24 reads, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." Because it appears to conflict with Paul's teaching of justification by faith alone, it has been a central text in the debate over justification between Protestants and Roman Catholics since the Reformation, as well as within Protestantism itself.
Context
The Epistle of James 2:14–26 takes up the question of whether faith without works can save a person. James says that a faith that merely tells a naked and hungry brother, "Depart in peace," is useless, and he observes that "the devils also believe, and tremble" that there is one God (2:19). He then cites Abraham's offering of Isaac (Genesis 22) and the harlot Rahab's hiding of the spies as examples, saying that faith worked together with works and was made perfect by works. Verse 24 is the conclusion of this argument.
Interpretation
- Mainstream Protestant reading: Paul and James are seen as answering different questions. Paul addresses how a person is declared righteous before God and excludes the works of the law (Romans 3:28), while James addresses what true faith looks like and rejects a faith that exists only on the lips. Many interpreters hold that James's "justified" means that a righteousness already received is displayed and demonstrated before others. On this view, works are not the cause of salvation but the fruit of genuine faith.
- Roman Catholic reading: On the basis of this verse, among others, the Council of Trent taught that justification begins with faith but grows and is preserved through good works performed in grace. The Catholic Church does not accept the formula "faith alone."
- The same Abraham, different scenes: Paul cites Genesis 15 (Abraham believed, and it was counted to him for righteousness), while James cites Genesis 22 (the offering of Isaac). Protestants explain that the earlier event was Abraham's justification and the later one the proof of that faith.
Debates and Issues
In the preface to his 1522 German New Testament, Martin Luther called James "an epistle of straw" in comparison with other books, a remark that is still frequently quoted. Luther did not, however, remove James from the Bible. Today, Protestant scholars associated with the New Perspective on Paul argue that the "works of the law" Paul rejected were not good deeds in general but Jewish identity markers such as circumcision and the dietary laws, further narrowing the distance between the two apostles. In Korean churches, this verse is often cited amid self-examination over concerns that a view of salvation summed up as "just believe" has led to the neglect of ethical living.
Related Passages
- Romans 3:28
- Romans 4:1–5
- Galatians 5:6
- Ephesians 2:8–10
See also 6
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