Is Justification by Faith Alone or by Faith and Works?
Introduction: A Question That Has Divided and Defined Christianity
One of the most persistent and defining controversies in Christianity centers on an apparent contradiction between two prominent scripture writers: Paul, the author of Romans, and James, the author of the epistle that bears his name. Both appeal to the same Old Testament patriarch, Abraham, and both quote the identical verse from Genesis 15:6: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” Yet they draw strikingly different conclusions about how Abraham was justified.
Paul writes in Romans 4:2-5:
“For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
James says something entirely different in James 2:21-24:
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
Paul says “not by works.” James says “by works.” Paul emphasizes faith alone. James insists “not by faith only.” To the casual reader, this looks like a flat contradiction. To the theologian determined to force the entire Bible into a single, seamless system, it creates a serious headache. But to the Bible student who is willing to “study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2Ti 2:15), this tension is not a problem to be solved by redefinition or dismissal. It is the key that unlocks the distinction between God’s prophetic program for Israel and the mystery program for the Body of Christ.
Why This Question Matters
Justification is not abstract theology. It is the answer to the most important question a human being can ask: How can a guilty sinner be declared righteous before a holy God and receive eternal life? Getting this wrong means trusting a false gospel. If we misunderstand justification, there is a real danger that we have trusted the wrong message for salvation. It is not optional, it is essential.
Historically, the tension between these passages has been so strong that Martin Luther famously called James “an epistle of straw” because he could not reconcile James with Paul when both were taken at face value (Luther). Many believers feel pressured to “choose” one passage over the other, reinterpret one until it no longer says what it plainly says, or appeal to contrived Greek technicalities that the average reader cannot verify, supposedly making the problem “disappear.”
These approaches ultimately result in “handling the word of God deceitfully” (2Co 4:2) or privately interpreting the Bible to fit a previously held idea (2Pe 1:20). The better way is to let God be true and every man a liar (Rom 3:4), and to allow the Bible to speak literally in its proper context.
The Essential Tool: Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
The Bible is not a flat, timeless book of disconnected promises and rules. It is the progressive revelation of God’s will across different administrations, or dispensations. God’s instructions have changed over time as He has revealed more of His plan, even though God Himself does not change. Faith has always meant believing what God says at any given time, but the content of what God requires people to believe has not always been the same. The person who believed God’s instructions concerning salvation would be counted righteous at any time (Rom 1:17).
There is a reason we do not need to go to a temple and sacrifice animals to atone for our sins today, even though that was a clear instruction in the Bible for Israel under the law. However, we do not pick and choose instructions arbitrarily, as if the Bible has no order and is merely a buffet from which we can select our favorite promises, blessings, and instructions. It is not a book of convenient catch phrases either, but rather the progressive revelation of God: showing who God is, what has happened in the past, what He is doing in the present, and what will happen in the future.
A simple illustration to show God’s changing instruction is dietary law. In the garden, Adam and Eve were told to eat herbs and fruit (Gen 1:29-30). After the flood, Noah could eat every moving thing, with the blood drained (Gen 9:2-4). Under the Mosaic Law, Israel received detailed clean and unclean distinctions for different animals (Lev 11). Today, “every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused” (1Ti 4:4) and what was once God’s instruction, to abstain from certain meats, is now called a doctrine of devils (1Ti 4:1). Why? Because God has revealed new instructions that supersede the old ones. Not many accuse the Bible of contradiction here because we instinctively recognize progressive revelation and changing instructions within a topic, where context matters.
While the example of food is easy to see, the same principle applies to important topics like justification too, but it generates more controversy because of the gravity of justification. When we rightly divide the context (asking who is speaking, to whom, about what, and whether later revelation has superseded earlier instructions) both Romans 4 and James 2 can be believed exactly as written, without compromise or redefinition.
Romans 4: Justification by Faith Alone
In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul writes to the saints in Rome, members of the Body of Christ, where there is no longer Jew or Gentile distinction (Rom 1:7; 12:4-5; Gal 3:28). In the chapters leading up to Romans 4, he establishes that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23), and that we are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). Righteousness comes “by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom 3:28) and is received by faith alone in the blood sacrifice of Jesus for our sins (Rom 3:25-26).
Then, in Romans 4:1-5, Paul uses Abraham as the prime example of faith alone justification:
“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
This occurred in Genesis 15:1-6, when Abram (still uncircumcised, childless, and under no law) simply believed God’s unconditional promise that his seed would be as numerous as the stars. No ritual, no sacrifice, and no works were required. God declared him righteous on the basis of belief alone.
Paul returns to this in Romans 4:18-25, applying it directly to us:
“Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
For members of the Body of Christ today, justification follows the Genesis 15 pattern of faith alone, even though the content of belief differs: faith in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as the complete payment for our sins. Works are excluded. Boasting is removed. Righteousness is imputed freely by grace. This is the gospel of the grace of God committed to Paul (1Co 15:1-4, 9:17; Acts 20:24; Rom 16:25-26; Eph 2:8-9, 3:1-10; 1Ti 1:11-16).
Under grace today, we obey (comply with the instruction) God’s command about salvation by believing the gospel alone can save us without our works (Rom 6:17, 16:25-26).
James 2: Justification by Faith and Works
James addresses an entirely different audience: “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (Jas 1:1). These are believing Jews, part of the “little flock” (Luk 12:32) that continued under the prophetic kingdom program after Pentecost (Acts 2) and were scattered after the stoning of Stephen (Acts 8:1). They had believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, but they operated under the gospel of the kingdom: the gospel of the circumcision committed to Peter and the Twelve as witnessed in Galatians 2:6-9:
“But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”
This distinction explains the scene in Acts 21:18-22, where James and the elders in Jerusalem expressed concern that Paul was teaching Jews among the Gentiles to forsake the Law of Moses. James could later boast of believing Jews who were “zealous of the law” (Acts 21:20), even while Paul clearly taught that believers today are “not under the law, but under grace” (Rom 6:14). The Jewish believers James addressed remained zealous for the Law, consistent with the prophetic kingdom program.
In the kingdom program, Israel’s new covenant did not abolish the Law, but wrote a changed law on their hearts (Heb 7:12, 8:10-13; 10:16-17), and obedience to God’s commands remained inseparably tied to their justification and inheritance in the coming kingdom.
James 2:14 begins with a direct question about salvation:
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”
He continues:
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” - James 2:17-20
Then he turns to Abraham, but pointing to Genesis 22 as a fulfillment of Genesis 15:
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only… For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:21-24, 26)
In James’ context, faith that does not produce obedience to God’s revealed commands is dead faith. Under the kingdom program, the instructions for justification included both believing Jesus is the Christ and demonstrating that faith through works Jesus required for them, such as water baptism (Mrk 16:16; Acts 2:38), law-keeping, and endurance (Mat 5:17-19; 7:21; 24:13). Abraham’s earlier faith (Gen 15) was “fulfilled” and “made perfect” by his later obedience (Gen 22). The declaration of righteousness was validated by corresponding action.
Think of it this way: If God says, “Run a mile and I will give you salvation,” but you never run the mile, did you truly believe what God said? No, because the instruction itself included a work. Merely saying “I believe God will save me if I run a mile” cannot save you if you refuse to obey the command. It is not that running the mile makes you good or earns salvation; rather, God judges the reality of your belief in His revealed instruction, and that belief is manifested by the obedience He required. Because the instruction contained a work, God deems the obedient faith righteous.
This is the essence of James. He was operating and instructing under a covenant system given to Israel, which required works and law-adherence for justification and life in the kingdom program. That is why he repeatedly emphasizes obeying and being judged by the “law of liberty” (Jas 2:12, 1:25) and calls believers to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only” (Jas 1:22-25), enduring in the law that brings liberty under their dispensation. For the twelve tribes scattered abroad, faith without the corresponding works God commanded and required was dead and could not save.
Abraham Justified Twice: Two Patterns, One Patriarch
The key to reconciling Romans 4 and James 2 lies in recognizing that Abraham was justified on two distinct occasions because God gave him different instructions at different times in his long life. This truth can be difficult for many to accept, because our justification today happens once and for all the moment we believe the gospel, but it is exactly what the Bible plainly states when read literally in context.
In Genesis 15, Abram (still uncircumcised, with Isaac not yet born) received an unconditional promise from God that his seed would be as numerous as the stars. He believed God, “and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen 15:6). Righteousness was imputed the moment he believed, without any works. Paul appeals to this precise event as the pattern for justification in the Dispensation of Grace, applying it directly to believers today: “Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom 4:23-24).
Decades later, in Genesis 22, Abraham (now circumcised under the conditional covenant of Genesis 17) received a new, direct command from God to offer his son Isaac upon the altar. He obeyed and his faith was “made perfect” (completed and not defective) by his works (Jas 2:22). This does not mean his earlier justification in Genesis 15 was insufficient or cancelled. Rather, he had already believed God and received righteousness by faith alone; circumcision later served as “a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised” (Rom 4:11).
In Genesis 22, God tested him with a new instruction that required obedience. Abraham’s faithful response demonstrated the reality of his belief in God’s instruction at that moment, and James points to this obedience as the pattern for justification under Israel’s prophetic kingdom program.
Genesis 15 was “fulfilled” in Genesis 22 not because the first imputation of righteousness was lacking, but because God gave Abraham a new command in a later stage of His progressive revelation, and Abraham responded in obedient faith. In Israel’s program, faith was validated and brought to completion through corresponding action to the later instructions God revealed.
God, in His manifold wisdom, used Abraham’s life to model both programs. In the prophetic program for Israel, faith required subsequent obedience to be valid and saving because the instructions for salvation included works. In the mystery program for the Body of Christ, Christ has already fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the Law, and we are justified the moment we believe the gospel of grace, apart from works (Rom 4:5, 5:1-2; Eph 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7).
Common Alternative Views and Why They Fall Short
Because traditional theology fails to distinguish between the prophetic kingdom program for Israel and the mystery program for the Body of Christ, it often results in explanations from one of three popular systems of thought in order to reconcile Romans 4 and James 2. These approaches typically redefine words, ignore context, or blend dispensations, ultimately compromising the plain meaning of the passages.
In this section, let’s look at these common views, using their own quotations and sources, so we can see how they fall short when compared to the rightly divided Bible. While nuances exist from individuals within each view, this section will attempt to showcase what is generally understood as the position within each school of thought. For each view, we will examine the position itself, who typically holds it, why the view exists, and its key problems.
The “Justification Before God” vs. “Justification Before Men” View
One widely held explanation is that Paul and James use the word “justify” in two different senses, but both passages concern Christians today. Paul refers to legal justification, a believer's standing before God received by faith alone, while James refers to demonstrative justification, how faith is shown or proven to other people through works.
In this interpretation, James is not saying works contribute to salvation; rather, he means works demonstrate to others that one's faith is genuine and that works are a necessary byproduct of salvation. For example, James 2:18 is emphasized: “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” Abraham's offering of Isaac in Genesis 22 is seen as proving his faith to others, not as part of being right with God.
This view is popular among mainstream evangelicals, many Baptists, moderate Calvinists, and even some Acts 2 (classical) dispensationalists, and is often presented as the standard “Sunday School” answer to avoid apparent contradictions between the passages.
Norman Geisler, in his popular volume Systematic Theology, makes the claim that while good works do not flow automatically from saving faith, they flow naturally, like heat from a fire or buds from a living bush. The size of the fire or bush must be cultivated, but even when believers don’t, there’s still a small fire or unbloomed buds present.[1] In his book, When Critics Ask, he writes “Paul is referring to justification before God, while James is referring to justification before men.”[2]
Geisler also quotes classical dispensationalist Charles Ryrie: “Every Christian will bear fruit...Otherwise he or she is not a true believer... Fruit, then, furnishes evidence of saving faith. The evidence may be strong or weak, erratic or regular, visible or not, but a saving faith works.”[3]
While Geisler acknowledges that saints still falter, he argues the common mantra that faith is the root, but works are the fruit, meaning that at some point in a believer's life, good works are produced as the fruit of salvation. This is a “softer” position than Lordship Salvation, which we'll cover later, but it conveys a similar point: a saint will perform good works (at least some) as a result of faith in the gospel of Christ.
This view exists for many as a way to seek a safe middle ground, allowing defenders of sola fide (faith alone) to uphold Paul's teaching against works-based systems like Catholicism, while still making James relevant to Christian living and showing works as a natural byproduct of faith. It attempts to harmonize the Bible passages without rejecting any part, but it does so by redefining terms rather than recognizing different dispensational context or audiences.
Yet this explanation falls short in several ways. It ignores the plain text: James 2:14 explicitly asks, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” The context is clearly salvation and being right with God, not merely reputation or proof to others. It also ignores the biblical definition of “justify” in the context: when James says Abraham was “justified by works” (Jas 2:21), he cites Genesis 22, where God, not others, was the one testing and affirming Abraham and the result was the fulfillment of Genesis 15:6, righteousness from God imputed upon him by faith (Jas 2:23).
While one can appreciate the effort to hold fast to the Pauline pattern of faith alone in Romans 4, and while the word justify does indeed have multiple meanings depending on the context, we do not need to redefine “justify” with a meaning that does not fit the context in order to understand this passage. Abraham was literally justified twice, in line with God's changing instructions.
Finally, this view ignores the kingdom context: James writes to the “twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (Jas 1:1). In Israel's prophetic kingdom program (as seen in Matthew through early Acts and the Hebrew epistles), faith and works were required for justification and life (Deu 6:24-25; Ezk 18:5-9). By reducing it to “before men,” this view confuses the Body of Christ with Israel and robs the nation of its specific covenant requirements, where obedience, from a heart of faith in the received instructions, was inseparably tied to righteousness.
The “Lordship Salvation” View of Justification
Another common approach is from the “Lordship Salvation” theological view, popular among many in Reformed theology circles. This position argues that genuine saving faith inevitably and automatically produces good works as its necessary fruit.
The well-known mantra is: “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” Proponents claim James describes the nature of “true” faith: if there are no works, the faith was “spurious” or false from the start. This often includes the idea that “Christ must be Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all,” turning true salvation into a commitment to surrender every aspect of life to Christ. It leads to “fruit inspection,” where believers judge salvation based on visible obedience and continual repentance, and “living in sin” or “continually sinning” are seen as proof someone was “never saved to begin with.” Additionally, the position rejects the idea that one can be a “carnal Christian” who exhibits no visible fruit, identifying them as “lukewarm”.
This view is held by many Reformed theologians and “strong Calvinists” such as R.C. Sproul and John Piper, many Presbyterians, and “Lordship Salvation” proponents like John MacArthur.
R.C. Sproul writes, “The Reformed had always emphasized that Spirit-wrought good works are the necessary evidence that one possesses saving faith in Christ. These good works are not the basis of salvation, which is Christ alone, but if one does not have them at all, one has not really trusted in Jesus alone…Good works are not necessary for us to earn our justification. They are never the ground basis of our justification. They are necessary in another more restricted sense. They are necessary corollaries to true faith. If a person claims to have faith yet brings no fruit of obedience whatsoever, it is proof positive that the claim to faith is a false claim. True faith inevitably and necessarily bears fruit. The absence of fruit indicates the absence of faith. We are not justified by the fruit of our faith. We are justified by the fruit of Christ’s merit. We receive His merit only by faith. But it is only by true faith that we receive His merit. And all true faith yields true fruit.”[4]
John Piper states, “Salvation is by grace through faith. But saving faith is no fruitless mental assent to gospel facts.”[5]
John MacArthur writes, “Faith demands unconditional surrender to Jesus as Lord ... Surrender to Jesus’ lordship is not an addendum to the biblical terms of salvation; the summons to submission is at the heart of the gospel invitation throughout Scripture…Real faith inevitably produces a changed life ... Behavior is an important test of faith; obedience evidences reality, unwillingness to obey indicates no true faith.”[6]
This view often exists to combat what is deemed “cheap grace” or antinomianism (lawlessness), where people might claim salvation by faith alone and then live without regard to the truth of God at all. Proponents fear that preaching grace without guaranteed works will lead to moral laxity, or deny their perceived requirement of making Jesus “Lord of your life,” so they ultimately see James 2 as a “check and balance” to enforce behavior.
While grace does not teach sinning is acceptable (Titus 2:12), the Lordship Salvation view gained traction as a direct response to dispensational theology and the “Free Grace” theological movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Lordship Salvation draws from covenantal kingdom instructions given by Jesus to Israel pertaining to fruit inspection (Mat 7:17-27), blending them with Paul's grace message to reconcile the passages. Ultimately, it makes continual, personal surrender and ongoing fruit the litmus test of salvation.
However, this perspective has serious problems. Despite claiming to strengthen assurance, it destroys assurance: no one can know with certainty if they are saved, because future performance must continually prove the previously held faith was “real.”
Common perspectives from this camp may reflect something like, “Committing the sin doesn't mean they're unsaved, but if they are unrepentant or don't eventually show remorse and turn from it, then they were never saved.” You might even encounter more extreme views, such as “A Christian simply couldn't do that.”
This ignores very clear passages where believers committed works worse than unbelievers, yet were still called saints. The Corinthians were guilty of fornication worse than the Gentiles they were around (1Co 5:1, 6:15-20), lawsuits among themselves (1Co 6:1-8), and division and carnality (1Co 3:1-3), yet Paul addresses them repeatedly as “saints” and “sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1Co 1:2). Their sins were serious and ongoing, yet Paul never questioned their salvation, he rebuked their behavior while affirming their position in Christ and used that as a motivator, not a conditional, legalistic chain.
Even more striking is 2 Timothy 2:17-19, where Paul describes Hymenaeus and Philetus, who were overthrowing the faith of others with heretical teaching about the resurrection, leading to rampant ungodliness. Paul says their word was likened to a corroding ulcer and that they had erred concerning the truth, yet he still identifies them as saved because the foundation is Christ, not their works: “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.”
They were sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption upon faith in the gospel (Eph 1:12-14), saved, and bought by Christ’s blood: regardless of their horrible doctrine and the damage it caused. As 2 Timothy 2:13 states, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” These examples show that salvation is not nullified by serious doctrinal error, moral failure, or lack of faithfulness; it is secured by Christ’s work, not our performance or repentance record.
The Lordship Salvation view, along with the different justifications view, also invites some biblically unanswerable questions: how much fruit? Who are you to decide the line of how much fruit is enough to indicate genuine salvation? If the answer is “well, God knows,” then why are you trying to inspect their fruit and determine their salvation in the first place?
You will also notice that the “line” of enough fruit is almost always set below the person who is propagating this position, creating a subjective standard that conveniently excludes the sins they see in others while excusing their own. It can very quickly lead to self-righteousness.
This perspective contradicts Romans 4:5, where Paul explicitly outlines the type of faith that saves, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Yes, we should serve the Lord out of love (2Co 5:14-15), and our service is extremely important, but our service, which can and does ebb and flow because of our flesh, is not the measure or indicator of salvation.
The content of saving faith is trust in Christ’s finished work alone. If works are the “necessary evidence” or “corollaries” of faith, they become a backdoor requirement for salvation, shifting the focus from Christ’s performance to the believer’s, even if it is stated otherwise. This disguises a “faith plus works” justification system as “faith that works.”
It mixes the programs by importing kingdom requirements like “enduring to the end” (Mat 24:13-31) from Israel’s Tribulation/Kingdom gospel and forcing them onto the Body of Christ, perverting the simplicity of the cross. It fails to distinguish salvation from service under grace: our works are important and will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2Co 5:10), but grace is not nullified by our sinful flesh (2Ti 2:13); it is already judicially crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20).
Because of our position in Christ, we should walk in newness of life (Rom 6:1-4; Eph 2:8-10; 2Co 5:14), motivated by His love, not fear of proving or keeping salvation. A proper understanding of grace, as Romans 5-8 shows, is not a license to sin, but rather an identity change based on the merits of Christ that now allows us the option to walk after the Spirit in righteousness with a transformed heart and mind, but it does not guarantee it.
People can be saved yet deceived by the world in major ways, choosing flesh over the Spirit, and too many live in ways devoid of truth and aligned with the course of this world. If we do not sow to the Spirit, we will reap corruption from the flesh (Gal 6:7-9), and our behavior and understanding will not reflect Christ and His will.
Pretending we do not “live in sin” every day misunderstands sin’s depth in the heart of man (Jer 17:9), reducing it to merely outward acts rather than the inward unrighteousness that pierces the depths of every person far more than we realize. This is precisely why we need God’s grace through faith alone: no one is righteous apart from Christ.
Our justification rests solely on Christ’s work, not on our fruit or continuance (Rom 5:1-2). The blood was sufficient independent of our works; either we trust that finished work, or we do not.
Many, if not all, of these issues in the Reformed position stem from blending Jesus’ prophetic earthly ministry to Israel with Paul’s mystery ministry to the Body of Christ, along with redefining words like “repent” as “turning from sin” instead of a change of mind, and failing to recognize that concepts such as sanctification are used in the Bible in both a positional sense (once-for-all, complete in Christ, 1Co 6:11) and a practical, service-related sense (prepared for good work, 2Ti 2:21).
The “Process” or Sacramental View of Justification
A third major approach to understanding justification is the “process” or sacramental view, held primarily by the Roman Catholic Church (with some variations in Eastern Orthodox traditions). This perspective defines justification not as a one-time legal declaration before God, but as a lifelong process of internal renewal and moral transformation.
From this viewpoint, justification begins “by grace” through water baptism (performed on infants traditionally), which they claim removes original sin and infuses initial righteousness, yet this already modifies the biblical definition of grace by incorporating a human work. It must then be preserved, increased, and finally merited through sacraments (such as the Eucharist and Penance) and personal good works.
Romans 4 is interpreted as describing the “initial” stage of entering faith, while James 2 is seen as outlining the necessary “increase” of justification required for final salvation. Works are not merely fruit but a cause of greater righteousness, redefining grace to include human cooperation and effort.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith” and “Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life”.[7] The Council of Trent explicitly curses faith alone, as it was a response historically to the Protestant Reformation. Canon 9, for example, curses anyone who says “by faith alone the impious is justified.” Canon 12 curses those who define justifying faith as mere confidence in God's mercy. Canon 24 states good works are a cause of increased justification.[8]
This view exists because it portrays salvation as a cooperative effort between God's grace and man's free will, integrating moral transformation directly into the definition of justification itself. It employs similar language of faith and grace but redefines them entirely to mandate works, such as receiving grace through water baptism, appealing to church traditions that emphasize sacraments and human merit, not the Bible. It seeks to resolve apparent tensions like James 2 by making justification progressive, thereby avoiding what it considers “easy believism” while upholding church authority through ritual and obedience.
Yet this perspective has massive problems when measured against the word of God. It redefines justification: Paul presents it as a one-time free gift “by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24), received “by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom 3:28), with righteousness imputed immediately upon belief (Rom 4:23-25, 2Co 5:21).
Turning it into a lifelong process of “increase” through works nullifies grace entirely: “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace” (Rom 11:6).
It creates a debt rather than a gift: Paul warns that “to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt” (Rom 4:4), yet this view makes God owe salvation based on human merit (even if its disguised otherwise), contradicting the gift of God “not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:9).
It confuses the believer's complete position in Christ (Col 2:10) with their practical walk, ignoring that we possess the righteousness of God immediately upon faith in the gospel and cannot improve upon God’s perfect imputed righteousness to us (Rom 3:21-28).
It denies faith alone: the Council of Trent explicitly curses the Pauline doctrine that faith alone justifies (Canon 9), placing it in direct opposition to Romans 3:28.
By requiring ongoing works to “maintain” or “increase” justification, it renders Christ's finished work insufficient. In the Body of Christ, justification is complete the moment we believe; there is no lease on salvation that can be revoked for missed “payments.”
Ironically, the Catholic Church's historical practice of indulgences created a literal “pay to play” model, alongside required works like water baptism and the Eucharist, directly contradicting grace as “not of works” (Rom 11:6; Titus 3:5). This sacramental system mixes Israel's kingdom endurance requirements with grace, producing a false “faith plus works” gospel that Paul declares accursed and has no power to save anyone (Gal 1:8-9, 3:1-13, 5:1-5).
Conclusion: Believe the Right Pattern for Today
Paul asks in Romans 4:1 what Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found. He concludes that if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For the Body of Christ today, the pattern is Genesis 15: faith alone in God's unconditional promise, with righteousness imputed the moment Abraham believed. James, writing to the twelve tribes scattered abroad, points to Genesis 22: faith perfected by obedience to God's revealed command.
All three of the alternative views we have examined, regardless of intention, ultimately fall short of the truth by misunderstanding the context of each passage. They blend dispensations, redefine clear terms to fit preconceived systems, and rob believers of the pure gospel of grace.
In contrast, right division allows both Paul and James to stand true exactly as written. The Bible does not need to be rescued from itself. Romans 4 means precisely what it says. James 2 means precisely what it says. They describe two different patterns of justification under two different programs:
To Israel under the kingdom program: Faith plus works equals life and justification (Jas 2:20-26).
To the Body of Christ in the dispensation of grace: Faith plus works equals debt and the nullification of grace (Rom 4:4; 11:6).
Today we live under the mystery program revealed from the resurrected and glorified Christ to the Apostle Paul. We are not required to offer sacrifices, keep the Mosaic Law, or prove our faith through works to be justified. We are justified the moment we trust that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: the finished work that paid our sin debt in full. This is the gospel that saves today (1Co 15:1-4).
“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:4-5
Trust the clear instructions God has given for this present dispensation of grace, and rest in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your justification before God depends not on your performance, but on His.
That is good news indeed.
Sources:
[1] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology: In One Volume (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2011), 885-86.
[2] Norman L. Geisler and Thomas A. Howe, When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1992), 528.
[3] Geisler, Systematic Theology, 886.
[4] R.C. Sproul, “Lordship Salvation,” Ligonier Ministries, https://learn.ligonier.org/guides/lordship-salvation.
[5] John Piper, “Letter to a Friend Concerning the So-Called Lordship Salvation,” Desiring God, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/letter-to-a-friend-concerning-the-so-called-lordship-salvation.
[6] John MacArthur, “An Introduction to Lordship Salvation,” Grace to You, https://www.gty.org/articles/A114/an-introduction-to-lordship-salvation.
[7] Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1992, §2010.
[8] Council of Trent, Session 6: Decree on Justification (1547), Canons 9, 12, 24.
