JEFF TURNER

Almost 500 years ago, Martin Luther emphasized the core message of the gospel: justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. If this is true, how should we understand a passage like James 2:24, which says, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone”? It might seem like this verse is saying that works do play a role in our salvation.

However, works do not provide our salvation. Instead, they have a very important role in showing that our salvation is real. Isn’t James saying that to other people who observe our lives, we are seen as justified by our actions, not just by our faith, which is invisible. We know that before God, we are justified by grace through faith. But to the world, both believers and non-believers, they cannot see our faith. Therefore, our good deeds demonstrate that we have been justified.

This is similar to what Paul said in Ephesians: “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 that we should walk in them” [Ephesians 2:8-10. Salvation is decided by faith alone, but it is shown by our obedience to God’s will.