Faith That Works

This section of James stands out as the most notable, controversial, and theologically significant in the entire epistle. The Reformed doctrine of Sola Fide—meaning “by faith alone”—teaches that a person is forgiven of sin and declared righteous before God solely through trust in Christ. Paradoxically, the only place in Scripture where the phrase "faith alone” appears is found in James 2:24, which seems to expressly state the opposite of Sola Fide! On the surface, this suggests that salvation does not come by faith alone and, more troublingly, that James’ theology conflicts with Paul’s (cf. Romans 3:28) implying an internal contradiction within the Bible. However, a closer examination reveals that James and Paul are not contradictory but are complementary, addressing distinct questions and concerns about the nature of saving faith.