“Did James perceive grace? Had been he and Paul on the identical web page? Are we saved by religion plus works like he stated? Ought to his guide be within the Bible?”
Individuals have been asking these questions for a whole bunch of years. In line with some, James didn’t perceive the gospel of grace. Nicely, possibly he did a bit of bit. However he was confused. And too Jewish. Both approach, you may’t study a lot about grace from James.
Earlier than we proceed, right here’s a pop quiz I’m calling…
“Which apostle?”
Are you able to guess which apostle…
- …was not one of many unique twelve however had an encounter with the Risen Lord?
- …wrote letters that had been included within the New Testomony?
- …wrote concerning the nice grace that comes from a God who loves to offer?
- …used Abraham for example when writing concerning the justification that comes by religion?
- …warned concerning the curse of dwelling underneath the legislation?
When you answered “James”, you will have nailed it. James was really an apostle of grace.
“Wait. I assumed you had been describing Paul.” In that case, let’s play once more.
Are you able to guess which apostle…
- …was referred to as by God to evangelise to the Jews and tailor-made his message to swimsuit Jewish audiences?
- …generally practiced previous covenant rites and rituals together with circumcision?
- …bragged that he knew the Jewish faith higher than simply about anybody?
- …wrote a letter solely for the Jews the place he expounded on the gospel of Christ?
- … continuously quoted the Regulation of Moses?
Sure, this was Paul. (Scriptures to assist these solutions will be discovered on the finish of the article.) Paul did all this stuff, but nobody says he was confused about grace. Or too Jewish. However poor James will get thrown underneath the bus. Let’s take a look at 5 myths folks consider about James.
Delusion 1: James didn’t perceive Paul’s message of grace
Truth: James was one of many first folks to listen to the gospel of grace from Paul. He heard it approach again in Acts 9, not lengthy after Paul returned from Damascus. (Paul mentions their assembly in Gal. 1:19.) If Paul alone obtained some particular perception into the thriller of Christ, chances are high James heard about it earlier than anybody, and he heard it lengthy earlier than Paul went on his first missionary journey.
Delusion 2: James disagreed with Paul
Truth: James supported Paul. On the Jerusalem Council there was a dispute between Paul and Barnabas and people of the circumcision group. Who did James assist? He went with “our beloved Barnabas and Paul” in fact (Acts 15:25).
A lot of what James stated about circumcision, idol meals, and sexual immorality mirrored what Paul would later write in his epistles. There isn’t a trace that the Jerusalem apostles wanted to be satisfied by Paul about God’s acceptance of the Gentiles and his grace for all folks. The one supply of division got here from the celebration of the circumcision.
Delusion 3: James added legislation to grace
Truth: James preached the curse of legislation, similar to Paul. James by no means preached the works of legislation for that what contradict what he stated concerning the justification that comes by religion (see under).
It’s true that James requested the Gentile believers to abstain from consuming idol meals for the sake of their Jewish brothers, however so did Paul. James additionally inspired the believers to keep away from sexual immorality, similar to Paul.
Delusion 4: James wrote for Jewish viewers (and never for us)
Truth: James’ first letter was addressed to Gentile believers (Acts 15:23). It’s true that his epistle was written for the Jews (see Jas. 1:1), however so was Hebrews and the Gospel of Matthew. Are we going to dismiss these books as too Jewish? There isn’t one gospel for Jews and one other for Gentiles. The excellent news is for all of us, no matter race or tribe.
Delusion 5: James didn’t preach justification by religion
Truth: Really, he did (see Jas. 2:23).
There may be lots of misunderstanding about James and Paul however the info are plain. They BOTH preached justification by religion they usually BOTH used Abraham as their exemplar believer. They BOTH preached on the nice and considerable grace of God they usually BOTH wrote letters to Jews and Gentiles.
What’s the issue with James?
The issue is when James says, “A person is justified by works and never by religion alone” (Jas. 2:24). How do you learn it? Many individuals swing one among two methods:
- John Calvin’s response: “Religion alone saves, however saving religion isn’t alone.”
- Martin Luther’s response: “James was preaching legislation so you may ignore him.”
So both (a) you want works that show your religion, by which case James was preaching “one other gospel” making him a cursed preacher, or (b) James was preaching the legislation with all its curses for disobedience. In both case, his is a cursed guide and you must don’t have anything to do with it.
What infamy! What an insult to a person who knew extra about grace that almost all of us ever will.
The issue shouldn’t be with James. The issue is with our definition of “works”.
Two sorts of works
When Paul says a person is justified by religion and never works, he’s referring to the works of the legislation (Gal. 2:16). “For we keep {that a} man is justified by religion other than works of the legislation” (Rom 3:28).
However when James says we’re justified by works, he’s referring to works of religion by which he means believing in Christ.
That is the work of God, that you just consider in him whom he has despatched. (John 6:29)
We’re not justified by works of legislation (Paul), we’re justified by works of religion (James). And lest there be any confusion about works of religion, James use the identical instance and quotes the very same scripture as Paul:
James: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Jas. 2:23)
Paul: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:3)
Similar message, similar instance, similar gospel.
What did James say about grace?
James preached concerning the grace that God offers to the common-or-garden and the justification that comes by religion. He touched on the brand new creation, what it means to be righteous, and intimacy with God. He scorned “nugatory faith”. He was good associates with the apostle of grace and the 2 males vouched for and quoted one another.
Once I first referred to as James a preacher of grace and an apostle of grace in 2010, some stated I used to be reaching. However after I launched my grace-based commentary on James in 2023, it turned the best-selling guide in The Grace Bible sequence.
This means individuals are prepared to offer James one other probability. They don’t wish to hear that the New Testomony epistles comprise a combination of legislation and charm as a result of that’s complicated. However don’t take my phrase for it. Take heed to Paul.
Within the bonus supplies that accompany this text on Patreon, I hint the 20-year friendship between Paul and James. These two nice apostles had been greater than associates, they had been allies and companions who steadfastly resisted the Judaizing influences within the early church.
Learn James in context and you’ll find he says great issues concerning the new creation, religion, and the grace of God. BTW, you don’t want to purchase my guide to find the treasures in James. You may learn all of it free of charge on The Grace Commentary.
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Extra questions on James
Quiz solutions
James’ encounter with the Risen Lord is talked about in 1 Cor. 15:7. James wrote two letters which are discovered within the New Testomony; the epistle of James and the letter recorded in Acts 15:23–29. When James wrote concerning the “higher grace” God offers to the common-or-garden, he used a phrase (megas) which means exceedingly nice, excessive, massive, loud, and mighty (Jas. 4:6). Like Paul, James quotes Gen. 15:6 which says “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (see Jas 2:23). And like Paul, James stated the legislation curses and condemns those that attempt to dwell by it (see Jas. 2:10).
Paul was generally known as the apostle to the Gentiles however he was additionally referred to as to evangelise to the Jews (Acts 9:15). Paul stated “to the Jews I turned a Jew, in order that I’d win Jews” (1 Cor. 9:20). If circumcising Timothy and fascinating in purification rites in Jerusalem was going to assist win folks for Jesus, Paul was joyful to do it (Acts 16:1-3, 18:18, 21:24-26). “To those that are underneath the Regulation, as underneath the Regulation although not being myself underneath the Regulation, in order that I’d win those that are underneath the Regulation.” Paul knew extra concerning the Jewish faith and the Jews’ ancestral traditions than simply about any of his friends (Gal. 1:14, Php. 3:5–6), and the letter he wrote particularly for the Jews was, in fact, Hebrews. Paul quoted the Regulation of Moses continuously (e.g., Rom. 7:7, 12:19, 13:9, 1 Cor. 9:9, Eph. 6:2–3, Gal. 5:14).
