Do Paul & James Contradict One Another?

Do Paul and James contradict one another on justification?

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The Apostles Paul & James are two of the foundational figures within the history of the Church. However, with the passage of time and the rise of skepticism towards the Bible and the Christian faith, many have put forth the assertion that Paul & James did not believe or teach the same doctrines. In fact, that they were theological opponents, in contradiction to one another.

With this assertion pre-supposed, many have then found reason to reject the infallibility, inerrancy and inspiration of the New Testament. (By extension, many have also used this as a basis to reject the Christian faith entirely.)

Substance to this position is put forth in the citation of these two verses:

“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” (Rom. 3:28)

“You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (James 2:24)

Taken in isolation, it is certainly difficult, if not impossible, to harmonize them within the same canon of scripture. However, the reality is that Romans 3:28 and James 2:24 do not exist in isolation, but within a larger body of work that illuminates their doctrinal context. It is my position, as well as of all those who previously and at present within the body of Christ, that Paul & James are not theological opponents in contradiction to one another. Rather, that their teaching are the same, constituting the fullness of Christian’s birth in faith and the living out thereof.

Before we dive into these two verses proper, let’s establish a foundation by which we can rightly examine what each man has written.

First, James & Paul fellowshipped within the same body of believers and recognized the authenticity of each other’s faith. We see this demonstrated in various places throughout scripture, such as Galatians 1 & 2 and Acts 15. What can we learn about Paul & James from these passages? That they regarded one another as possessing the same faith and their mutual apostolic authority to preach & teach that faith to others.

If Paul & James were opponents, we would certainly expect to find James attempting to correct Paul on at least one, if not all, of these occasions. He does not, but instead welcomes him and confirms his doctrine. Likewise, if Paul believed James was in error, he would certainly have challenged him. No such challenge is recorded; rather Paul operates in submission to James’ authority for his own apostolic confirmation.

When we examine Romans 3:28 and James 2:24, we have to keep this larger context in mind. If Paul & James are attacking each other, it would be against the witness of the rest of scripture. Such accusations are without any substance, apart from the a priori assumptions of skeptical interpretations of the Bible. There is a reason why the Church has found harmony between the works of both men – because they are speaking in regard to different issues.

Paul is speaking with regards to the seed of faith. Faith is planted in the heart of the believer by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Christ – not by anything the person does. This is why Paul says, “faith apart from works of the Law.” God plants the seed, not the believer. In doing so, God declares the believer to be justified.

James’ burden in writing his letter is to call the Church to holy living. He is exhorting believers to demonstrate the quality of their faith by living a holy lifestyle that honors God. He puts forth the challenge for believers to prove or demonstrate the quality of their faith in chapter 1 – “be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” James then reenforces his challenge in chapter 2: “I will show you my faith by my works.” The visible good works in the life of a believer are what vindicates, proves or demonstrates the authenticity of their profession of faith. They are the fruit that comes from authentic saving faith.

Jesus acknowledged that there would be true and false believers within the visible church (Matt 7:15-23). He tells us that we will be able to, “know them by their fruits.” James’ concern is with regards to lack of fruit among the believers he saw around him, for fear that they do not have a genuine faith. This is why he challenges them all to prove it (justify it) – if you really are a Christian, show us.

James’ purpose in writing his epistle is that if you really belong to God, there will be a growing amount of evidence to demonstrate (i.e. “justify”) it, because God keeps the promises He makes to Himself to change the hearts of all of His people.

Paul is talking about the invisible work of God in bringing an individual to saving faith (the seed); James is talking about the visible work of man in the demonstration of the newness of life that manifests from saving faith (the fruit). Both men’s teachings constitute the fullness of the Christian life.

[AChristianGuy]

Note – there is an errant citation around 21:30. The third verse on screen should be cited as Jeremiah 31:33, not 24:7.

[RH-zlzb]

Wonderful work. Thank you in the mighty name of Jesus.

[Deakon]

Thank you brother, a true believer knows that Paul and James were describing the same faith with different angles. God's love is an active love, He saved/ keeps saving us and changing our heart so that we can love Him with all hearts, souls and strength. He cleans us so that we may inherit the eternal life in Him. We can't stand before Him without God's work. Attach to Him, lean on Him, be built on Him and be fruitful by Him, that's what we need to do so we may live. On the other hand, we shouldn't depend on "the work of mortals" or "mystery Babylon". It's doomed to vanish, destroyed and burnt.

[kazamareenkurios]

Excellent content, I am learning so much, Thank you & God bless!

[Veegantheanimals]

If it's true they don't contradict one another why he didn't clarify why exactly Jesus was brutally murdered?? Dr. Tabor explained that really well on his YouTube channel.

[iceboxstudio]

wow thanks alot for this video James teachings make so much sense now

[seannews]

Dispensationalism solves this… James audience was Jews… Paul’s was Christians.

[AbrahamsBridges]

Correction. James declared that the new gentiles coming into the faith should begin walking in the way of Judaism with only a few commandments: abstain from things contaminated by idols, from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. These are basics that are extremely important to follow if the gentiles wants to be part of the assembly, to eat and live with them. HOWEVER, if you continue reading, James doesn’t stop there. He goes on to say that the new converts will gather every Sabbath to hear the Torah of Moses and learn. This is how conversion to Judaism works. One doesn’t take on the whole yoke at once. He gradually learns how to follow. The yoke of Torah is beautiful. It is light if you circumcise your heart. Obedience to Torah is how our Creator intends for us to demonstrate our love for Him. But like babys, we begin with baby steps. We begin following a few commandments. This is milk. As we get older, we learn to walk in the full way of YHVH, the meat. Every SABBATH, we gather to hear Torah. We learn from our teachers.

[duncescotus]

Yes, they do. And in all scriptural contradictions we find gold, if we dig.
Here, the answer is one of timing.
And also the law (Paul's favorite subject, but James hints at it).

So, the Christian is saved in the sense of his spirit-self being quickened, made alive, sensitive to God, etc by faith alone. The mustard seed is the example Jesus uses. Elsewhere he says, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he has sent."

BUT, the seed takes root and grows.

At some point (parable of the Seed, Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8, all three synoptics attest!), the seed produces "fruit."

That "fruit" is something of a scriptural euphemism for "works, " that is to say, results (without the negative connotation of self-justification), is demonstrated in these two words being contrasted in Galatians 5, the "fruits of the Spirit" vs. the "works of the flesh."

But who among us attests that patience is easier than lust? Which requires our effort, even sustained effort?

As for the law, note James' examples of works justifying faith, Rachab the prostitute hiding the Jewish spies, and Abharham offering up Isaac. Both of these examples lack intrinsic goodness. Neither is any good in and of itself, as an action which would produce some good result, but both are rather RESPONSES to a kind of invitation from God to be tested: Let's see if you cotton on.

And that is how righteousness works!

[nori_tutor]

I admit I'd been struggling with these passages for months! Today, during the morning I was studying these passages and I said to God something like "Lord if your word has a contradiction, how could I believe in you with all my heart? I need to know, I can't just leave this aside. For if I think your word is wrong, I can't trust you, and if I can't trust you, my spiritual life will be affected." After some study, I understood the subject better, but I was still doubtful. Then I decided to watch this video, and I think I can finally settle. I want to study a little more, if possible, but it now does make a lot of sense! Whenever someone tells me "I'm a Christian" I start to close pay attention to the way they live. If they live in an unchristian way I start questioning if they are who they profess to be in my heart. In the same way, when I look at my life I always think "If you don't have any work, you can't possibly be a true Christian." And well, it does make sense. Anyways, thank you so much for this video"

[kcmuanpuia]

Anyone who thinks James contradicts Paul or vice versa, is a carnal Christian, by which I mean their focus is on 'doing' or 'not doing'.

[wretch]

I assert that actually Paul is using the word translated 'justified' in the same way as James. Paul is referring to the reader's justification in regards membership of the household of faith, not justification in regards to forensic righteousness.

[eurekayess]

To objective viewers:
Grace - a gift only... or, an undeserved kindness?

(Ps 144:3 - KJV 2000) "LORD, what is man, ... that you make account of him!"
(He 2:6 - KJV 2000) "What is man, that you are mindful of him?"
(Ps 103:10 - KJV 2000) "[God] has NOT dealt with us according to our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities."
(Ro 5:18; 6:23 - KJV 2000) "By the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation... For the wages of sin is death."
(2 Co 6:1 - CEV) "We beg you to make good use of God's gift of UNDESERVED grace."
(2 Co 6:1 - GWT) "We urge you not to let God's kindness be wasted on you."

How saved?

(Ro 6:15 - KJV) "Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."
(Eph 2:10 - KJV) "For we are... created in Christ Jesus unto good WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." [Paul]
(Ac 26:20 - KJV) "Turn to God, and do WORKS meet for repentance." [Paul]
(Php 2:12 - KJV) "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." [Paul]
(Lu 13:24 - KJV) "Strive [KJV Lexicon - "struggle"] to enter in at the strait gate."
(1 Pe 4:18 - NIV) "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly?"
(Mt 24:13 - KJV) "He that shall endure unto the end... shall be saved."

So, does Paul, who just above emphasized "works, " contradict himself? 🤔 Not really.

Note which works were overrided by faith: (Ga 2:16; 3:24, 25 - KJV) "A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.... The law WAS our tutor to bring us to Christ.... After faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor."
(Ro 3:28 - NIV) "A person is justified by faith apart from the works ["deeds" - KJV] of the law."
(Ro 3:29 - NKJV) "Or is He the God of the Jews only?"

Though Jews would automatically discern which works Paul was referring to, Christians today would have to be educated on the "works of the law" of Moses, which, as shown here scripturally, applied to "the Jews only."

On the other hand, the faithful would abound in Christian works, as admonished in above verses, and beyond.

IS it not advantageous to compare "all Scripture", which "is profitable for doctrine, ... for instruction, " (2 Ti 3:16 - KJV) to gain a more accurate understanding of God's word - rather than to simply trust in man-made dogmas, based on certain passages which merely appear to attribute to all works that which Paul applied only to "works of the [Mosaic] law?"

(Eph 2:10 - KJV) "For we are... created in Christ Jesus unto GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that WE should walk in them."

Thus, entirely compatible with James' words: (Jas 2:24) "A man is to be declared righteous by works and not by faith alone." - Christian works indeed! Not just faith.

[GizmoFromPizmo]

James is obviously COUNTERING a theology that says a man is justified by faith. That doctrine is the cornerstone of what Paul called, "my gospel". Paul and James are the only two characters who use Genesis 15:6 in their theology. One uses it to "justify" this theology and the other uses it to contradict it.

I'm looking for someone who can reconcile the exact words of these two apostles and it looks like this video is just more of the same theory.

[AbrahamsBridges]

Sadly, Paul was accused of teaching against Moses and this is proof that Paul did in fact speak against Moses and Torah and even Yeshua. Repentance and obedience are our only means of salvation. Scripture says obedience to Torah “Is NOT too difficult, nor beyond your reach.” “Circumcise your heart” are the words of Torah. Deuteronomy 30:11. “If you want to inherit LIFE, OBEY”, said Yeshua. Yeshua was a Jew. IF he was a righteous Jew, He would’ve kept Shabbat on the SEVENTH day, not the first. He would’ve taught his followers to follow him, and he was CIRCUMCISED on the eighth day. He ate kosher, and would’ve encouraged his followers to do the same. He celebrated Biblical holidays. He wore tzitziot. He knew the Shema, and he taught that YHVH is ONE (not three in one). There is only one good, and it’s our Father. Yeshua would NOT have taught that an innocent man can die for the sins of the wicked, because we serve a God of Justice. “Each man will die for his own sins.” Yeshua would’ve taught to repent and obey his commandments…the commandments of a righteous Jew. He would’ve desperately urged the Jews to teach the gentiles how to follow Torah. According to the prophets, the job of the messiah is to find the lost sheep of the house of Israel, teach them to obey Torah, then reunite them to the Jews. Paul was the anti-messiah. He taught “Faith apart from the works of the Torah” There is no such thing as Faith without works. Works proves faith. There is zero grace for those who don’t repent. The Torah defines sin and righteousness. Sin is lawlessness…apart from the law. We are forbidden to add or take away from Torah (Deuteronomy 4:2 & 12:32). YHVH has ONE LAW for the natural born and for the convert..When a gentile converts, YHVH sees him just as He sees a natural born Israelite. He is grafted in to the commonwealth of Israel. There is no distinction.

[marylamb]

Paul and James contradict each other 100% and are diametrically opposed:
1. Paul teaches that we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ apart from the Law.
2. James teaches we are saved by obeying the Law of Moses. Believing in the Jewish shema (God Is One) is not enough. We must obey the Law of Moses.
3. Paul cites Christ as our example of those who endured.

4. James cites Elijah as our example of those who endured.

5. Paul wrote to the Body of Christ.
6. James wrote to a synagogue. The word "asembly" is actually the cloaked Greek word for synagogue.

[chrisford]

James and Paul DO NOT contradict each other AT ALL.
The problem is that people conflate grace and works.
Well presented and edited.

[bailujen]

When talking about refuting Faith alone, don't just use James right away. What about verse 10 of Ephesians 2