Justification: Faith or Works

Was Abraham justified by faith? Or was he justified by works?

Romans 4:3 says, “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” while James 2:21 says, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works…”

These two scriptures seem contradictory concerning the subject of justification, and it is important to properly understand them in their right context so that they can be properly interpreted.  This blog post is also particularly important as we celebrate Easter this season and remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the most powerful show of love from God to all mankind.

First, what does it mean to be justified? Simply put, it means to be absolved of the guilt of sin and be made righteous. To understand justification, we need to first understand the guilt of sin. To summarize, because of the fall of man through the offence of Adam, we all inherited the body of sin and came under the power of death (Genesis 2:15-17, Romans 5:12-14).

As a result, there was no one righteous before God (Romans 3:10), and we all carried this guilt of sin. Death had a legal claim on our souls because of sin but this legal claim was removed by the sacrifice of Jesus.

Consequently, man can live eternally, be free from the shackles of the enemy, be declared righteous, and enjoy peace with God for all eternity. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, the wrath of God is satisfied once and for all, taking away the guilt of sin from man so that man can now enjoy the benefits of peace with God.

Concerning Abraham, the bible says that he believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. He refused to waver, and God rewarded his faith. See Romans 4:20-22,

He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Salvation comes by grace alone, through faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:4-8). When we consider our position as believers, we become saved because we believe in the fulfillment of the promise of salvation – that God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ to take our place in death so that we could receive His life. This is how Abraham was justified by faith. He simply believed, and his faith was rewarded with the gift of righteousness.

In the same vein, we simply believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, and we are rewarded with the gift of righteousness and eternal life with God. Salvation is not given because we did anything to deserve it. We could never be deserving of the love of God to sacrifice His only begotten Son even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).

Ephesians 2:8-9 says,

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

So, what then does it mean that Abraham was also justified by works if it is also true that salvation is the gift of God and not of works? Look at James 2:20-22,

But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

The context of the whole chapter was addressing our actions as believers now that we are saved. The second chapter of James begins by admonishing us not to be partial in our dealings with people as children of God, and then it goes on to talk about showing our faith by our works (James 2:18). Simply put, let your faith show in the things you do.

The Apostle James now uses Abraham as an example. Abraham had faith in God that He was able to fulfill His promise, and God counted it to him as righteousness. Then, God tests Him by asking him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and Abraham obeyed. Even though God had already given Abraham the free gift of righteousness by faith, God saw his act of obedience to sacrifice Isaac and He said,

…Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.

In some way, this act of obedience was ‘proof’ to God that Abraham had faith. This is how Abraham was justified by his works, meaning that this act of obedience showed that he truly had faith in God.

So, we see how Abraham was justified both by faith and by works. James 2:22 buttresses,

Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

In the same manner, all believers have received the gift of righteousness, but it is equally important to show our faith in our actions. It is un-Christian to believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and not act like it. As believers, we have been made right with God and now enjoy eternal life, but because we are believers, we should also love the things God loves and hate the things He hates.

This is how we are justified by our works – that people (who cannot see our Spirit to know that we are saved) can see the things we do and be assured that this person is saved. Again, let your faith show in the things you do.

We will be discussing these things in more detail at the worship service this month. You can register here. I can’t wait to see you there.

Shalom.

With all my love,

Testimony.

**All scriptural references are in NKJV