St. Paul says a person is "justified by faith apart from works of the law" (Romans 3:28). St. James says a person is "justified by works and not by faith alone" (James 2:24). Is the Bible contradicting itself?
Short answer: No. St. Paul and St. James fight two different errors. St. Paul rejects the idea that keeping the Law of Moses, starting with circumcision, makes anyone right with God. St. James rejects a "faith" that never acts. Both teach the same thing: "only faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6).
Key verses on St. James and St. Paul
- "For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law." (Romans 3:28)
- "See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." (James 2:24)
- "only faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6)
- "So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (James 2:17)
- "created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance" (Ephesians 2:10)
Scripture quotations are from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
What Catholics Actually Teach
The Catholic Church reads St. Paul and St. James as one voice. "Living faith 'work(s) through charity'" (CCC 1814). And "'faith apart from works is dead': when it is deprived of hope and love, faith does not fully unite the believer to Christ and does not make him a living member of his Body" (CCC 1815).
At the same time, salvation starts with God alone: "no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion" (CCC 2010). "Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ" (CCC 1992).
What Catholics do not teach:
- That our effort is a second source of salvation alongside grace. We truly cooperate, but our cooperation is itself God's gift: the merit of good works "is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful" (CCC 2008).
- That St. Paul and St. James disagree. Scripture does not contradict itself.
The Biblical Case
1. Different opponents
St. Paul's opponents taught, "Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved" (Acts 15:1). So right after "faith apart from works of the law," St. Paul asks, "Does God belong to Jews alone? Does he not belong to Gentiles, too?" (Romans 3:28–29).
St. James faces a different problem: believers who talk but don't act. "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14). His example is a Christian who tells a hungry brother, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," and gives him nothing (James 2:15–16).
2. Different meanings of "faith"
The "faith" St. James criticizes is bare belief: "You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble" (James 2:19). St. Paul agrees that such faith is worthless: "if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2). The faith St. Paul preaches is "faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6).
3. Different meanings of "works"
St. Paul's "works of the law" are the works of the Mosaic covenant, offered as the way into God's favor. St. James's "works" are acts of love and obedience that flow from faith: feeding the hungry, Abraham's obedience, Rahab's protection of the spies. St. Paul praises those works too. God "will repay everyone according to his works: eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works" (Romans 2:6–7).
4. Same Abraham, two moments
St. Paul points to Genesis 15: "Abram put his faith in the LORD, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). His point is timing. Abraham was counted righteous before he was circumcised (Romans 4:9–11), so circumcision can't be the cause.
St. James points to Genesis 22, years later, when Abraham offered Isaac: "You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works" (James 2:22). God told Abraham, "because you obeyed my command" (Genesis 22:18). And Hebrews calls that same act faith: "By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac" (Hebrews 11:17). One act, both faith and obedience.
5. Rahab: faith and works in one act
St. James asks, "was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route?" (James 2:25). Hebrews describes the same deed: "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace" (Hebrews 11:31). The Bible calls one act both faith and works. They are not rivals.
Objections Answered
(a) "James means 'shown righteous' before people, not justified before God."
At its strongest: St. James writes, "Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works" (James 2:18). Abraham was already declared righteous in Genesis 15. So, many Protestants argue, "justified" in St. James means "shown to be righteous" before others. St. Paul speaks of our standing before God; St. James speaks of the evidence.
Answer: Works do show faith. But St. James asks about salvation: "Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14). Faith without works is not merely invisible; it is "dead" (James 2:26). St. James also says Genesis 15:6 "was fulfilled" in Abraham's offering (James 2:23). Catholics agree Abraham was justified in Genesis 15. St. James shows that justification growing as faith acts. The Church teaches that, moved by grace, we can merit "the increase of grace and charity" (CCC 2010).
(b) "Paul says God justifies 'the one who does not work.' That excludes all works."
At its strongest: "A worker's wage is credited not as a gift, but as something due. But when one does not work, yet believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness" (Romans 4:4–5). God saved us "not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy" (Titus 3:5). On this reading, any work at all, not just the Mosaic law, is excluded from justification.
Answer: Catholics agree that no work earns justification. God justifies "the ungodly," and the first grace can't be merited (CCC 2010). But St. Paul never says faith that refuses to love will save. Right after "not from works, so no one may boast," he says we were "created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them" (Ephesians 2:9–10). Good works done in grace are not wages. They are God working in us: "God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work" (Philippians 2:13).
The Early Church Agrees
The early Christians did not see a contradiction to resolve. They read St. Paul's "works of the law" as the Mosaic observances, and they read St. James as a warning against idle faith.
- Pope St. Clement I (St. Clement of Rome) (Letter to the Corinthians, c. AD 96) uses both apostles' language in one letter. Like St. Paul: we "are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men" (ch. 32). Like St. James: "being justified by our works, and not our words" (ch. 30). He asks, "For what reason was our father Abraham blessed? Was it not because he wrought righteousness and truth through faith?" (ch. 31). And of Rahab: "On account of her faith and hospitality, Rahab the harlot was saved" (ch. 12).
- St. Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho, c. AD 155–160) makes St. Paul's point from Romans 4 against a Jewish opponent: "For when Abraham himself was in uncircumcision, he was justified and blessed by reason of the faith," and he received "circumcision for a sign, and not for righteousness" (ch. 23). The works in question are the Mosaic signs.
- St. Irenaeus of Lyons (Against Heresies, c. AD 180) says the same, and reaches for St. James's wording to do it: "Abraham himself, without circumcision and without observance of Sabbaths, 'believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God'" (Book 4, ch. 16.2). Yet the moral commands of the Decalogue, he adds, "remain permanently with us" (4.16.4).
- St. Augustine of Hippo (On Grace and Free Will, c. AD 426) warns against misreading Romans 3:28 to mean "that faith suffices to a man, even if he lead a bad life, and has no good works." He quotes St. James on the demons, then describes saving faith as "the faith which works by love in such wise, that God recompenses it according to its works with eternal life" (ch. 18).
Conclusion
St. Paul and St. James are not opponents. They are two apostles guarding the same gospel from two sides. St. Paul guards against earning God's favor by the Law. St. James guards against a faith that sits still.
If you're Protestant, you already believe true faith produces works. We invite you one step further: take St. James at his word. Saving faith is "faith working through love." For the bigger picture, see Is Salvation by Faith Alone?
Come home. The one gospel that St. Paul and St. James both preached, faith working through love, is taught whole in the Catholic Church. Christ did not found many churches. He founded one, on St. Peter and the apostles (Matthew 16:18), and that Church is the Catholic Church. "It is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained" (CCC 816). If you are a baptized Christian, you already share "a certain, although imperfect, communion" with her (CCC 838). Every truth you already hold is a call to the rest of the way. Christ is calling you into the Catholic Church.
Your next step: Come to Mass this Sunday at your local Catholic church. You can find one near you at MassTimes.org. Everyone is welcome; if you're not yet Catholic, pray with us but don't receive Communion yet. When you're ready to become Catholic, call the parish office and ask about OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. They will walk you through every step. Read our guide: How Do I Become Catholic? Not ready yet? Get our free pocket guide below and keep learning.
FAQ
What are "works of the law" in St. Paul? Above all, the works of the Mosaic covenant, especially circumcision (Acts 15:1; Galatians 5:2). Some Protestant scholars read the phrase more broadly as any effort to earn favor. Either way, Catholics agree no one earns the first grace (CCC 2010). And either way, St. James still stands: "not by faith alone" (James 2:24).
Was Abraham justified in Genesis 15 or Genesis 22? Both. His faith was credited as righteousness in Genesis 15 (Genesis 15:6). In Genesis 22, "faith was completed by the works" (James 2:22).
Do Catholics believe works save us? Christ saves us. Living faith that "work(s) through charity" is the faith that unites us to Him (CCC 1814).
Sources
Scripture (NABRE, bible.usccb.org): Genesis 15:6; Genesis 22:18; Matthew 16:18; Acts 15:1; Romans 2:6–7; Romans 3:28–29; Romans 4:4–5, 9–11; 1 Corinthians 13:2; Galatians 5:2–6; Ephesians 2:9–10; Philippians 2:13; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 11:17, 31; James 2:14–26.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (vatican.va): 816, 838; 1814, 1815; 1992; 2008, 2010.
Church Fathers (newadvent.org): Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians 12, 30–32 (ANF vol. 9); Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 23 (ANF vol. 1); Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.16 (ANF vol. 1); Augustine, On Grace and Free Will 18 (NPNF1 vol. 5).