What Did James Say About Grace?

“Did James understand grace? Were he and Paul on the same page? Are we saved by faith plus works like he said? Should his book be in the Bible?”

People have been asking these questions for hundreds of years. According to some, James did not understand the gospel of grace. Well, maybe he did a little bit. But he was confused. And too Jewish. Either way, you can’t learn much about grace from James.

Before we proceed, here’s a pop quiz I’m calling…

“Which apostle?”

Can you guess which apostle…

1. …was not one of the original twelve but had an encounter with the Risen Lord?
2. …wrote letters that were included in the New Testament?
3. …wrote about the great grace that comes from a God who loves to give?
4. …used Abraham as an example when writing about the justification that comes by faith?
5. …warned about the curse of living under the law?

If you answered “James”, you have nailed it. James was truly an apostle of grace.

“Wait. I thought you were describing Paul.” In that case, let’s play again.

Can you guess which apostle…

1. …was called by God to preach to the Jews and tailored his message to suit Jewish audiences?
2. …sometimes practiced old covenant rites and rituals including circumcision?
3. …bragged that he knew the Jewish religion better than just about anyone?
4. …wrote a letter exclusively for the Jews where he expounded on the gospel of Christ?
5. … frequently quoted the Law of Moses?

Yes, this was Paul. (Scriptures to support these answers can be found at the end of the article.) Paul did all these things, yet no one says he was confused about grace. Or too Jewish. But poor James gets thrown under the bus. Let’s look at five myths people believe about James.

Myth 1: James didn’t understand Paul’s message of grace

Fact: James was one of the first people to hear the gospel of grace from Paul. He heard it way back in Acts 9, not long after Paul returned from Damascus. (Paul mentions their meeting in Gal. 1:19.) If Paul alone received some special insight into the mystery of Christ, chances are James heard about it before anyone, and he heard it long before Paul went on his first missionary trip.

Myth 2: James disagreed with Paul

Fact: James supported Paul. At the Jerusalem Council there was a dispute between Paul and Barnabas and those of the circumcision group. Who did James support? He went with “our beloved Barnabas and Paul” of course (Acts 15:25).

Much of what James said about circumcision, idol food, and sexual immorality mirrored what Paul would later write in his epistles. There is no hint that the Jerusalem apostles needed to be convinced by Paul about God’s acceptance of the Gentiles and his grace for all people. The only source of division came from the party of the circumcision.

Myth 3: James added law to grace

Fact: James preached the curse of law, just like Paul. James never preached the works of law for that what contradict what he said about the justification that comes by faith (see below).

It’s true that James asked the Gentile believers to abstain from eating idol food for the sake of their Jewish brothers, but so did Paul. James also encouraged the believers to avoid sexual immorality, just like Paul.

Myth 4: James wrote for Jewish audience (and not for us)

Fact: 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), but so was Hebrews and the Gospel of Matthew. Are we going to dismiss those books as too Jewish? There isn’t one gospel for Jews and another for Gentiles. The good news is for all of us, regardless of race or tribe.

Myth 5: James did not preach justification by faith

Fact: Actually, he did (see Jas. 2:23).

There is a lot of misunderstanding about James and Paul but the facts are plain. They BOTH preached justification by faith and they BOTH used Abraham as their exemplar believer. They BOTH preached on the great and abundant grace of God and they BOTH wrote letters to Jews and Gentiles.

What’s the problem with James?

The problem is when James says, “A man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (Jas. 2:24). How do you read it? Many people swing one of two ways:

1. John Calvin’s response: “Faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone.”
2. Martin Luther’s response: “James was preaching law so you can ignore him.”

So either (a) you need works that prove your faith, in which case James was preaching “another gospel” making him a cursed preacher, or (b) James was preaching the law with all its curses for disobedience. In either case, his is a cursed book and you should have nothing to do with it.

What infamy! What an insult to a man who knew more about grace that most of us ever will.

The problem is not with James. The problem is with our definition of “works”.

Two kinds of works

When Paul says a man is justified by faith and not works, he is referring to the works of the law (Gal. 2:16). “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Rom 3:28).

But when James says we are justified by works, he is referring to works of faith by which he means believing in Christ.

This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. (John 6:29)

We are not justified by works of law (Paul), we are justified by works of faith (James). And lest there be any confusion about works of faith, James use the same example and quotes the exact 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)

Same message, same example, same gospel.

What did James say about grace?

James preached about the grace that God gives to the humble and the justification that comes by faith. He touched on the new creation, what it means to be righteous, and intimacy with God. He scorned “worthless religion”. He was good friends with the apostle of grace and the two men vouched for and quoted each other.

When I first called James a preacher of grace and an apostle of grace in 2010, some said I was reaching. But when I launched my grace-based commentary on James in 2023, it became the best-selling book in The Grace Bible series.

This suggests people are ready to give James another chance. They don’t want to hear that the New Testament epistles contain a mixture of law and grace because that’s confusing. But don’t take my word for it. Listen to Paul.

In the bonus materials that accompany this article on Patreon, I trace the 20-year friendship between Paul and James. These two great apostles were more than friends, they were allies and partners who steadfastly resisted the Judaizing influences in the early church.

Read James in context and you will find he says wonderful things about the new creation, faith, and the grace of God. BTW, you don’t need to buy my book to discover the treasures in James. You can read it all for free on The Grace Commentary.

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More questions about James

• Was James writing to saints, sinners, or both?
• What does James say about the new creation?
• What does James say about the grace of God?
• What does James say about intimacy with God?
• What does James say about unconditional forgiveness?
• What does James say about worthless religion?
• What does James say about the prayers of the righteous?
• What does James say about receiving the crown of life?
• What does James say about the rich?
• What does James say about being a “doer” of the word?
• What does James say about the glorious Lord Jesus?
• What does James say about the faith of demons?
• Why does James quote the Ten Commandments?
• What does James say the Law of Liberty?
• Why did James tell Paul the Jews were zealous for the law?

Quiz answers

James’ encounter with the Risen Lord is mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:7. James wrote two letters that are found in the New Testament; the epistle of James and the letter recorded in Acts 15:23–29. When James wrote about the “greater grace” God gives to the humble, he used a word (megas) that means exceedingly great, high, large, 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 said the law curses and condemns those who try to live by it (see Jas. 2:10).

Paul was known as the apostle to the Gentiles but he was also called to preach to the Jews (Acts 9:15). Paul said “to the Jews I became a Jew, so that I might win Jews” (1 Cor. 9:20). If circumcising Timothy and engaging in purification rites in Jerusalem was going to help win people for Jesus, Paul was happy to do it (Acts 16:1-3, 18:18, 21:24-26). “To those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law.” Paul knew more about the Jewish religion and the Jews’ ancestral traditions than just about any of his peers (Gal. 1:14, Php. 3:5–6), and the letter he wrote especially for the Jews was, of course, Hebrews. Paul quoted the Law of Moses frequently (e.g., Rom. 7:7, 12:19, 13:9, 1 Cor. 9:9, Eph. 6:2–3, Gal. 5:14).