Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Insights into the Soteriology of the Letter of James from Andrew Chester

 

 

 . . . in the polemical context of 2.14-26, James asserts that justification is by works. The negative point is that faith alone cannot save, and although faith in a positive sense is obviously involved with works, James here allows only works a positive role in justification. It can be argued that for 2.14-26 (and especially 20-4) it makes no sense to ask whether justification is by faith or works, since the two are inextricably bound up together. But the fact remains that in this section James does not have a consistently positive or developed enough view of faith to allow for any conclusion except that works are central and indispensable for justification. It is clearly the case that James’ understanding of faith is not that of Paul (that is, as a shorthand for acceptance for acceptance of the salvation that God has brought about through the death and resurrection of Christ), but something much narrower. So also the understanding of justification can be seen to differ; Paul sees this primary point of entry into the community, where faith is involved as the response of God’s gracious act, whereas for James it is a question of being accepted by God at the last judgment. Here claims to be bound faith are vain, and only righteous deeds and acts of mercy count. (Andrew Chester in Chester and Ralph P. Martin, The Theology of the Letters of James, Peter, and Jude [New Testament Theology; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994], 27-28)

 

. . . James provides a positive portrayal of faith, in the sense of deep, absolute trust in, and commitment to, God, as shown by the whole way of life (above all in works and acts of mercy), and which is not, negatively, a mere bland assertion of belief or credal correctness. Popkes claims that for James faith denotes the whole of human life lived in obedience to the divine word; but Blondel is right to see this as true of Paul but not of James. Although James does have a more positive concept of faith than is often realised, faith must still be defined and perfected by works, and works is the important theme throughout. Again Blondel rightly argues that the problem of faith and works for James is not the alternative they pose but the absurdity of their separation. (Ibid., 57)