You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Parallel translations
- WEB You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith.
- KJV Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
- BSB As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.
- NASB You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
- NLT So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A person is justified by works and not by faith alone. James means that the faith which justifies is shown genuine by its works.
Overview
This much-discussed verse is best read in harmony with Paul: James opposes a dead, workless "faith," not faith itself. He affirms that the faith demonstrated and vindicated as real is one that produces works; bare profession without works justifies no one. Reformed teaching holds that we are justified by faith alone, yet that justifying faith is never alone but always bears fruit.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Jas 2:21–22Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
- Jas 2:15–18And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food,
- Ps 60:12Through God we shall do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The wisdom from above and the royal law of love are the life of those who belong to 'our glorious Lord Jesus Christ' — faith in him made visible in works.
How James 2:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.
How traditions read this
How James ("not by faith alone") and Paul ("by faith apart from works") fit together.
A person is justified by faith working through love: grace begins justification (in baptism) and it grows through faith and works of love. "Faith alone," if it excludes love, does not justify.
Key points · Faith formed by charity; justification can increase; James and Paul are harmonized rather than opposed.
Council of Trent, Session 6; Catechism §§1987–2011
Justification is by faith alone apart from works; James describes the good works that necessarily flow from a living faith and demonstrate it before others.
Key points · Faith alone justifies; living faith inevitably works; "faith" and "justify" used differently by Paul and James.
Augsburg Confession Art. IV–VI; Formula of Concord
We are justified by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone — it works. James targets a dead, claimed faith, and "justify" here means "show to be righteous."
Key points · Justification by faith alone (Rom 3:28); works as fruit and evidence; Abraham's faith proven by obedience.
Martin Luther; John Calvin · Westminster Confession ch. 11; Belgic Confession Art. 24
Each view is stated as that tradition would put it, with representative sources. Limitless Word presents them side by side and endorses none — see the methodology.