For centuries, salvation was pretty well understood. We Christians are saved by grace (a free unmerited gift of our loving God) on account of our faith (our acceptance of Christ and our faithfulness to him). This grace not only saves us but changes us. We are born anew and show forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit. From us good works flow.
Faith without works is dead; that is, if our lives are unchanged, then we have blocked the grace God wants to pour out on us. We have not opened ourselves to him; we have not responded in faith. But if we put our trust in him, he will set us free and make us a new creature. That is the Lord’s promise and unfailing truth.
For centuries no one saw any conflict between the “you are saved by faith” of Paul and the “faith without works is dead” of James. They are both part of God’s truth. But gradually, over the centuries, legalism and fear of sin came to dominate over the simple, joyous faith of the early church. The hierarchy started doing to the people exactly what the Pharisees had done to the Jews (and which so infuriated Jesus). This legalism, rule-keeping, and fear of hell and purgatory (and the wrath of the clergy) were compounded by abuses like the selling of indulgences. By the time poor Martin Luther came along, the faith of the apostles was barely recognizable.
Fortunately, Luther did not succumb to despair, but retreated to the scriptures, where he rediscovered the forgotten truth of salvation by grace through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ. It’s no wonder Luther tried to reform the church. It’s also not surprising that he even considered throwing out the Book of James because of the way the church had abused “faith without works is dead.” But in the end, he didn’t. He couldn’t. It is scripture.
Predictably, both the Protestants and the Roman Catholics went to extremes to defend their positions and polarization and schism were the result. Now we have churches which teach Paul and others which teach James. The truly “catholic” understanding of salvation includes both. Neither is complete without the other. And fortunately, many on both sides are realizing this. Dialogue is continuing between Evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics, and many from both extremes are moving toward the historical position held by the United Catholic Church and by responsible Christians of all denominations.
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