Faith and Works Can Lead to Righteousness

 1. When we consider the faith of Abraham, what question might we ask?

ALTHOUGH many people have heard of Abraham, most know little about him. However, you know a lot about Abraham. You know, for example, that Abraham has been called “the father of all those having faith.” (Rom. 4:11) You may wonder, though, ‘Can I walk in the footsteps of Abraham and have the kind of faith he had?’ Yes, you can.

 2. Why is it important to study Abraham’s example? (James 2:22, 23)

² One way we can develop faith like that of Abraham is by studying his example. At God’s command, Abraham moved to a distant land, lived in tents for decades, and attempted to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. Those actions reflected strong faith. Abraham’s faith and works resulted in his having God’s approval and friendship. (Read James 2:22, 23.) Jehovah wants us​—wants you—​to enjoy those same blessings. For that reason, he inspired the Bible writers Paul and James to refer to Abraham’s example. Let us focus on his example, as it is discussed in Romans chapter 4 and James chapter 2. Both chapters refer to a remarkable statement that was made concerning Abraham.

 3. What key scripture did both Paul and James quote from?

³ Both Paul and James quoted from Genesis 15:6, which states: “[Abraham] put faith in Jehovah, and He counted it to him as righteousness.” Righteousness basically refers to the state in which a person is viewed by God as acceptable, even guiltless. How incredible that an imperfect, sinful human can be viewed by God as guiltless! Likely you want that to be true in your case, and it is possible. To find out how that can be said of us, we need to understand why that could be said of Abraham.

 4. What prevents humans from being righteous?

⁴ In his letter to the Romans, Paul stated that all humans are sinners. (Rom. 3:23) How, then, can anyone be viewed as righteous or blameless and thus gain God’s approval? To help all sincere Christians answer that question, Paul pointed to Abraham.

 5. On what basis did Jehovah declare Abraham righteous? (Romans 4:2-4)

⁵ Jehovah declared Abraham righteous while he was dwelling in the land of Canaan. Why could Jehovah declare Abraham righteous? Was it because Abraham perfectly kept the Mosaic Law? Certainly not. (Rom. 4:13) That Law was delivered to the nation of Israel more than 400 years after God declared Abraham righteous. Essentially, then, on what basis did God declare Abraham righteous? In His undeserved kindness, Jehovah declared Abraham righteous because of his faith.​—Read Romans 4:2-4.

 6. How does Jehovah declare a sinner righteous?

⁶ Paul reasoned further that when a person puts faith in God, “his faith is counted as righteousness.” (Rom. 4:5) Paul added: “Just as David also speaks of the happiness of the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Happy are those whose lawless deeds have been pardoned and whose sins have been covered; happy is the man whose sin Jehovah will by no means take into account.’” (Rom. 4:6-8; Ps. 32:1, 2) God pardons or covers over the sins of those who put faith in him. He forgives them completely and no longer takes their sins into account. He views such individuals as guiltless and righteous on the basis of their faith.

 7. In what sense were faithful worshippers righteous?

⁷ Although they were declared righteous, Abraham, David, and other faithful worshippers of God were still imperfect sinners. But because of their faith, God viewed them as blameless, especially when compared with those who had no standing with him. (Eph. 2:12) As Paul makes clear in his letter, faith is central to having a personal relationship with God. That was true in the case of both Abraham and David, and it is true of us as well.

8-9. What have some individuals wrongly concluded from the writings of Paul and of James, and why?

⁸ For centuries, the relationship between faith and works has been hotly debated in Christendom. Some clergymen teach that all you have to do to be saved is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You may have heard them say, “Accept Jesus and be saved.” Clergymen may even quote Paul’s words: “God counts righteousness apart from works.” (Rom. 4:6) However, others contend that you can “save yourself” by going on religious pilgrimages and by performing other duties as outlined by the church. They perhaps quote James 2:24: “A man is to be declared righteous by works and not by faith alone.”

⁹ As a result of such positions, some religious writers have concluded that Paul and James disagreed on the subject of faith and works. Clergymen may claim that while Paul believed that a man is declared righteous by faith apart from works, James taught that works are essential in order to have God’s approval. A professor of divinity put it this way: “James did not understand Paul’s motive for insisting that [being declared righteous] is by faith alone and not by works.” But Jehovah inspired both Paul and James to write what they did. (2 Tim. 3:16) So there must be a simple way to harmonize their statements. There is​—by considering their writings in context.

10. What “works” was Paul primarily discussing? (Romans 3:21, 28) (See also picture.)

¹⁰ What “works” did Paul focus on in Romans 3 and 4? He was primarily referring to “works of law,” the law of Moses, given at Mount Sinai. (Read Romans 3:21, 28.) It seems that in Paul’s day some Jewish Christians were having a hard time accepting that the Mosaic Law and the works required by that Law had been done away with. Consequently, Paul pointed to Abraham’s example to prove that a righteous standing with God does not result from “works of law.” It comes from faith. That is encouraging because knowing this gives us confidence that a good standing with God is within our reach. It means that we can develop faith in God and in Christ, which can actually lead to divine approval.

11. What sort of “works” was James highlighting?

¹¹ On the other hand, the “works” discussed in James chapter 2 are not the “works of law” mentioned by Paul. James is referring to the works, or activities, that Christians do in their daily life. Such works indicate whether a Christian has genuine faith in God or not. Consider two examples that James used.

12. How did James explain the connection between faith and works? (See also picture.)

¹² In the first example, James spoke of the need for Christians to be impartial in their dealings with others. He illustrated this point with the case of a man who showed favor to a wealthy person but looked down on a poor person. James pointed out that such a man might claim to have faith, but where are his corresponding works? (Jas. 2:1-5, 9) As a second example, James mentioned someone who saw ‘a brother or a sister lacking clothing or food’ but did not provide practical help. Even if that one claimed to have faith, it was not backed up by actions; therefore, it was useless. As James wrote, “faith by itself, without works, is dead.”​—Jas. 2:14-17.

13. How did James illustrate his point about faith in action? (James 2:25, 26)

¹³ James referred to Rahab as a positive example of faith in action. (Read James 2:25, 26.) She had heard about Jehovah and recognized that he was supporting the Israelites. (Josh. 2:9-11) She showed her faith by her actions​—she protected two Israelite spies when their lives were in danger. As a result, this imperfect, non-Israelite woman was declared righteous, just as Abraham had been. The example she set emphasizes the importance of having faith backed up by works.

14. How are the writings of Paul and of James in harmony with each other?

¹⁴ The two Bible writers Paul and James were simply approaching the subject of faith and works from different angles. Paul was telling the Jewish Christians that they would never be able to obtain Jehovah’s approval simply by performing works of the Mosaic Law. James was emphasizing the need for all Christians to show their faith by doing good to others.

15. What are some ways that we can manifest faith by our works? (See also pictures.)

¹⁵ Jehovah does not say that if we want to be declared righteous we must do exactly what Abraham did. In fact, there are many ways in which we can manifest faith through our works. We can welcome new ones in the congregation, help brothers and sisters who are in genuine need, and do good to our family members, all of which are things that God will approve of and bless. (Rom. 15:7; 1 Tim. 5:4, 8; 1 John 3:18) An especially fine work that gives evidence of our faith is our zealously sharing the good news with others. (1 Tim. 4:16) All of us can show by our deeds that we have faith that Jehovah’s promises will come true and that his ways are best. And if we do, we have the firm assurance that God will count us as righteous and will call us his friends.

16. How was hope related to Abraham’s faith?

¹⁶ Romans chapter 4 highlights another vital lesson that we can learn from Abraham: the importance of hope. Jehovah promised that through Abraham “many nations” would be blessed. Imagine what a wonderful hope Abraham had! (Gen. 12:3; 15:5; 17:4; Rom. 4:17) However, even when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, the promised son had not yet appeared. From a human standpoint, it seemed impossible for Abraham and Sarah to have a son. That was a real test for Abraham. “Yet based on hope, he had faith that he would become the father of many nations.” (Rom. 4:18, 19) And sure enough, that hope was realized. He did become father to Isaac, the long-hoped-for son.​—Rom. 4:20-22.

17. How do we know that we can be counted righteous as God’s friends?

¹⁷ We can have God’s approval and be counted righteous as God’s friends, as Abraham was. In fact, Paul touched on that, writing: “The words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for [Abraham’s] sake only, but also for our sake, to whom it will be counted, because we believe in Him who raised Jesus.” (Rom. 4:23, 24) Like Abraham, we need to have both faith and works as well as hope. Paul goes on to discuss our hope in Romans chapter 5, which we will consider in the following article.