There is a persistent error that threatens the very heart of the gospel: the attempt to introduce a second, works-based justification alongside the doctrine Paul received and delivered. This is not a minor theological quibble. It is a direct assault on the finished work of Christ and the irrevocable inheritance secured for all who believe.
The Fatal Error: Splitting Justification
The confusion begins when James’ letter is elevated as a doctrinal equal to Paul’s revelation—without regard for the historical and canonical context provided by Acts and Galatians. James was not an apostle, and his epistle, while part of the canon, serves as a wisdom document reflecting the tumult and error that plagued Jerusalem. To treat it as a parallel foundation for church doctrine is to invite disaster. The inevitable result is a system that overthrows Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith.
This error manifests in various forms. Some, like the Hebrew Roots movement and Jehovah’s Witnesses, simply deny justification by faith outright, even branding Paul a false apostle. Others, such as Mid-Acts Dispensationalists, claim James was writing to Jews who were justified by works, inventing a separate gospel for them. Calvinists, for their part, redefine faith to include works, backloading human effort into the very heart of the gospel.
But even among those who profess justification by faith, the rot persists. They split justification into “forensic” (Paul: legal clearance of guilt) and “practical” (James: justification by works for reward, blessing, or temporal salvation). They assure us this does not interfere with Paul’s gospel, as if two justifications can coexist—one for heaven, one for blessing. This is a fatal compromise.
What Is Lost: The Collapse of Inheritance and Sonship
If you accept this bifurcation, you lose everything that matters. The promise of God is made to rest on human works. The inheritance becomes a wage, not a gift. The peace of conscience, the assurance of sonship, the certainty of joint heirship with Christ—all are gutted. You are left with a gospel that cannot save, a “blessing” that must be earned, and a salvation that is always in doubt.
Consider the logic: If Abraham secured the promise by offering Isaac, then the blessing and inheritance are not grounded in God’s covenant, but in Abraham’s performance. Was our salvation really dependent on Abraham’s obedience in Genesis 22? If he had faltered, would Christ not have inherited? Would the throne be empty? Would the promise have failed? This is the inevitable conclusion of works-based justification: the nullification of the covenant and the disqualification of every heir.
The Irrevocable Covenant: God’s Work Alone
Paul’s testimony is unambiguous. In Genesis 15, while Abraham slept, God alone cut the covenant—a covenant not with Abraham, but with the Son. This is the foundation: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made… and to thy seed, which is Christ” (Galatians 3:16). The law, coming centuries later, cannot annul it or add conditions. The promise is sure to all the seed by faith, not by works.
When Abraham offered Isaac, he was not earning the promise; he was acting out prophecy. He knew, as Hebrews tells us, that God could raise the dead. Isaac was a type of Christ, and Abraham a type of the Father. The mountain was named “The Lord will provide,” because the true offering was yet to come. The blessing, the inheritance, and the reward are Christ’s, freely shared with all who are baptized into Him, clothed with Him, and seated with Him in the heavenlies. This is the mystery revealed to Paul alone: the Church as the body of Christ, joint heirs of the “allotted portion of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:12-13).
The Non-Negotiable: Justification by Faith Alone
To split justification into legal and practical categories is to gut it of its power and benefit. The “dumbed-down” version—“Paul gets you to heaven for free, but James says you must work for your reward”—is a lie that nullifies the promise. It is not a secondary issue. It is primary and salvific. Paul insists: the covenant, once ratified, cannot be disannulled or amended. To teach otherwise is to add a condition, nullify the covenant, and disqualify all heirs.
The gospel preached to Abraham was not about sin, but about blessing and inheritance—secured by God alone, ratified in Christ, and received by faith. To add works is to lose everything. Stand with Paul. Stand on the finished work. Refuse any gospel that makes the promise contingent on human effort. The inheritance is Christ’s, and He shares it freely with all who believe.
Scripture References
Galatians 3:16-17
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Hebrews 11:17-19
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Genesis 22:12
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
Psalm 8
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! … For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. … Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet…
Hebrews 13:20-21
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Colossians 1:25-27
Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Ephesians 3:3-11
How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery … That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel … According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
