Protestants often struggle to reconcile their views of justification with James 2:24: “You see a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” Since they hold that we are justified by faith alone and not through any human effort, Protestants cannot accept what James says at face value. As a result, they are left to interpret James’s use of the term “justification” differently from every other use of the term in Scripture.
The other so-called solution, however, would be simply to dismiss the book of James altogether. Martin Luther chose to do this, saying “I will not have [James] in my Bible to be numbered among the true chief books” since it contradicts “all the rest of Scripture in ascribing justification to works” (Preface to the Epistle of James).
But Luther and many other Protestants are mistaken. Not only is there plenty of evidence from the rest of the New Testament that works justify men, but even the Old Testament teaches this clearly as well. Take, for example, these three passages (emphasis added):
Then Phin′ehas stood up and interposed, and the plague was stayed. And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness from generation to generation for ever (Psalm 106:30-32).
And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge; when the sun goes down, you shall restore to him the pledge that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it shall be righteousness to you before the Lord your God”(Deuteronomy 24:12-13).
And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us (Deuteronomy 6:25).
Throughout the Old Testament, we see God justifying—i.e., counting righteous—individuals on the basis of not only their faith, but also their actions. In the case of Psalm 106, Phinehas is justified for interposing between an Israelite and Midianite woman. Furthermore, in Deuteronomy 24, an Israelite is said to be justified if he returns a poor man’s pledge before the day ends. Lastly, in Deuteronomy 6, an Israelite is said to be justified by obeying the commandments given to him by God.
Thus, Scripture is clear that we can be justified by what we do, provided we do it in faith through love. This is the sum of what St. Paul teaches in the New Testament: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6, emphasis added).