Faith Alone? A Closer Look at Paul, James, and Luther

 Faith Alone? A Closer Look at Paul, James, and Luther

"You will notice that Paul says a man is justified by faith (pistei in Greek)." That line has echoed through Christian thought for centuries, especially since the Reformation. But how often do we stop and ask what it really meant to Paul—and whether we’ve added our own meanings on top of his words?

In Romans 3:28, Paul writes:

“For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

The Greek word he uses for faith is πίστει (pistei)—meaning not just belief, but trust, loyalty, and relational faithfulness. Paul is making a bold claim here, but not one that stands in isolation from the rest of Scripture.

In the 1500s, Martin Luther—frustrated with abuses in the medieval Catholic Church—translated Romans into German. He added a word that doesn’t appear in the original Greek: allein, meaning “alone.” So Romans 3:28 became, in his version, “justified by faith alone.” This addition helped galvanize the Reformation, but it also introduced a theological claim that goes beyond Paul’s own words.

Now here’s the twist: the exact phrase “faith alone” does appear in the New Testament, but only once—and not in support of Luther’s theology.

James 2:24 states,

“You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

That’s not a misprint. The only time the Bible uses the phrase “faith alone,” it explicitly denies the doctrine many Protestants think is central. James isn’t denying faith’s importance; he’s saying that faith without action is useless. Real faith results in transformation. Abraham’s faith acted—he offered Isaac. Rahab’s faith acted—she sheltered the spies. In James' mind, faith is only alive when it is embodied.

So what do we do with this tension between Paul and James? The answer may be simpler than we think. Paul is arguing against reliance on Torah observance—a covenant identity rooted in circumcision, dietary laws, and ritual purity—as the basis of being right with God. He insists that Gentiles are justified by trusting in Christ, not by becoming Jews. James, on the other hand, is addressing people who claimed to have faith but showed no fruit—no love, no mercy, no obedience. In his world, mere belief was not enough. Both apostles agree on one thing: faith is never just intellectual assent. It's never just words. Faith that justifies is always living, working, transforming.

Conclusion 

This shows us that perhaps it is time we stop parroting slogans and return to Scripture itself. Let’s not add to Paul. Let’s not ignore James. Let’s embrace a faith that acts, loves, and moves in the world—because that’s the only kind that’s real.