Faith and Works

Elder Tom Ott

During the time of the Reformation one issue that was hotly contested was whether a person is justified by faith or by works. The Roman Catholics emphasized the passage that we read from James, that states that "a man is justified by works and not by faith alone," while the Protestants responded with the passage from Romans that we read, according to which "a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith."

James was worried about people who accepted Christian doctrine as true but did not live their lives according to that doctrine. Paul, on the other hand, was worried about those who thought if they just followed the law, they would automatically be acceptable to God.Read more ...