James 2:18

2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” ¹  Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by ²  my works.

James 2:24

2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Psalms 143:2

143:2 Do not sit in judgment on ³  your servant,

for no one alive is innocent before you. ⁴ 

Matthew 12:37

12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matthew 25:31-40

The Judgment

25:31 “When ⁵  the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 25:32 All ⁶  the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 25:33 He ⁷  will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, ⁸  ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 25:38 When ⁹  did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39 When ¹⁰  did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 25:40 And the king will answer them, ¹¹  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹²  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ¹³  of mine, you did it for me.’

Romans 3:20

3:20 For no one is declared righteous before him ¹⁴  by the works of the law, ¹⁵  for through the law comes ¹⁶  the knowledge of sin.

[2:18]  ¹ tn There is considerable doubt about where the words of the “someone” end and where James’ reply begins. Some see the quotation running to the end of v. 18; others to the end of v. 19. But most punctuate as shown above. The “someone” is then an objector, and the sense of his words is something like, “Some have faith; others have works; don’t expect everyone to have both.” James’ reply is that faith cannot exist or be seen without works.

[2:18]  ² tn Or “from.”

[143:2]  ³ tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”

[143:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”

[25:31]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:32]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[25:33]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[25:37]  ⁸ tn Grk “answer him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:38]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:39]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:40]  ¹¹ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:40]  ¹² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ¹³ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

[3:20]  ¹⁴ sn An allusion to Ps 143:2.

[3:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “because by the works of the law no flesh is justified before him.” Some recent scholars have understood the phrase ἒργα νόμου (erga nomou, “works of the law”) to refer not to obedience to the Mosaic law generally, but specifically to portions of the law that pertain to things like circumcision and dietary laws which set the Jewish people apart from the other nations (e.g., J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC], 1:155). Other interpreters, like C. E. B. Cranfield (“‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]: 89-101) reject this narrow interpretation for a number of reasons, among which the most important are: (1) The second half of v. 20, “for through the law comes the knowledge of sin,” is hard to explain if the phrase “works of the law” is understood in a restricted sense; (2) the plural phrase “works of the law” would have to be understood in a different sense from the singular phrase “the work of the law” in 2:15; (3) similar phrases involving the law in Romans (2:13, 14; 2:25, 26, 27; 7:25; 8:4; and 13:8) which are naturally related to the phrase “works of the law” cannot be taken to refer to circumcision (in fact, in 2:25 circumcision is explicitly contrasted with keeping the law). Those interpreters who reject the “narrow” interpretation of “works of the law” understand the phrase to refer to obedience to the Mosaic law in general.

[3:20]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “is.”