Does the Epistle of James Teach a Different Gospel?
"Not flogging, but flowing—letting good works turn from the current of Christ within."
Exploring Luther’s Straw, E. Stanley Jones’ Flow, and the Full Counsel of God
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A Tension We Can’t Ignore
It’s a question that has troubled many sincere believers—especially those who cherish the simplicity of salvation by grace through faith. How do we reconcile the robust call to good works in the book of James with the message of rest and union in Christ found in Paul’s epistles? Was Martin Luther right to call James “an epistle of straw”? And does E. Stanley Jones agree with him? More critically—do these perspectives suggest that James is teaching a different gospel?
Let’s walk this road slowly, honestly, and with open hearts. There’s more unity here than division—if we allow Scripture to breathe on its own terms and listen carefully to what God is saying through both apostles and the saints who’ve come after.
What Luther Actually Meant
Luther’s label of “an epistle of straw” was never meant to imply that James was false or heretical. He simply believed James lacked the nourishing centrality of Christ that defines the New Testament gospel. Luther was a man forged in the fires of reform, fighting against a Church that had buried grace under sacraments and penance. For him, the rediscovery of justification by faith alone was a thunderclap of freedom.
So when James said, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24), Luther recoiled. It seemed to contradict the very heartbeat of Romans and Galatians. But with time, Luther himself softened toward James, eventually acknowledging its place in the canon. Still, the tension remained—and remains.
E. Stanley Jones: Not a Critic, But a Clarifier
E. Stanley Jones doesn’t dismiss James. He doesn’t call it wrong. He simply notices something important: the phrase “in Christ” never appears in the letter. And that absence matters.
Jones wasn’t nitpicking; he was pointing out a widespread problem in modern Christianity. Many believers, he observed, were modeling their lives not after Paul’s Spirit-filled vision of union with Christ, but after the activity-heavy tone of James. The result? A form of Christianity rooted more in self-effort than in Spirit-dependence. The fruit of that kind of life may look similar on the outside—but it is exhausting and hollow on the inside.
Jones contrasts “flogging” (self-willed obedience) with “flowing” (Spirit-led living). He’s not accusing James of promoting flogging—he’s saying many Christians have misread James in that direction. And that’s the crux of the issue.
Is James Teaching a Different Gospel?
Let’s be clear:
❌ No, James is not teaching a different gospel.
✅ But yes, James emphasizes a different aspect of the gospel.
James assumes his readers already believe in Jesus. His concern is with hypocrisy and fruitlessness, not with how salvation begins, but how it shows itself. He never says we are saved by works—but rather that true saving faith cannot be divorced from visible fruit.
In fact, James and Paul are in harmony when understood in full context:
Paul says: “We are saved by grace through faith… not by works, so no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).
James says: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).
These aren’t contradictions; they are complements. Paul is laying the foundation. James is inspecting the house built on it. Paul tells us how we become new creations in Christ. James says, "Let’s make sure that new life actually shows."
Why the Absence of “In Christ” Still Matters
Even though James’ message is valid, Jones’ observation about the missing phrase “in Christ” should make us pause. Not because James is flawed, but because we are. We are prone to take commands and run with them on our own. We rush to the battlefield without waiting to hear the voice of our Commander. We mistake external conformity for internal transformation.
That’s why Paul’s epistles are saturated with the reality of union with Christ—because we must never separate the work from the Source. Works that do not flow from union are just noise. Even James, rightly understood, points us there. He begins by saying we must ask for wisdom from God—not muster it up. He ends by calling us to restore others gently, much like Paul does in Galatians.
The lack of “in Christ” in James isn’t an error—it’s an invitation. It reminds us that every command must be lived out through our connection to the indwelling Christ. Otherwise, we are just moralizing in the flesh, even if our proof texts come from Scripture.
A More Beautiful Harmony
Imagine a two-person band—Paul on piano, James on percussion. Paul plays the melody of grace and identity. James provides the rhythm of action and integrity. One without the other creates imbalance. But together, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the sound is beautiful and whole.
We are not saved by works. We are not kept by works. But Christ in us—when trusted and yielded to—will work. As Paul said, It is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). And that’s a truth James would surely amen.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Flog. Flow.
Let’s not throw James aside. Let’s understand him properly. Let’s also not try to mimic him apart from Christ. The call to be “doers of the Word” is not a call to moralism—it’s a call to let Christ live His life through us.
E. Stanley Jones wasn’t criticizing James. He was correcting us. He was reminding the Church that if our works are done in ourselves, they are just straw. But if our works are done in Christ, they are gold, silver, and precious stones—glorious, eternal, and full of joy.
Let’s trade the whip for the waterwheel. Let the Spirit turn our hearts by grace and let good works flow—because we are in Him, and He is in us.