ἔργον

The New Testament has two passages on faith and works that, taken in isolation, appear to contradict each other.

Paul writes: “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28). And again: “by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight” (Romans 3:20). And again: “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ… because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16). The Pauline statement is consistent and emphatic. Justification before God is not by works.

James writes: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?… So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead… You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone… For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:14-26). The Jacobean statement is equally consistent and emphatic. Faith without works does not save.

Same Greek word — ergon, the standard term for work or deed. Apparently opposite conclusions.

The apparent tension has occupied the church’s reflection for two thousand years. Luther, in a famous and intemperate moment, called James “an epistle of straw.” More careful Lutheran theology has resolved the tension differently. Paul and James are not contradicting each other; they are answering different questions about the same word.

Paul is answering: How is a sinner justified before a holy God? His answer: by faith in Christ, apart from any works the sinner could perform. The works of the law — the human attempts at righteousness — cannot justify, because they are inadequate and because the law that demands them also condemns the law-breaker.

James is answering: What kind of faith justifies? His answer: a living, working faith — not a dead faith that exists only in words and never produces fruit. The faith that justifies is a faith that works.

Two different questions. Two different uses of the Greek word ergon. The Pauline “works of the law” and the Jacobean “works of faith” are not the same thing; they are structurally opposed within the Pauline framework itself. Paul rejects the former and affirms the latter. James affirms the latter against those who claim the former while producing no fruit.

This chapter is about that word — ergon — and about the careful distinction the New Testament makes between two structurally different kinds of works.

The Word

The Greek word is ἔργον (ergon), pronounced in the Erasmian convention as ER-gon, with the accent on the first syllable. The word is a second-declension neuter noun and appears over one hundred and sixty times in the New Testament.

The etymology runs back to the Proto-Indo-European root werg- meaning to do or to work. The same root produces English work, German Werk, and a wide range of cognates across the Indo-European languages. In Greek, the root yields a substantial vocabulary of doing and laboring. The English words energy, synergy, ergonomics, and liturgy (from leitourgia, “public work” — treated in Chapter 42 of this volume) all derive from this root.

The word family is substantial and theologically rich:

Ergon (ἔργον) — work, deed, labor, accomplishment. The chapter’s main word.

Ergazomai (ἐργάζομαι) — to work, to do, to perform. The cognate verb. Used at Matthew 21:28 (the parable of the two sons sent to work in the vineyard), at John 6:27 (do not work for the food that perishes), at 1 Thessalonians 4:11 (to work with your hands), at 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat).

Ergasia (ἐργασία) — a working, business, occupation, gain from working. Used at Acts 16:16 (the slave girl who brought her owners much gain from her divination), Acts 19:24-25 (the business of the silversmiths in Ephesus).

Energeia (ἐνέργεια) — operation, working, effective working. The compound with en- (in). Used at Ephesians 1:19 (the working of God’s great might), Ephesians 3:7 (the gift of God’s grace given through the working of his power), Colossians 1:29 (Paul toils, struggling with all the energy that Christ powerfully energizes within him).

Energeō (ἐνεργέω) — to work in, to be at work. Used at Galatians 2:8 (the one who worked through Peter for the apostolic mission to the circumcised also worked through Paul for the Gentiles), Philippians 2:13 (it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure), 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (the word of God which is at work in you who believe).

Synergos (συνεργός) — fellow worker. The compound with syn- (with). Used over a dozen times in the New Testament for those who labor alongside the apostles in gospel work. Romans 16:3 — Prisca and Aquila are Paul’s synergoi. 2 Corinthians 1:24 — Paul and his companions are synergoi of the Corinthians’ joy.

The whole word family revolves around the action of doing, working, and producing effect. Ergon is what is done; ergazomai is the doing of it; energeia is the effective working that produces results; energeō is the active operation of that energy; synergos is the partner in the working. The vocabulary covers human labor, divine action, and the cooperation between them across a wide theological range.

The Septuagint background is substantial. Ergon in the LXX translates several Hebrew terms for work, deed, and accomplishment, most commonly ma’aseh (מַעֲשֶׂה — work, deed, action) and melakah (מְלָאכָה — work, occupation, business). The Old Testament’s view of work is consistent and substantive. Work is part of the creation order — Adam was placed in the garden “to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15) before the fall. The fall corrupts work (Genesis 3:17-19 — work becomes toil), but does not eliminate it. The Sabbath establishes a rhythm of work and rest. The various commandments concerning work (the seventh-year fallow, the Year of Jubilee, the laws on hired labor) regulate work in ways that recognize both its dignity and its dangers.

The Old Testament also develops the theological dimension of works. God’s works — His mighty acts in creation, in the exodus, in providence — are the proper object of human meditation and worship (Psalm 8:3 — the works of God’s fingers; Psalm 19:1 — the heavens declare His handiwork). Human works — the obedience of the covenant people — are the proper response to God’s gracious initiative. The relationship between divine and human works is structured by the covenant: God acts first, His people respond. The Hebrew Scriptures never treat human works as the basis of God’s favor toward His people; the favor is grounded in God’s election and covenant, and the works are the people’s response within the covenant relation.

A few Old Testament passages illuminate the New Testament development:

Genesis 2:15 — “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it (l’avdah, LXX ergazesthai) and keep it.” Work is part of the creation order, instituted before the fall. The dignity of human work is grounded in this foundational text.

Genesis 3:17-19 — “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life… By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground.” Work after the fall becomes toil, frustration, and difficulty. The dignity remains but the experience is corrupted.

Exodus 20:9-10 — “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” The rhythm of work and Sabbath rest. Work is good; rest from work is also good; the rhythm structures the believer’s life.

Psalm 90:17 — “Let the favor of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” Moses’s prayer for the LORD’s blessing on human work. The work of human hands is a proper object of divine blessing.

The Old Testament’s view of work is the structural background for the New Testament’s ergon doctrine. Work is good; work is corrupted by the fall; work is to be done in covenant relation with God who blesses it; work is part of the Sabbath rhythm that orders human life.

Range of Meaning

Ergon in the New Testament covers a meaningful range:

Works as deeds, acts, or actions in general. The most basic sense. Matthew 5:16 (let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works), Acts 7:22 (Moses was mighty in his words and deeds), Acts 9:36 (Tabitha was full of good works and acts of charity).

Works as the activity or labor of God. John 4:34 (Jesus’s food is to do the work of the Father), John 9:3-4 (the works of God displayed in the blind man’s healing), John 17:4 (Jesus has accomplished the work the Father gave Him to do).

The works of Christ. Matthew 11:2 (John in prison heard about the works of Christ), John 5:36 (the works the Father has given Jesus to accomplish witness that the Father has sent Him), John 14:10-12 (the works Christ does are the Father’s; the believer will do these works and greater).

“Works of the law” (negative, in Pauline polemic). Romans 3:20, 28; Galatians 2:16, 3:2, 5, 10; Galatians 3:10 (“all who rely on works of the law are under a curse”). The Pauline use names the human attempt to be justified before God by performance of the law’s requirements. Paul consistently rejects this as a basis of justification.

“Good works” (positive, in Pauline and Jacobean teaching). Ephesians 2:10 (we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works), Titus 2:14 (a people zealous for good works), Titus 3:8, 14 (be careful to devote yourself to good works), 1 Timothy 2:10, 5:25, 6:18 (good works as the proper adornment of Christian women, the proper character of widows, the proper use of wealth), Hebrews 10:24 (stir one another up to love and good works), 1 Peter 2:12 (your good works observed by the Gentiles).

Works as the basis of eschatological judgment. Matthew 16:27 (Christ will repay each according to his works), Romans 2:6 (God will render to each according to his works), Revelation 2:23, 20:12-13, 22:12 (judgment according to works).

Where You’ll Meet It

Ephesians 2:8-10. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” The Greek of verse 10: autou gar esmen poiēma, ktisthentes en Christō Iēsou epi ergois agathois.

The verse is the foundational New Testament text for the Lutheran doctrine on works. Three observations matter.

First, the negative side. Verses 8-9 reject any role for works in salvation. Ouk ex hymōn… ouk ex ergōn, hina mē tis kauchēsētai — “not of yourselves… not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Salvation is the gift of God, received by faith, with no contribution from human works. The repeated negation makes the point unmistakable: salvation is not by works.

Second, the positive side. Verse 10 develops the place of works after salvation. Believers are God’s workmanship (poiēma — the same root as English “poem”), created in Christ Jesus for good works (epi ergois agathois). The Greek preposition epi with the dative case names purpose or direction. Believers are not created by good works but for good works. The works are the purpose of the new creation, not its means.

Third, the prepared works. Hois proētoimasen ho theos — “which God prepared beforehand.” The good works the believer does are not human inventions or random Christian activities. God has prepared specific works for each believer in advance. The believer’s task is to walk in them (hina en autois peripatēsōmen) — to live in the works God has prepared.

The verse establishes the structural pattern of the Lutheran doctrine. Salvation is by grace through faith, not by works. Believers are created in Christ for good works. The good works are not the basis of salvation but the consequence and purpose of salvation. God Himself has prepared the works in which the believer is to walk. The Lutheran position rests on this verse: sola fide (faith alone) for justification; good works as the necessary fruit of justifying faith.

Romans 3:20, 28. “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin… For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” The Greek of verse 28: dikaiousthai pistei anthrōpon chōris ergōn nomou.

The Pauline texts that ground the Lutheran sola fide. Two observations matter.

First, the phrase “works of the law” — erga nomou. The Pauline use is specific. Paul is not rejecting all works; he is rejecting works of the law as the basis of justification. The “works of the law” in the Pauline context are the human attempt to be justified before God through performance of the law’s requirements — whether ceremonial (circumcision, food laws, Sabbath observance) or moral (the Ten Commandments and broader ethical requirements). Paul’s argument is that no human can be justified this way, because no human has kept the law adequately and because the law itself condemns the law-breaker.

Second, the structural argument. Verse 20 connects to verse 28. Through the law comes knowledge of sin. The law’s primary function in the question of justification is to show the sinner his sin, not to provide him a means of self-justification. The same law that demands righteousness also condemns the law-breaker. The sinner who attempts to be justified by the law finds himself condemned by it. The only path to justification is the path that bypasses the works of the law — justification by faith in Christ, who alone has kept the law and whose righteousness is reckoned to the believer.

The Reformation was, at one level, the rediscovery of this Pauline doctrine. The medieval Roman Catholic system had developed elaborate structures of merit, satisfaction, and works-righteousness that obscured the foundational New Testament teaching. Luther’s “Tower experience” — the realization that the iustitia Dei (righteousness of God) was the gift God gives to the believer, not the standard by which God judges the believer — recovered the Pauline doctrine. Sola fide — by faith alone — became the Reformation’s central confessional principle.

James 2:14-26. “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?… So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead… You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” The Greek of verse 24: horate hoti ex ergōn dikaioutai anthrōpos kai ouk ek pisteōs monon.

The Jacobean text that has occupied the church’s reflection alongside the Pauline. The chapter’s hook has already identified the careful resolution: Paul and James are answering different questions, with different senses of “works” and “faith” in view.

Three observations matter.

First, the James context is the orthodox-claim-without-fruit problem. James is addressing those who claim faith but produce no evidence of it in their lives — “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” (James 2:15-16). The problem James is addressing is the dead orthodoxy that affirms doctrinal content without producing the kind of life the doctrine should produce.

Second, the James definition of “faith.” When James says “faith without works is dead,” the kind of faith he is dismissing is the merely-intellectual assent that produces no fruit. James 2:19 — “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe — and shudder!” The demons have correct doctrine. The demons believe God is one. But the demons are not saved by their correct belief, because their belief is not the kind of faith that issues in faithful life. The Jacobean “faith without works” is the kind of faith demons have — intellectual assent without the relational reality that produces fruit.

Third, the James definition of “works.” James’s examples are Abraham offering Isaac (James 2:21-23) and Rahab receiving the spies (James 2:25). These are not “works of the law” in the Pauline sense; they are works of faith — acts performed in trust in God, flowing from the believer’s confidence in God’s promise. Abraham did not offer Isaac in order to earn God’s favor; Abraham offered Isaac in trust that God could raise the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). Rahab did not hide the spies in order to gain salvation through her works; Rahab acted in faith in the God of Israel.

The Lutheran resolution holds Paul and James together. Justification before God is by faith in Christ, apart from works of the law (Paul). The faith that justifies is a faith that works — a living faith that produces the fruit of love, service, and obedience (James). The two writers are not contradicting each other; they are using the same word ergon in different theological senses, and they are answering different questions about the relationship between faith and works in the Christian life.

Titus 3:5-8. “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit… The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.” The Greek of verse 5: ouk ex ergōn tōn en dikaiosynē ha epoiēsamen hēmeis; of verse 8: hina phrontizōsin kalōn ergōn proistasthai hoi pepisteukotes theō.

The passage gives both halves of the Lutheran doctrine in one short text. Salvation is not by works done in righteousness; it is by God’s mercy through the washing of regeneration. Those who have believed in God are to be careful to devote themselves to good works. The same Paul who rejects works as the basis of salvation insists on good works as the proper character of the believer’s life.

The Greek expression kalōn ergōn proistasthai — “to devote oneself to good works” — uses a verb (proistēmi) that means “to set oneself before” or “to give attention to.” The believer is to actively engage in good works, not as the means of salvation but as the proper character of the saved life.

The Lutheran tradition has held this passage carefully. The believer’s good works are real, important, and the necessary fruit of saving faith — without ever being the basis of salvation. Pieper’s classical formulation captures the Lutheran position: “Faith alone justifies, but justifying faith is never alone.” The faith that saves is the faith that produces good works; the good works that result are not the cause of salvation but its evidence and consequence.

Matthew 5:16. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” The Greek: hopōs idōsin hymōn ta kala erga kai doxasōsin ton patera hymōn ton en tois ouranois.

Jesus’s own statement on the public character of good works. The believer’s good works are visible — they are meant to be seen. But the visibility serves a particular purpose: the glorification of the Father in heaven. The believer’s works are not displays of his own righteousness or his own goodness; they are the means by which others come to give glory to God.

This is one of the most pastorally important New Testament passages on good works. The believer’s works are not private religious activities or self-justifying achievements; they are the visible signs by which God’s glory becomes known to those who see them. The Christian works in his ordinary callings — in his job, his family, his community, his church — and these works, when done in faith, redirect attention to God.