"What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14).
Federal Visionists love this passage because when James asks whether faith without works can save, he anticipates a negative answer (due to the presence of the Greek particle me at the beginning of the sentence). Thus, James is boldly declaring that faith alone cannot save, which seems like a blatant contradiction of sola fide.
However, there is no reason to ditch the historic Reformed faith. As the esteemed commentator Zane Hodges has pointed out, the word “save” probably refers to being “rescued” from trials. James is not speaking about eternal salvation but earthly deliverance, namely that faith without works cannot deliver us from earthly trials. Thank God for men like Zane Hodges who are committed to protecting sola fide!
