John Calvin Commentary Romans 3:28

"We reckon therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law." — Romans 3:28 (ASV)

We then conclude, etc. He now draws the main proposition as one that is incontrovertible and adds an explanation. Justification by faith is indeed made very clear, while works are expressly excluded. Therefore, in the present day, there is nothing in which our adversaries labor more than in attempts to blend faith with the merits of works.

They indeed allow that a person is justified by faith, but not by faith alone; indeed, they place the efficacy of justification in love, though in words they ascribe it to faith. But Paul affirms in this passage that justification is so gratuitous that he makes it quite evident that it can by no means be associated with the merit of works.

Why he names the works of the law, I have already explained; and I have also proved that it is quite absurd to confine them to ceremonies. Weak also is the interpretation that works are to be understood as those which are outward and done without the Spirit of Christ. On the contrary, the word law that is added means the same as if he had called them meritorious, for what is referred to is the reward promised in the law.

James's statement that a person is not justified by faith alone, but also by works, does not at all conflict with the preceding view. Reconciling the two views depends chiefly on the main thrust of the argument pursued by James. For the question with him is not how people attain righteousness before God, but how they prove to others that they are justified, because his object was to refute hypocrites who vainly boasted that they had faith.

Therefore, it is gross sophistry not to admit that the word 'justify' is used in a different sense by James from that in which it is used by Paul, for they handle different subjects. The word 'faith' is also undoubtedly capable of various meanings. These two things must be taken into account before a correct judgment can be formed on the point.

We may learn from the context that James meant no more than that a person is not made or proved to be just by a pretended or dead faith, and that this person must prove his or her righteousness by works. See my Institutes on this subject.