We are not to slight good works, for they have their place, but they follow, not precede justification. The workingman is not the justified man, but the justified man is the workingman. Works are not meritorious, but they meet with their reward in the life of the justified. The tree shows its life by its fruits, but it was alive before the fruit or even the leaves appeared. (See under Faith, II. 3, p. 148, for further suggestions regarding the relation between faith and works.)
Summing up we may say that men are justified judicially by God. (Rom. 8:33); meritoriously by Christ, (Isa. 53:11); mediately by faith, (Rom. 5:1); evidentially by works, (James 2:14, 18-24).