https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/5-29-15-james-2.zip
END NOTES
Genesis 15, 22.
Romans 4.
Galatians 3.
My view on Justification by Works.
James 2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
James 2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
James 2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
James 2:6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
James 2:7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
James 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
James 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
James 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
James 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
James 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
James 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
James 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
James 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
END NOTES
Genesis 15, 22.
Romans 4.
Galatians 3.
My view on Justification by Works.
Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto
Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding
great reward.
Genesis 15:2 And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me,
seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Genesis 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no
seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
Genesis 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him,
saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine
own bowels shall be thine heir.
Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now
toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said
unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him
for righteousness.
Genesis 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did
tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
Genesis 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac,
whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for
a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Genesis 22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled
his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave
the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which
God had told him.
Genesis 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and
saw the place afar off.
Genesis 22:5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here
with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to
you.
Genesis 22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and
laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and
they went both of them together.
Genesis 22:7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My
father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the
wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a
lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Genesis 22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of;
and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac
his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
Genesis 22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the
knife to slay his son.
Genesis 22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of
heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
Genesis 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad,
neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God,
seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
Romans 4:1 What shall we say then that Abraham
our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
Romans
4:2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not
before God.Romans 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye
should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently
set forth, crucified among you?
Galatians 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the
Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Galatians 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are
ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Galatians 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be
yet in vain.
Galatians 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and
worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the
hearing of faith?
Galatians 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted
to him for righteousness.
Galatians 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the
same are the children of Abraham.
Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify
the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In
thee shall all nations be blessed.
Galatians 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with
faithful Abraham.
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are
under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in
all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the
sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Galatians 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that
doeth them shall live in them.
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth
on a tree:
Galatians 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the
Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit
through faith.
MY VIEW ON JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS-
Understand that the letters
of Paul were circulating among the early believers- and without a doubt his
writings were the most influential in the early church.
Both critics of Paul- as well as other believers [including Peter]
were reading his stuff.
Now- seeing the controversy that was taking place- especially that
the people Paul was writing against- these were believing Jews- under the
ministry of James [he was the leader at the church of Jerusalem- where the Judiazers
worshipped].
With this in mind- knowing how Paul was using the story of Abraham
[quoted above- Romans and Galatians] to teach Justification by Faith.
When James finally enters the fray with his own letter- to the Jewish
believers.
And reading James saying ‘do you not see how Abraham was JUSTIFIED
BY WORKS when he offered his son on the altar’!
It’s in a way a strong rebuke- not of the reality of what Paul
taught- per se- but of the confusion going on between the Jewish believers and
the gentile ones.
In the first 2 chapters of Galatians- which I posted last-
We see Paul rebuking Peter- and saying ‘when some came- FROM
JAMES- Peter stopped eating with the gentiles’.
These guys are not teaching different theologies [Paul and James]-
But it’s easy to see that James is making a bold statement- and
setting the record straight [for those who were misreading Paul].
Because he uses the same person- Father Abraham- to teach
Justification by works.
Now- Many attempts have been made to harmonize James’ statement
‘see how a man is JUSITFIED BY WORKS’ and Paul ‘A man is justified by faith-
not works’.
These attempts are noble and have a degree of truth to them.
But when they are done trying to reconcile these verses- they say
‘works does not justify- only faith’.
The problem with that explanation is the actual verse says ‘see
how a man is justified by works’.
I think the best way to explain it is like this-
Paul uses- primarily- the example from Genesis 15- when Abraham
simply believed God- and God declared him righteous.
James uses the example from Genesis 22- many years after Abraham
was ‘initially justified’ by faith.
And James says when Abraham obeyed- did a work of obedience- God
then ‘justified him’.
James says ‘see how the scripture was fulfilled- which said he believed
God and was justified’ [Genesis 15].
You can say the actual obedient deeds we do- after the initial act
of Justification by faith- can be looked upon as works being produced in the believer-
as a result of the initial justification by faith.
Now- I’m not saying ‘we get saved by faith- then sanctified by works’.
Paul refuted this in Galatians 3.
But- James is indeed saying this act of obedience- in Genesis 22-
is the fulfillment of the act of believing- in Genesis 15.
And he does describe this as being JUSTIFIED BY WORKS.
The terms ‘Justification- Salvation- Born of God’.
All these words are both static [they describe one time events-
like the initial salvation of a believer].
And fluent- they also describe the progressive Acts of God thru
out the life of the believer.
So- in short- When God looks down from heaven- and sees us doing a
just act- he can say ‘good job- I’m pleased with you’.
And James simply applies the term ‘Justification’ to this response
of God.
It’s the same term [in the Greek] that Paul uses when speaking
about the initial act of justification upon belief.
But it’s the context that shows us the difference.
James is not saying that Abraham was not justified by faith in
Genesis 15- but he is saying that he ‘too’ was declared just- by God- when he
did the work of obedience in offering up his son.
And this work- in the bible- is called ‘justification by works’.
The language is in there- and James also uses it to describe Rahab
receiving the spies with peace.
So- instead of rejecting the letter of James- like the Reformer
Martin Luther did in a way when he called it ‘an epistle of straw’.
We simply need to see that the debate revolves around the use of
language-
When James says Abraham- and Rahab- were justified by works- he is
simply saying that God was pleased with the acts they did [by faith mind you-
Hebrews 11].
And when he saw them do these acts of obedience- he ‘justified them’-
meaning- he said ‘you are righteous- you are doing a right act- I still
continue to make decrees of acceptance over you- many years after I made the
initial decree- when you first believed’-
See?
NOTE- Remember a few things-
James actually uses the phrase ‘justified by works’.
Over the years I have read many good scholars try and explain this
verse- and some of their ideas have merit- like ‘James is saying the faith that
saves is a real faith’.
All of these things are true- and James even says that in this
chapter.
Problem?
These explanations are referring to the initial act of
justification- like saying ‘when Abraham believed God [Genesis 15] he had real/
working faith’.
Ok- I get it.
But- these explanations – in the end- still leave the ‘justified
by works’ verse without a clear understanding.
In these other explanations [by Protestants] they are ‘stuck’ on
the initial act of justification- and are unable to see that this term- like
salvation- and righteousness- can- and does speak not only to the initial
‘getting saved’ but also speaks about things that we do- and ways God responds
to those things- thru out our lives.
And God himself is not ‘limited’ to the ‘original Greek’- meaning
if he wants to declare us righteous- or just- all thru out our lives- yes- even
when we ‘do right things’ he can!
After all- he is God.
TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT THE ACTUAL WORDS-
James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he
had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
James 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by
works was faith made perfect?
James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham
believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called
the Friend of God.
James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and
not by faith only.
James 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by
works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also.
Romans 4:1 What shall we say then that Abraham
our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
Romans
4:2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not
before God.Romans 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Romans 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Galatians 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted
to him for righteousness.
Galatians 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the
same are the children of Abraham.
Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify
the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In
thee shall all nations be blessed.
Galatians 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with
faithful Abraham.
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are
under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in
all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the
sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Galatians 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that
doeth them shall live in them.
Note- It’s important to understand when Paul says ‘the works of
the law do not save’-
He is not saying we can break the 10 commandments- live a sinful
life- and still be saved.
The works of the law entail circumcision- and coming under the Old
Covenant.
This was the big debate we read about in these chapters I have
been posting.
You’ll notice that James himself- at the Jerusalem council- agreed
that the gentiles did not need to ‘become Jews’- that is- to convert into
Judaism to become saved.
So part of the problem is we read Paul say ‘you are not saved by
works’- and we tend to associate that with ‘all good works’.
Then we read James say ‘see how a man is justified by works- and
not faith only’.
And this too [not understanding Paul’s full meaning of ‘works/law’]
adds to the confusion.
NOTE- If you carefully read the letters of Paul- even some of the
above quotes- you will see that he also taught a ‘justification’ - that was
sort of an ongoing process.
The words ‘salvation- righteousness- justification’ are also used
by Paul to describe things God is doing in us- in a progressive way.
It’s funny- but when you come across these verses- and read the various
study notes in good reference bibles- you see a sort of preoccupation in
trying- at times- to make them fit the reductionist idea that focuses too much
on the initial conversion experience- to the point where believers [yes- even
scholars who wrote the notes!] try to make the verses that show a sort of
progressive salvation- they try to ‘explain’ them away.
In scripture- justification is God’s declaration over us- ‘not
guilty’- that does indeed take place when we believe in Jesus.
But it is also a progressive work [often called sanctification-
but not limited to this word].
So- when we read Paul saying
‘while we seek to be justified’. Galatians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be
justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ
the minister of sin? God forbid.
Philipians 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win
Christ,
Philipians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
We tend to want to make these verses fit the one time act of
justification that took place upon belief [initial conversion- yes this word
too is fluent!]
So- some of the problems with interpreting these verses are
actually a language problem [down the road I will discuss the philosophy of
Gilbert Ryle- an Ordinary language philosopher from the 20th century-
he thought the whole field of philosophy and the debates were simply a problem
of language! I don’t agree with him by the way].
Note verse 13- Paul said this in the letter to the Romans. Here he
is talking about a future justification that comes to those who DO THE LAW-
see- he and James agree.
Romans 2:12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also
perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by
the law;
Romans 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God,
but the doers of the law SHALL BE JUSTIFIED.
Romans 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by
nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law
unto themselves:
Romans 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean
while accusing or else excusing one another;)
By the way- did you notice the view of James about money? How he
speaks about the poor and the rich? I did not comment on all the good verses in
this chapter- I want you guys to simply read thru the chapter- it’s really
self-explanatory.
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