Dead faith.

[Behold]

James 2:14-26 is ALL about the fact that faith is made up of TWO essential components:
BELIEF and WORKS, which is the obedience part. Either one on its own is worthless (dead).

The Faith that you give God, originally, that He accepts to save you, is not "two" components.
So, don't confuse "justification by faith", with "two components", as that would not be scriptural.

When we look at James, he's not talking about the Faith that God accepted when you originally Trusted in Christ.
James is talking about, your walk of faith....your DISCIPLESHIP.
And if this is not a living and functioning situation, then you are cold to God, backslidden, which is proof that your discipleship is not engaged = Dead faith.
James says...."I'll show YOU my faith by my works".
He does not say he will show GOD, his faith, and this is the context of the verse that 100% of Christians miss.
James says...."I'll show YOU, my faith"..."YOU".
The YOU< is the people..
So, that is the context.....We are to show our faith before others....as that is how our FRUIT is SEEN.
That is what James is talking about when he is stressing "works"... "Works" as FRUIT, that faith is ALIVE, .... and you do this before others, or as James says...>"I'll show YOU my faith".

 

[BreadOfLife]

The Faith that you give God, originally, that He accepts to save you, is not "two" components.
So, don't confuse "justification by faith", with "two components", as that would not be scriptural.

When we look at James, he's not talking about the Faith that God accepted when you originally Trusted in Christ.
James is talking about, your walk of faith....your DISCIPLESHIP.
And if this is not a living and functioning situation, then you are cold to God, backslidden, which is proof that your discipleship is not engaged = Dead faith.
James says...."I'll show YOU my faith by my works".
He does not say he will show GOD, his faith, and this is the context of the verse that 100% of Christians miss.
James says...."I'll show YOU, my faith"..."YOU".
The YOU< is the people..
So, that is the context.....We are to show our faith before others....as that is how our FRUIT is SEEN.
That is what James is talking about when he is stressing "works"... "Works" as FRUIT, that faith is ALIVE, .... and you do this before others, or as James says...>"I'll show YOU my faith".

Semantics.
I'll show "YOU" is the same as saying, I'll show God.

We show GOD our faith our response to the grace He gives us to believe.
Works of faith are NOT the same as works of the Law. The Law was almost impossible to keep. It was meant to be that way to show us that we need god's grace - and that we cannot do it on our own.

Christian faith is the fulfillment of the Jewish Law. HOWEVER, this time, the works have been prepared FOR us by God (Eph. 2:10) so we cannot claim ANY credit. They have, in a sense been "given" to us - just as the grace to believe was given to us. Together, these TWO components comprise true faith.

 

[justbyfaith]

If you keep them all, and are not born again, you end up in Hell after you die, having kept all the commandments.
Understand?

Technically, someone might enter in to the kingdom if they kept the law perfectly from conception to the end of their life...and if they also continued to keep the commandments throughout eternity after they died.

Because the moment they would fail to keep even one commandment, they would no longer be worthy of heaven.

Gal 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.

Jas 2:10, For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Mat 5:48, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

 

[justbyfaith]

James compares the works of the harlot Rahab having justified her in the sight of God - just as the works of Abraham justified him.
There was NO other point where Rahab was considered "righteous" or was justified - prior to doing God's will.

James 2:21, 25
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

This is actually the point that James is trying to make in this chapter.
Faith = BELIEF + WORKS (obedience).

Faith is NOT simply "belief".
James smashes that false teaching in verse 19 by telling his readers that even the DEMONS do that much. What the demons DON'T do is obey (works) - so, where they might BELIEVE in the truths about God - they don't have faith.

Works justify us before man, who sees only what is on the outside, in that they show forth (not always) that we have a genuine faith.

Romans 4:2 shows that Abraham had whereof to glory with his works; just not before God. In other words, his works only justified him before man.

Before God, who sees the heart, we are justified by faith alone, apart from works (Romans 4:5-6, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5).

Because a person can have works but not have genuine faith.

But if I say that I have faith, I ought to show forth that faith by my works.

Nevertheless, in today's world, where men are taught salvation by works, a man might do works in order to earn his salvation; and such a thing would not be the result of genuine faith.

The only works that matter are the ones done out of thankfulness over the fact that one has already been redeemed.

If you know that you know that you know that you are saved, you will be grateful to the Lord over this. And the works that you do will stem out of this gratitude and the salvation that you have been given.

But if you are attempting to gain salvation because of what you do, the reward is not reckoned of grace but of debt. And God will not owe any thing to any man. He desires to give unto you salvation as a free gift.

This gift is a practical righteousness in your heart, if you have it (Romans 5:17) (1 John 3:7, Romans 5:19, Matthew 5:6).

 

[Helen]

I gotta disagree with you here.

Eph. 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.

We agree that we are saved by God's grace. We obtain that saving grace because of the Sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary.
However - we obtain salvation through our cooperation with God's grace. THIS is what James is talking about.

Because WE are a work in progress - the Bible tells us that salvation is a lifelong process. It's not a one-time, slam dunk event.
The Scriptures assure us that we as Christians are ALREADY SAVED (Rom. 5:1, 8:24, Eph. 2:5–8)
This is Initial Salvation – God give us the initial grace to believe.

However, because Salvation is a LIFELONG process – it ALSO says that I am BEING SAVED (1 Cor. 1:8, 2 Cor. 2:15, 7:1, Phil. 2:12, Heb 12:14). This is Ongoing Sanctification – God is sanctifying us throughout our life as we cooperate with his grace.

Because of this, I have the hope that I WILL BE SAVED (Matt. 24:13, Rom. 5:9–10, 1 Cor. 3:12–15).
This is Final Sanctification/Salvation – We die and go to heaven having endured in faith to the end.

At ANY point in our life - we can turn away from God by our own doing - and the Scriptures warn us to remain faithful in order to obtain God's promises (Matt. 7:19-23, Matt. 10:22, Matt. 24:13, Matt. 25:31–46, John 15:1-6, Rom. 11:22, 1 Cor. 9:27, 1 Cor. 4:4, 1 Tim. 4:1, Heb. 3:6, Heb. 3:12-14, Heb 6:4-6, Heb. 10:26-27, 2 Pet. 3:17, 1 John 2:24, 1 John 5:13, Rev. 3:5, Rev. 22:19).

It's a long run...endurance . "Moses endured as seeing Him who is invisible."

1 Pet 1-9
" Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

"Gold, silver and precious stones, OR wood, hay and stubble...."
The Day will declare just how well we have run this race that we are in.

 

[Helen]

Technically, someone might enter in to the kingdom if they kept the law perfectly from conception to the end of their life...and if they also continued to keep the commandments throughout eternity after they died.

But , do you believe there is any bypassing of the blood of Jesus!!
There can be no bloodless salvation...they didn't even have that in the OT.

 

[justbyfaith]

But , do you believe there is any bypassing of the blood of Jesus!!
There can be no bloodless salvation...they didn't even have that in the OT.

See Galatians 6:13....not even those who are sticklers for the law are able to keep it.

 

[BreadOfLife]

Works justify us before man, who sees only what is on the outside, in that they show forth (not always) that we have a genuine faith.

Romans 4:2 shows that Abraham had whereof to glory with his works; just not before God. In other words, his works only justified him before man.

Before God, who sees the heart, we are justified by faith alone, apart from works (Romans 4:5-6, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5).

Because a person can have works but not have genuine faith.

But if I say that I have faith, I ought to show forth that faith by my works.

Nevertheless, in today's world, where men are taught salvation by works, a man might do works in order to earn his salvation; and such a thing would not be the result of genuine faith.

The only works that matter are the ones done out of thankfulness over the fact that one has already been redeemed.

If you know that you know that you know that you are saved, you will be grateful to the Lord over this. And the works that you do will stem out of this gratitude and the salvation that you have been given.

But if you are attempting to gain salvation because of what you do, the reward is not reckoned of grace but of debt. And God will not owe any thing to any man. He desires to give unto you salvation as a free gift.

This gift is a practical righteousness in your heart, if you have it (Romans 5:17) (1 John 3:7, Romans 5:19, Matthew 5:6).

This is all out of YOUR head and not Scripture. Remember what James 2:25 said when comparing Abraham to Rahab:
And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

Rahab was justified by what she DID - in the SAME way that Abraham was. This is the Word of God - not my opinion or commentary.
As for your statement in RED - you are completely misrepresenting what I said.

I never said that we "earned" anything. In fact - specifically stated that WE don't get ANY credit for the works that GOD prepared FOR us in advance (Eph. 2:10). We're just the instrument - the "tool", if you will. I merely stated that our cooperation in these works are an essential component of what faith IS (Belief + Works).

Why do you think we will be JUDGED by our works (Rom. 2:6, 2 Cor. 5:10)??
Certainly NOT because they were something WE came up with. We simky cooperated with the grace to perform them.

 

[BreadOfLife]

It's a long run...endurance . "Moses endured as seeing Him who is invisible."

1 Pet 1-9
" Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

"Gold, silver and precious stones, OR wood, hay and stubble...."
The Day will declare just how well we have run this race that we are in.

AMEN.

 

[justbyfaith]

Rahab was justified before man by what she did...just as Abraham was (Romans 4:2).

Her works showed forth her genuine faith...which God would have seen in her even if she had not done any works to back it up.

Before those who see what is visible...we are justified by works.

Before the Lord, who sees what is invisible (1 Samuel 16:9) we are justified by faith alone.

 

[justbyfaith]

Jesus is both God and Man as the judge of humankind...

Therefore He will judge on the basis of faith alone, in determining whose names are written in the Book of Life....but will also judge the unbelieving world on the basis of works....in order to determine their exact punishment for sins they committed because they rejected Christ and His remedy for sin.

 

[Helen]

Rahab was justified before man by what she did...just as Abraham was (Romans 4:2).

Her works showed forth her genuine faith...which God would have seen in her even if she had not done any works to back it up.

Before those who see what is visible...we are justified by works.

Before the Lord, who sees what is invisible (1 Samuel 16:9) we are justified by faith alone.

So you DO believe in a bloodless salvation! In the past you have accused me of heresy...yet what you say here about a bloodless cross is a false gospel. Denying the eternal sacrifice.

That makes me sad ...very sad ...are you changing your doctrine midstream!!

 

[justbyfaith]

So you DO believe in a bloodless salvation! In the past you have accused me of heresy...yet what you say here about a bloodless cross is a false gospel. Denying the eternal sacrifice.

That makes me sad ...very sad ...are you changing your doctrine midstream!!

I think that you misunderstand me.

I am saying that no one can keep the law; so if someone attempted to gain salvation through the law, they would utterly fail.

I don't think that I have ever accused you of heresy using the words heresy or heretic.

I know that I have corrected your Universalism by bringing up scriptures that speak clearly on the subject of hell.

 

[mailmandan]

This is actually the point that James is trying to make in this chapter.
Faith = BELIEF + WORKS (obedience).

False. Faith that saves = belief, trust, reliance in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and obedience which "follows" is works and we are saved through faith, not works. (Romans 4:5-6; Ephesians 2:8,9) *This remains your achilles heel.*

Faith is NOT simply "belief".
James smashes that false teaching in verse 19 by telling his readers that even the DEMONS do that much. What the demons DON'T do is obey (works) - so, where they might BELIEVE in the truths about God - they don't have faith.

In James 2:19, we see that the demons believe "mental assent" that "there is one God," but they do not believe in/have faith in/trust in/reliance in Jesus Christ for salvation. In other words, they do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31) and are not saved. Their trust and reliance is in Satan (and not in Jesus), as demonstrated by their rebellion in heaven, lack of obedience to Jesus and continuous evil works.

The demons believe "mental assent" that the death, burial and resurrection of Christ "happened" (and so do many "nominal" Christians) yet they do not trust in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ as the ALL-sufficient means of their salvation (Romans 1:16) HUGE DIFFERENCE and neither do "nominal" Christians who trust in works for salvation.

 

[BreadOfLife]

I think that you misunderstand me.
I am saying that no one can keep the law; so if someone attempted to gain salvation through the law, they would utterly fail.
I don't think that I have ever accused you of heresy using the words heresy or heretic.
I know that I have corrected your Universalism by bringing up scriptures that speak clearly on the subject of hell.

There you go talking about the Law again.
The Law was fulfilled by Christ (Matt. 5:17). James is NOT talking about salvation through the Law - but through FAITH.

He just happens to define WHAT true faith actually is:
Belief + Works = FAITH (James 2:14-26, Gal 5:6, 1 Cor. 13:1-13, Matt. 25:31-46).

 

[BreadOfLife]

False. Faith that saves = belief, trust, reliance in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and obedience which "follows" is works and we are saved through faith, not works. (Ephesians 2:8,9) *This remains your achilles heel.*

In James 2:19, we see that the demons believe "mental assent" that "there is one God," but they do not believe in/have faith in/trust in/reliance in Jesus Christ for salvation. In other words, they do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31) and are not saved. Their trust and reliance is in Satan (and not in Jesus), as demonstrated by their rebellion in heaven, lack of obedience to Jesus and continuous evil works.

The demons believe "mental assent" that the death, burial and resurrection of Christ "happened" (and so do many "nominal" Christians) yet they do not trust in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ as the ALL-sufficient means of their salvation (Romans 1:16) HUGE DIFFERENCE and neither do "nominal" Christians who trust in works for salvation.

That's NOT what Jesus said . . .
Matt. 7:21
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but ONLY THE ONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven.

Again - you are misrepresenting the Catholic position for the sake of argument. The Works that are an essential element of faith - along with belief - were prepared FOR us by God (Eph. 2:10), so we cannot take credit for them. We can only cooperate with the grace that moves us to perform them. That grace is a GIFT.

THAT'S what James is talking about (James 2:14-26).

 

[justbyfaith]

There you go talking about the Law again.
The Law was fulfilled by Christ (Matt. 5:17). James is NOT talking about salvation through the Law - but through FAITH.

He just happens to define WHAT true faith actually is:
Belief + Works = FAITH (James 2:14-26, Gal 5:6, 1 Cor. 13:1-13, Matt. 25:31-46).

Salvation that has works in it is no salvation at all. What I mean by this, is this: salvation is not of works (Ephesians 2:9); but it is of faith (Ephesians 2:8). Therefore works are not a part of faith; because if works be a part of faith, then, in being saved by faith we are saved by works; which the Bible categorically denies (Romans 4:1-8, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-7).

The real equation is faith = belief = salvation + works.

Subtract works from all three sides of the equation and you have faith - works = belief - works = salvation.

The original equation shows forth a faith that has works in the salvation experience, as the result of a simple faith in Jesus Christ.

 

[BreadOfLife]

Salvation that has works in it is no salvation at all. What I mean by this, is this: salvation is not of works (Ephesians 2:9); but it is of faith (Ephesians 2:8). Therefore works are not a part of faith; because if works be a part of faith, then, in being saved by faith we are saved by works; which the Bible categorically denies (Romans 4:1-8, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-7).

The real equation is faith = belief = salvation + works.

Subtract works from all three sides of the equation and you have faith - works = belief - works = salvation.

The original equation shows forth a faith that has works in the salvation experience, as the result of a simple faith in Jesus Christ.

This is why I always warn you guys that Scriptural cherry-picking won't work.

Eph. 2:8 does NOT say that works have "nothing" to do with salvation. It says that any works from OURSELVES don''t count towards salvation.
But, as I have explained about half-dozen times bow - they are not "OUR" works. They were prepared FOR us by God (Eph. 2:10) in advance so we can't take credit for them. And as I have also repeatedly shown - all WE do is cooperate with the grace to do them - which is a gift from God.

Read the Scriptures in their proper context instead of picking them apart . . .

 

[justbyfaith]

This is why I always warn you guys that Scriptural cherry-picking won't work.

Eph. 2:8 does NOT say that works have "nothing" to do with salvation. It says that any works from OURSELVES don''t count towards salvation.
But, as I have explained about half-dozen times bow - they are not "OUR" works. They were prepared FOR us by God (Eph. 2:10) in advance so we can't take credit for them. And as I have also repeatedly shown - all WE do is cooperate with the grace to do them - which is a gift from God.

Read the Scriptures in their proper context instead of picking them apart . . .

If we can't take credit for them then they certainly don't save us as being credited to our account.

What is credited to our account as righteousness is simple faith (Romans 4:3).

 

[BreadOfLife]

If we can't take credit for them then they certainly don't save us as being credited to our account.

What is credited to our account as righteousness is simple faith (Romans 4:3).

Once again - we will ne judged by our works (Rom. 2:6, 2 Cor. 5:10) - whether we cooperated with God's grace or whether we chose our own will over His.
It's our cooperation with His grace that counts - not any works of our own.