Take a look here and see why V and so many others are mistaken about their misunderstanding of James and salvation.
Here is my conclusion on the book of James and Paul.
Facts about the book of James: == Note; All scriptures are from the NKJ Bible:
Everyone should be familiar with what James wrote in James 2:20-24
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.
24 [sup] [/sup]You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
The above is used by many to show that true faith must be accompanied by works if it is true faith.
Let us explore what James wrote to see if his conclusions are based on facts.
Genesis 15:4-6
4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir."
5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
In the above we see that God accounted Abraham as righteous
solely for his faith in His Promises, and not by anything that He did. This event happened many years before Isaac was born. Paul accurately reports this.
It is a fact that James is using Genesis 22 to base his conclusions. However, it seems that James did not consider the account in Genesis 15. James conclusions are based on the account given in Genesis 22, many years after Isaac was born, when Abraham was well over 100 years old, and he agreed to offer Isaac.
Okay, let us look at the facts:
It is a fact that nowhere does the OT Scripture say that Abraham "was called God's friend" BECAUSE he was willing to offer up his son Isaac. In Isaiah 41:8 it states that God called Abraham His friend but nowhere in the context of the chapter does He say it was because Abraham offered up his son Isaac. Nor does it say in Genesis 22 that Abraham was accounted as righteous BECAUSE he offered up his son Isaac.
What James wrote, as shown above, is a direct contradiction of the Gospel that Paul taught and the account given in Genesis 15:4-6. Abraham was righteous before God solely because he believed God’s promises.
In my opinion,
based on the facts, the book of James is devoid of the gospel of grace as taught by Paul. Here are some facts that support my opinion. I find them interesting.
1. The word “Law” is found in 18 places
2. The word “grace” is found in 2 places
3. The word “Christ” is found in 2 places
4. The word “Justified” is found in 2 place with the words “by works” after them
5. The words “by faith” is found 1 time (justified by works and not by faith only)
6. The word “cross” is not found
7. The word “reconciled” is not found
8. The word “sanctified” is not found
9. The word “saved” is not found
10. The words “in Christ” are not found
Romans 4:1-7 Abraham Justified by Faith (Genesis 17:10)
1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
David Celebrates the Same Truth
5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;
NKJV
So what do we do with the book of James? Should it be in the Bible? --- Of course it should. It was written to the believing Jews; JAMES Greeting to the Twelve Tribes; James 1:1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. --- The above is a fact. It was written to the believing Jews who were still under the law of Moses. --- to apply what James said to the grace church that is under Paul’s gospel of grace is wrong.
It is very simple. If a person was a Jew, under the Law of Moses, and they did not do what the Law of Moses required, it was proof that their faith was dead. They had no faith in doing the works of the Law.
However, under grace, to do the works of the Law to show your faith, indicates that your faith is in your doing the works of the Law, not in the work of Jesus (God) on the cross.
Now will come those who will refuse to discuss the facts as presented above but will try to marginalize and demonize me for having the audacity to say the above. But facts are facts and truth is truth.
