Results 1 - 3 of 3
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Do you have to be baptized to be saved? | Rom 6:3 | Radioman2 | 80534 | ||
Does James 2 contradict Romans 4? 'The most serious problem these verses pose is the question of what James 2:24 means: "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone." Some imagine that this contradicts Paul in Romans 3:28: "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law." John Calvin explained this apparent difficulty: 'It appears certain that [James] is speaking of the manifestation, not of the imputation of righteousness, as if he had said, Those who are justified by faith prove their justification by obedience and good works, not by a bare and imaginary semblance of faith. In one word, he is not discussing the mode of justification, but requiring that the justification of all believers shall be operative. And as Paul contends that men are justified without the aid of works, so James will not allow any to be regarded as Justified who are destitute of good works. . . . Let them twist the words of James as they may, they will never extract out of them more than two propositions: That an empty phantom of faith does not justify, and that the believer, not contented with such an imagination, manifests his justification by good works. [Henry Beveridge, trans., John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 3:17:12 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1966 reprint), 2: 115.] 'James is not at odds with Paul. "They are not antagonists facing each other with crossed swords; they stand back to back, confronting different foes of the gospel." [The New International Commentary on the New Testament] In 1:17-18, James affirmed that salvation is a gift bestowed according to the sovereign will of God. Now he is stressing the importance of faith's fruit--the righteous behavior that genuine faith always produces. Paul, too, saw righteous works as the necessary proof of faith. 'Those who imagine a discrepancy between James and Paul rarely observe that it was Paul who wrote, "Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!" (Rom. 6:15); and "Having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness" (v. 18). Thus Paul condemns the same error James is exposing here. Paul never advocated any concept of dormant faith. 'When Paul writes, "by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight," (Rom. 3:20), 'he is combatting a Jewish legalism which insisted upon the need for works to be justified; James insists upon the need for works in the lives of those who have been justified by faith. Paul insists that no man can ever win justification through his own efforts. . . . James demands that a man who already claims to stand in right relationship with God through faith must by a life of good works demonstrate that he has become a new creature in Christ. With this Paul thoroughly agreed. Paul was rooting out 'works' that excluded and destroyed saving faith; James was stimulating a sluggish faith that minimized the results of saving faith in daily life. [D. Edmond Hiebert, The Epistle of James (Chicago: Moody, 1979), 175.] 'James and Paul both echo Jesus' preaching. Paul's emphasis is an echo of Matthew 5:3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." James's teaching has the ring of Matthew 7:21: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Paul represents the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount; James the end of it. Paul declares that we are saved by faith without the deeds of the law. James declares that we are saved by faith, which shows itself in works. Both James and Paul view good works as the proof of faith--not the path to salvation. 'James could not be more explicit. He is confronting the concept of a passive, false "faith," which is devoid of the fruits of salvation. He is not arguing for works in addition to or apart from faith. He is showing why and how, true, living faith always works. He is fighting against dead orthodoxy and its tendency to abuse grace. 'The error James assails is faith without works; justification without sanctification; salvation without new life. 'Again, James echoes the Master Himself, who insisted on a theology of lordship that involved obedience, not lip-service. Jesus chided the disobedient ones who had attached themselves to Him in name only: "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46). Verbal allegiance, He said, will get no one to heaven: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21). 'That is in perfect harmony with James: "Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (1:22); for "faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself" (2:17). [Excerpted from Faith Works] www.gty.org/IssuesandAnswers/archive/james2.htm |
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2 | Do you have to be baptized to be saved? | Rom 6:3 | Morant61 | 80557 | ||
Greetings Radioman2! Excellent quotes! May I add one quick point? James 2:24 says, "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." The common mistake made here is to interpret 'justified' as referring to salvation. The verb used here is a Present, passive, indicate, 3rd person, singular verb. It has two possible meanings. It can mean 'justified', or it can mean 'shown to be righteous'. Allow me to illustrate. Mt. 11:19 says, "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."' But wisdom is proved right by her actions.'" 'Proved right' is the same verb as in James 2:24. Luke 7:29 says, "(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus? words, acknowledged that God?s way was right, because they had been baptized by John." Here, 'acknowledged' is the same verb as used in James 2:24. This is clearly the sense in which this verb is being used in James 2:24. This also fits the context better, since salvation is not being discussed in James 2, but the evidence of faith. For those who want to make James 2:24 say that we are saved by works, then they most deal with Eph. 2:8-9 and Rom. 4:2 (this verse even uses the same verb as James 2:24), both of which deny that works save us in any way. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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3 | Do you have to be baptized to be saved? | Rom 6:3 | Radioman2 | 80563 | ||
Tim: Thank you for a very good post. You point out: "The common mistake made here is to interpret 'justified' as referring to salvation . . . It has two possible meanings. "It can mean 'justified', or it can mean 'shown to be righteous'." I agree 100 percent. JUSTIFIED is used in two different ways. I have tried to get this point across several times in recent days. Yet each time I do, I get the same response: Someone repeats and repeats that it is being claimed that there are two different FAITHS. This is nonsense! My posts were never about two different faiths. Instead, they addressed the same issue you did, that "justified" has two possible meanings. It's so simple! James talks about being justified in the eyes of men. Paul talks about being justified (declared righteous) in God's eyes. The only evidence of a person's having been justified that men can see is what they see on the outside. God looks on the heart. And it is God who declares us righteous in his sight. He does so based on faith, not works. Romans 3:28 (ESV) For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Ephes. 2:8-9 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Moreover, it is absurd to imply that one portion of scripture (James) contradicts another (Romans). God, the Author of the Bible, does not contradict himself. Radioman2 |
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