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NASB | Matthew 7:13 ¶ "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 7:13 ¶ "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. |
Subject: Faith plus Baptism or Faith alone? |
Bible Note: Greetings Sniper! This topic has been dealt with many times, but allow me to touch upon it one more time! :-) There are many passage which explicitly teach that works do not and cannot save us. Rom. 4, Eph. 2:8-10, Gal. 2, and Rom. 9 are all examples. So, we have two choices concerning James 2:24. Either we can say that James is contradicting all of these other passages, or it doesn't mean what you think. I believe the later is true. The context of James 2 is quite clear. Some were 'saying' that they had faith, but not living it. James made the point that real faith is demonstratable and visible in our obedience. In fact, Paul made the same point in Eph. 2:8-10, good works are a result of salvation, but not the cause of it. So, what is James 2:24 saying? The word translated as 'justified' can also mean 'proven right' or 'demonstrated to be righteous'. Check out Rom. 3:4. Was God justified or was He proven right in His words? Rom. 4:2, 4:5, 5:1 all deny that we can be justified by works. The same word is used here. So, unless one wants to say that James 2:24 directly contradicts these other verses, the only possible answer is that James 2:24 is using the second meaning of the term. In other words, our faith is demonstrated by our works. The only possible way to harmonize these verses is quite clear - salvation produces good works, good works do not produce salvation. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |