Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | James 2:21 Was our father Abraham not [shown to be] justified by works [of obedience which expressed his faith] when he offered Isaac his son on the altar [as a sacrifice to God]? [Gen 22:1-14] |
Subject: By grace alone through faith alone |
Bible Note: Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? (James 2:21 NASB) 2:21 *justified by works.* "This does not contradict Paul's clear teaching that Abraham was justified before God by grace alone through faith alone (Rom. 3:20; 4:1-25; Gal. 3:6, 11). "For several reasons, James cannot mean that Abraham was constituted righteous before God because of his own good works: "1) James already stressed that salvation is a gracious gift (1:17,18); "2) in the middle of this disputed passage (v. 23), James quoted Gen. 15:6, which forcefully claims that God credited righteousness to Abraham solely on the basis of his faith; and "3) the work that James said justified Abraham was his offering up of Isaac (Gen. 22:9,12), an event that occurred many years after he exercised faith and was declared righteous before God (Gen. 12:1-7, 15:6). Instead Abraham's offering of Isaac demonstrated the genuineness of his faith and the reality of his justification before God. "James is emphasizing the vindication before others of a man's claim to salvation. James' teaching perfectly complements Paul's writings; salvation is determined by faith alone (Eph. 2:8,) and demonstrated by faithfulness to obey God's will alone (Eph. 2:10)" (page 1930, MacArthur Study Bible, Word Publishing, 1997). |
Down View Branch | ID# 23334 | ||
Questions and/or Subjects for James 2:21 | Author | ||
|
kalos | ||
|
Makarios | ||
|
djconklin | ||
|
pj_cheeks | ||
|
thedowger | ||
|
thequickenenedone |