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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] |
Bible Question: hello im just wondering about the book of Genesis chapter 22:12 this is when Isaac was about to be offered as a sacrifice. I know that GOD is omnicient GOD and He knows all things but this verse im kind of confuse if anyone can help me out on the verse because the Lord said on this that "NOW I KNOW" this tells me that at one point He doesnt know what we are going to do? If anyone can help out? |
Bible Answer: AMPLIFIED Genesis 15:6 And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God). [Rom. 4:3, 18-22; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23.] NASB Genesis 15:6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. 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). - - - - - - - - - - 'If you think you're on safe theological ground because of a pet verse, better look twice. Simple prooftexting has its perils.' (Gregory Koukl, Stand to Reason) - - - - - - - - - - |