Subject: what is baptism |
Bible Note: Don't assume I am unfamiliar................... I know your line of thought. Why should I put Romans 4 in context with James 2? Better to work out the meaning of Rom 4 and James 2, then comparing them. Romans 4 is teaching that man is justified by faith alone apart from any work. James 2 is a response to a question concerning the proof of faith in someone's life. Two different subjects. Gen 15:6 (where Abraham is declared righteous upon belief) occurs several years before Gen 22 (where the faith is put to the ultimate test). Do we say that Abraham was yet lost until he was willing to offer up Isaac? I think not. He was declared righteous upon belief. No action was necessary. And it was only after this righteousness was imputed did Abraham receive the sign of circumcision. And besides trying to tell us that salvation occurs at baptism, you state that God saves some in a completely different way. You are preaching two gospels, and both are different from the truth. Steve |