We can say they confirm it, yes, along with our hope, and, most relevantly, our love, since long is the prime motivator for doing good. Faith, by virtue of the union with God it establsihes, should lead to all that.
Without Abraham offering his only son, the faith is dead until there
The two are to work hand in hand, faith working through love as Gal 5:6 puts it. Historically the church has taught that both faith and authentic works are gifts of grace, and yet gifts we can refuse. To believe in God and act accordingly-to hear and heed His voice- is the reverse of what Adam did. It's the right and just thing do to begin with which is why it pleases God immensely-and why He declared Abraham to be just. It's to walk the talk, not merely talk.Do you think this is what James is talking about in James 2 where he discusses faith + works? Do you see his statement about justification by works to be God's declaration about Abraham's passing the test and thus this "confirm[ation]" [of faith] you mention?
The two are to work hand in hand, faith working through love as Gal 5:6 puts it. Historically the church has taught that both faith and authentic works are gifts of grace, and yet gifts we can refuse. To believe in God and act accordingly-to hear and heed His voice- is the reverse of what Adam did. It's the right and just thing do to begin with which is why it pleases God immensely-and why He declared Abraham to be just. It's to walk the talk, not merely talk.
Good issue! After rebirth (being saved) the most important issue is "glorifying your Father which is in heaven," and this is by "letting your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works"--that others might desire to be saved (Mat 5:16).“So what is the big deal about works?
Good issue! After rebirth (being saved) the most important issue is "glorifying your Father which is in heaven," and this is by "letting your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works"--that others might desire to be saved (Mat 5:16).
Also, faith is ever accompanied by works, for faith is never dead, but alive. Faith is nonexistent if works are not evident, as one cannot have faith and no works. No works, no faith and conversely no faith, no works, for works derive solely from faith.
After being reborn it's all about growing in Christ's image (walk or lifestyle), so we can be used to draw the lost and strengthen the saved.
Good input! Yes, this last century has resulted in many of the false doctrines of the past to rise due to lack of sufficient teachings of the growth truths within the Pauline Epistles. I believe the Body of Christ will be, in general, at its lowest maturity when the Lord Jesus comes for her. Thankfully it's not the maturity of our walk that determines the salvific position believers have in Christ, for at rebirth we are without "spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing" (Eph 5:27).This is what Jesus prayed for in John 17...
The witness was meant to be visible to the world and all about how believers relate together.
"that they may be one that the world may know...."
Sadly this truth has been largely lost.
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” - James 2:26
Literally, this means you do not have faith unless you act on it.
But Jesus said nobody can go to heaven by working.
"I am the Way and the Truth and the Light. Nobody comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:6
So what is the big deal about works?
The big deal is the faithfulness of obedience, in which true faith results.“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” - James 2:26
Literally, this means you do not have faith unless you act on it.
But Jesus said nobody can go to heaven by working.
"I am the Way and the Truth and the Light. Nobody comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:6
So what is the big deal about works?
Neither Paul nor James spoke of works as a means, or even a part of the means, to salvation. The works are first evidence of salvation and secondly the acting out of the work of the Holy Spirit in sanctification of the believer.I agree with this conclusion, but if you look at the verse in context I think James and Paul disagreed on justification. Maybe the disagreement was more verbal than substance, but we know from Paul’s letters that Paul and James actually did have some disagreements.
Faith requires action. You can believe a rickety old bridge can hold your weight, but you do not have faith in the bridge unless you actually walk across it.“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” - James 2:26
Literally, this means you do not have faith unless you act on it.
But Jesus said nobody can go to heaven by working.
"I am the Way and the Truth and the Light. Nobody comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:6
So what is the big deal about works?
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” - James 2:26
Literally, this means you do not have faith unless you act on it.
But Jesus said nobody can go to heaven by working.
"I am the Way and the Truth and the Light. Nobody comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:6
So what is the big deal about works?
The two are to work hand in hand, faith working through love as Gal 5:6 puts it. Historically the church has taught that both faith and authentic works are gifts of grace, and yet gifts we can refuse. To believe in God and act accordingly-to hear and heed His voice- is the reverse of what Adam did. It's the right and just thing do to begin with which is why it pleases God immensely-and why He declared Abraham to be just. It's to walk the talk, not merely talk.
Neither Paul nor James spoke of works as a means, or even a part of the means, to salvation. The works are first evidence of salvation and secondly the acting out of the work of the Holy Spirit in sanctification of the believer.
Yes, I agree that they were at a crossroads between the two, sort of in a moral neutral zone vis a vis God, not yet ready to to embrace Him as their God, let alone love Him with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strentgh.Eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and evil caused Adam and Eve to become mortal, while eating from the Tree of Life would have caused them to become immortal, so before eating from either tree, they are neither mortal nor immortal, but were are a crossroads between the two. In Deuteronomy 30:15-20, they were at the same crossroads where Moses presented before them life and death, life for obedience to God's law and death for disobedience to it, and instructed them to choose life! In other words, they were given the option to reverse what Adam did by choosing obedience and life.
I agree with this conclusion, but if you look at the verse in context I think James and Paul disagreed on justification. Maybe the disagreement was more verbal than substance, but we know from Paul’s letters that Paul and James actually did have some disagreements.
I'd probably agree with this except to say that love, which faith is meant to engender as it brings us into proximity to or union with God, the very Source of love, is the true motivation for obedience and fulfillment of the law, as love literally fulfills the law, Rom 13:10-and without needing to hear the law. Love is the goal, as God is the goal.The issue is that God's law can be obeyed for purposes other than trying to earn our justification, especially because it was never given as means of doing that, so verses that speak against that fundamental misunderstanding of the goal of the law should not be mistaken as speaking against our justification requiring us to choose to obey God's law for some other reason, namely faith. In Romans 3:31, our faith upholds God's law, so only those who have faith will uphold it by obeying it and will be justified by the same faith, which is why Paul could say in Romans 2:13 that only doers of the law will be justified while also using Abraham's example in Romans 4:4-5 to deny that our justification can be earned as a wage.
While it is true that Abraham believed God, so he was justified (Genesis 15:6), it is also true that he believed God, so he obeyed God's command to offer Isaac (Hebrews 11:17), so the same faith by which he was justified was also expressed as obedience to God, but he did not earn his justification by his obedience as a wage. In James 2:21-24, it quotes Genesis 15:6 to support saying that Abraham was justified by his works when he offered Isaac, that his faith was active along with his works, and his faith completed his works, so he was justified by his works insofar as they were an expression of his faith, but not insofar as they were earning a wage. James wholeheartedly agreed with what Paul said in Romans 2:13, so they were on the same page.
In Ephesians 2:8-10, we are new creations in Christ to do good works, so while we do not earn our salvation by our works lest anyone should boast, doing good works is nevertheless still an integral part of our salvation.
I'd probably agree with this except to say that love, which faith is meant to engender as it brings us into proximity to or union with God, the very Source of love, is the true motivation for obedience and fulfillment of the law, as love literally fulfills the law, Rom 13:10-and without needing to hear the law. Love is the goal, as God is the goal.
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