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I think I see what your saying,
Again, I see it differently, If sanctification was in context. James would have never said, Can this (faith apart from works) Save you.
He would have never said in this way Abraham was justified (saved) by works also.
Context here is salvation. Not rewards gained by works.
also, I see no place in James chapter 1 or 2 where the jewish people asked. “What role does works play” What I do see is James asking all those who he is written get to to test their faith, ie, is your faith real? Are you hearers of the word only, or are you also doers.
I see it like this.
Paul. Spoke to people who tried to add works to salvation.
Pauls words, we are saved by grace through faith (faith always works. It is not dead) and not of works, lest anyone should be puffed up.
James. Speaking to people who are hearers of the word only, deceiving themselves. His question,
If you CLAIM TO HAVE FAITH (He never said they had faith, He said they CLAIMED to have faith) but have no work, can your faith SAVE YOU? (Again, no mention of rewards) True faith will produce true words (see EPh 2: 10. Paul agrees) if you do not have the works true faith will produce, What good is your claimed faith? It is useless. I can say I have faith until I am blue in the face, if my faith is dead. it has no life to save me, thats why I do not produce works.
I see it like this.
Jews who were steeped in law and DOING heard this new gospel. Which said it is not by works, it is by faith we are saved. So they were FREE from law. And misunderstood paul to be saying we just have to say a prayer and we are saved, thus we can live however we want (be hearers of the word only) because it does not matter, I am saved only (the very thing Fran, and Peter and Ralph and others who have come are against, and what they THINK we teach, because they do not understand what we believe.
So james, as well as Jude and even peter at times (when peter said Pauls words were sometimes hard to understand, I believe this is what he was talking about)
What was james point? The sinners prayer will not save you, if there is no faith, I can believe in god all I want, what good will it do? Even demons believe, It takes true living fath to save us, Those who have true living faith, will have the works paul said we all would have in eph 2: 10, James did not contradict paul/ He just said the same thing paul said in a different context, so it appears to be different.
and ps. I did not learn this from any church or pastor. I studied this on my own, and later found out other people believed this also.
Again, I see it differently, If sanctification was in context. James would have never said, Can this (faith apart from works) Save you.
He would have never said in this way Abraham was justified (saved) by works also.
Context here is salvation. Not rewards gained by works.
also, I see no place in James chapter 1 or 2 where the jewish people asked. “What role does works play” What I do see is James asking all those who he is written get to to test their faith, ie, is your faith real? Are you hearers of the word only, or are you also doers.
I see it like this.
Paul. Spoke to people who tried to add works to salvation.
Pauls words, we are saved by grace through faith (faith always works. It is not dead) and not of works, lest anyone should be puffed up.
James. Speaking to people who are hearers of the word only, deceiving themselves. His question,
If you CLAIM TO HAVE FAITH (He never said they had faith, He said they CLAIMED to have faith) but have no work, can your faith SAVE YOU? (Again, no mention of rewards) True faith will produce true words (see EPh 2: 10. Paul agrees) if you do not have the works true faith will produce, What good is your claimed faith? It is useless. I can say I have faith until I am blue in the face, if my faith is dead. it has no life to save me, thats why I do not produce works.
I see it like this.
Jews who were steeped in law and DOING heard this new gospel. Which said it is not by works, it is by faith we are saved. So they were FREE from law. And misunderstood paul to be saying we just have to say a prayer and we are saved, thus we can live however we want (be hearers of the word only) because it does not matter, I am saved only (the very thing Fran, and Peter and Ralph and others who have come are against, and what they THINK we teach, because they do not understand what we believe.
So james, as well as Jude and even peter at times (when peter said Pauls words were sometimes hard to understand, I believe this is what he was talking about)
What was james point? The sinners prayer will not save you, if there is no faith, I can believe in god all I want, what good will it do? Even demons believe, It takes true living fath to save us, Those who have true living faith, will have the works paul said we all would have in eph 2: 10, James did not contradict paul/ He just said the same thing paul said in a different context, so it appears to be different.
and ps. I did not learn this from any church or pastor. I studied this on my own, and later found out other people believed this also.
