The only way the principle of faith works, is by obedience.
Faith is the root of salvation and obedience/works which follow are the fruit. Good works are the fruit, by product and demonstrative evidence of faith, but not the essence of faith and not the means of our salvation.
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works
Again, your true colors are really showing. Apparently, you interpret "justified by works" to mean saved by works. James 2:14-24 has to be some of the most misunderstand verses in the Bible and are a favorite of works-salvationists.
James is not using the word "justified" here to mean "accounted as righteous" but is "shown to be righteous." James is discussing the
proof/evidence of faith (
says-claims to have faith but has no works/I will show you my faith by my works - James 2:14-18),
not the initial act of being accounted as righteous with God (Romans 4:2-3). Works bear out the justification that already came by faith.
Not the works of the law of Moses
Not the work that earns a wage
Not good works
The work of obedience.
In James 2:15-16, the example of a "work" that James gives is: "If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?" To give a brother or sister these things needed for the body would certainly be a "good work/work of faith"
yet to neglect such a brother or sister and not give them the things needed for the body is to break the second great commandment "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39)
as found written in the law of Moses (Leviticus 19:18).
In Matthew 22:37-40, we read: Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Please tell me, which good works/works of obedience could a Christian do which are "completely detached" from these two great commandments which are found in the law of Moses? (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18). Are there any genuine good works Christians do which "fall outside" of loving God and our neighbor as ourself?
*When it comes to the
moral aspect of the law of Moses, you cannot dissect good works/works of obedience from the law of Moses and works of obedience are good works and if we were saved by works, then these works would earn a wage, so the not saved by "these" works (works of the law of Moses/works that earn a wage/good works) but saved by "those" works (works of obedience) argument is
bogus. Your premise is completely flawed and sounds similar to what Roman Catholicism teaches. Other works-salvationists also teach your flawed premise. Here is a statement below from another
works-salvationist that I was in a previous discussion with about faith and works:
"It is works of obedience and not works of the law or works of merit that help save us." - This is absolutely false. Jesus doesn't need our help. His finished work of redemption is sufficient and complete to save believers. No supplements needed. (Romans 3:24)
Abraham obeyed God when He told him to offer Issac on the altar.
Abraham demonstrated faith working by love, by His obedience and was justified by faith: By the obedience of faith.
*In James 2:21, notice closely that James
does not say that Abraham's work of offering up Isaac resulted in God's accounting Abraham as righteous.
The accounting of Abraham's faith as righteousness was made in Genesis 15:6, many years before his work of offering up Isaac recorded in Genesis 22. The work of Abraham did not have some kind of intrinsic merit to save him, but it
showed or manifested the genuineness of his faith. This is the sense in which Abraham was justified by works. He was "shown to be righteous."
Maybe you believe that by “disobedience” is how we are justified, which means to be declared as righteous.
Refusing to believe the gospel and teaching salvation by works is disobedience (Romans 3:22-28; 10:16). Preaching your perverted gospel is not obedience. Romans 4:2 - For
if Abraham was justified (accounted as righteous)
by works, he has
something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham
believed God, and
it (faith, not works) was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but
believes on Him who justifies the ungodly,
his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom
God imputes righteousness apart from works. *If you can't get this right, then you have a much bigger problem than worrying about whether or not a genuine, born again Christian can lose their salvation. (2 Corinthians 4:3,4)
That is how faith functions, by the corresponding action of obedience to what God says to us..
Faith is belief, trust, reliance and
obedience which follows is works and we are
not saved by works. (Ephesians 2:8,9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5).
Faith comes to us by hearing God speak to us.
Romans 10:17.
When we obey what Gos says, then faith becomes “activated” of alive, and able to produce the intended divine result.
Works do not activate faith and works are not the source of life in faith either. We are made alive in Christ FIRST by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:5) then UNTO good works (Ephesians 2:10). Works are not the origin of faith. You put the cart before the horse.
Faith without this corresponding act of obedience is dead, and does not function,
In James 2:14, we read of one who
says/claims he has faith but has
no works (to validate his claim). That is not genuine faith, but a
bare profession of faith. So when James asks, "Can
that faith save him?" he is saying nothing against genuine faith, but only against an
empty profession of faith/dead faith. *So James
does not teach that we are saved "by" works. His concern is to
show the reality of the faith professed by the individual (James 2:18) and demonstrate that the faith claimed (James 2:14) by the individual is genuine. Simple!
In James 2:20, "faith without works is dead" does not mean that faith is dead until it produces works and then it becomes a living faith or that works are the source of life in faith. That's like saying a tree is dead until it produces fruit and then it becomes a living tree and the fruit is the source of life in the tree. James is simply saying faith that is
not accompanied by evidential works is dead. It
DEMONSTRATES that it's dead. If someone
says-claims he has faith but
lacks resulting evidential works, then he has an
empty profession of faith/dead faith and not authentic faith.
l
ike a body without a spirit is dead, and does not function.
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. James 2:26
The comparison of the human spirit and faith converges around their modes of operation. The spirit (Greek pneuma) may also be translated "breath." As a breathless body emits no indication of life, so fruitless faith exhibits no indication of life. The source of the life in faith is not works; rather, life in faith is the source of works (Ephesians 2:5-10).
Now maybe you could answer this simple question.
But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: Romans 16:26
God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.
Who has made known to all nations for the obedience of faith?
- God?
- Paul?
- JPT?
- The obvious answer is God and I already explained the obedience of faith/obedience to the faith to you in post #391 and again in post #413, (and it doesn't mean that we are saved through faith + obedience/works) but unfortunately, I can see the truth that I shared with you just went right over your head and there is a reason for that which is completely obvious now.
Now maybe you can answer these simple questions.
1. Which church do you attend?
2. If you were standing at the gates of heaven right now and Jesus Christ asked you why He should let you into heaven, what would be your EXACT ANSWER?