Hi Nehemiah.
Well, imo initial justification is by grace through faith, apart from works. And yes, I agree good works follow faith and are the fruit of faith. But James is telling us more than that imo; he is saying that good works, done in faith, contribute to growth in justification, or sanctification. Good works not only showed that Abraham, for e.g. already had faith, but his love for God and obedience to His Commands also made his faith perfect. Thus:
"21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."
Would you disagree? Two other verses, on persevering in faith, and continuing to do good works until the end:
Rev 2:10: "Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."
Rev 2:26: "And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations."
I don't ignore anything. I agree with 2:18 and 2:18 says we show our faith by our works. But that's not all James teaches.
Are you ignoring verses 21 and 22? I quoted it above. Good Works increase the justification we received initially by grace through faith; for e.g. Abraham was justified already in Gen 15:6. In Gen 22, he offers his son out of obedience and love to God, which is described in Jam 2:21. And James says Abraham was justified further (in Gen 22) or sanctified by this work.
Now, how will you deal with that? Good works increase the righteousness we receive by faith; that is why James teaches, in verse 22
"faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect". Recall in the Gospel, Our Lord taught:
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Mat 5:48). How can we do this? By adding works to faith, for the verse says:
"by works faith was made perfect". Good works contribute to our sanctification.
Yes, no disagreement there. I'm speaking of Good Works done post justification. Good Works before justification, done without the Holy Spirit, do not sanctify. But the former does. 2 Pet 1:5-11 is another passage that teaches this clearly.
And you and I agree that Good Works, done on the foundation of Faith in Christ, have rewards in Heaven, as 1 Cor 3:10-15 teaches. The reason they do is that those who co-operated with God's Grace and did good works were sanctified more.
On this we disagree. Good works are definitely the fruit of faith, but they also help our sanctification, and thus contribute toward gaining the grace of perseverance in the faith, for which Our Lord taught us to pray: "Lead us not into temptation". When we pray like that, we are praying for the grace to persevere, in being faithful to Christ, and avoiding grave sin. As we continue to pray, this grace will sooner or later be given to us. But it is not instantaneous like justification, and requires prayer, good works, fruitfulness in faith, etc. Paul at one time said:
"But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." (1 Cor 9:27)
If he believed in eternal security, he would never have written this. 1 Cor 9 was written earlier in Paul's ministry, around 53 A.D. Later on, nearer to his death and martyrdom for Jesus, the Lord revealed to him that he would persevere, and thus go to Heaven. Thus he wrote, in 2 Timothy, near 67 A.D. when he was martyred:
"6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing ... 18And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!" (2 Tim 4)
This is the same crown the Lord speaks of in Rev 2:10, as the gracious reward promised for faithfulness unto death; it's not enough to say "I said the Sinner's Prayer once in 30 seconds, and that's it. We must say, at the end of life, "By God's Grace, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith, for the Lord delivered me from every evil".
Then, we will go to Heaven. God Bless.