There is no such thing as “faith alone” in the Bible. It’s a clear contradiction to the principle of faith.
Not actually. Don't confuse salvation through faith in Christ alone - "apart from works" (Romans 4:5-6) with an empty profession of faith/dead faith that remains alone - "barren of works." (James 2:14)
Faith must have the action of obedience or else it remains incomplete and inactive, dormant or “dead”, and thus unable to produce the intended Divine result.
Are saying that dead faith produces obedience/works in order to become a living faith? That's like saying a tree is dead until it produces fruit and then it becomes a living tree. Faith is made alive in Christ FIRST and then afterwards it produces obedience/good works. (Ephesians 2:5-10) Something that is dead cannot produce anything.
In James 2:21, notice closely that James does not say that Abraham's work of offering up Isaac resulted in God 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 account him as righteous, but it
showed or manifested the genuineness of his faith.
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. 5 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: *Nothing mentioned here about Abraham's faith being incomplete to save him until many years later "after" he offered up Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22.
In James 2:22, faith "made perfect or complete" by works means bring to maturity, to complete like love in 1 John 4:18. It does not mean that Abraham was finally saved based on merits of his works after he offered up Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22. When Abraham performed the good work in Genesis 22; he
fulfilled the expectations created by the pronouncement of his faith in Genesis 15:6.
In James 2:23, the scripture was fulfilled in vindicating or demonstrating that Abraham believed God and was accounted as righteous.
Abraham was accounted as righteous based on his faith (Genesis 15:6)
not his works (Romans 4:2-3)
long before he offered up Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22.
Paul says it this way —
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
Paul is not teaching salvation through faith + obedience/works here. Now although Paul can speak of people’s initial response of choosing to believe the gospel as an act of obedience, in which he describes it as "obeying the gospel" (Romans 10:16; 1:16), the purpose of Paul’s apostleship was not merely to bring people to conversion but also to bring about transformed lives that were obedient to God.
Just as we read in Romans 1:5 - Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for
obedience to the faith among all nations for His name. Notice that Paul said they HAVE (already) received grace and apostleship
FOR/UNTO obedience to the faith. Just as in Ephesians 2:10, Paul said that we are created in Christ Jesus
FOR/UNTO good works. We are clearly saved FOR good works and NOT BY good works. (Ephesians 2:8-10) Paul did not say that they did not receive grace and apostleship until they produced obedience/works afterwards. We have
access by faith into grace.. Romans 5:2 not faith "and obedience/works." We are saved through faith in Christ first, then "unto" obedience/works.
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