Your eisegesis here culminates in works righteousness/salvation by works which is a critical error!
EVERYONE IN THIS THREAD NEEDS TO SEE THIS.
Now prior to my conversion several years ago while still attending the Roman Catholic church, I believed exactly what you posted above. I basically defined faith "as" obedience/works and could not make the distinction between faith (which is the root of salvation) and works (which are the fruit of salvation). Your argument about faith and works lines up with what Roman Catholics teach.
Romans 5:1 says, "justified by faith" and
not faith
and works. Paul is using the term "justified" to mean "accounted as righteous" here. In James 2:24, James is not using the word "justified" to mean "accounted as righteous" but is
shown to be righteous. James is discussing the
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) and
not the initial act of being accounted as righteous with God. (Romans 4:2-3)
In the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the Greek word for justified "dikaioo" #1344 is:
1. to render righteous or such he ought to be
2.
to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered
3. to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be
In Matthew 12:37, we read - "For by your words you will be
justified, and by your words you will be condemned." This is because our words (and our works) reveal the condition of our hearts. Words/works are evidence for, or against a man being in a state of righteousness.
God is said to have been
justified by those who were baptized by John the Baptist (Luke 7:29). This act pronounced or declared God to be righteous. It did not make him righteous. The basis or ground for the pronouncement was the fact that God IS righteous. Notice that the NIV reads,
“acknowledged that God's way was right.." The ESV reads,
“they declared God just.” This is the "sense" in which God was “justified.” He was
shown to be righteous.
Matthew 11:19 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!' Yet wisdom is
justified/vindicated/shown to be right by her deeds."
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. That is the "sense" in which Abraham was "justified by works." He was
shown to be righteous.
James 2:24 -You see then that a man is justified (shown to be righteous) by works, and not by faith only (empty profession of faith that only
claims to be genuine but
demonstrates by the
lack of works that it's
dead). James 2:14 sets up the context. In James 2:14, we read of one who
says/claims (key word) he has faith but has
no works (to
evidence 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!
Abraham was justified (accounted as righteous) BY FAITH in Genesis 15:6 and BY or "out of" FAITH Abraham offered up Isaac upon the altar in Genesis 22 is not saying the same thing. It's one thing to say that Abraham was justified (accounted as righteous) by faith (Abraham believed in the Lord/believed God) and it was accounted to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:2-3) and it's another thing to say that by or "out of" faith (many years later) Abraham offered up Isaac upon the altar. So works are not merely faith. Works are the fruit, by product and demonstrative evidence of faith. This is absolutely critical to understand! Works salvation is NO SALVATION AT ALL. (Romans 4:2-6; 11:6; Ephesians 2:8,9; Philippians 3:9; Titus 3:5; 2 Timothy 1:9 etc..)
In regard to 1 Thessalonians 1:3, notice the words "work of" faith, "labor of" love and "patience of" hope. These are the practical outworking of the Thessalonian believer's conversion. The "work" that the Thessalonians do is a result or consequence of their faith. So too their "labor" flows from love and their "endurance" comes from hope. Work "of" faith does not mean that faith in essence is the work accomplished. Their work is a result or consequence "of" their faith. The work done is "of" faith or done "out of" faith. Faith was already established at conversion and then the work followed as a result or consequence "of" their faith. Just as in 2 Thessalonians 1:11, deeds are prompted by or "out of" faith but these deeds are not in essence faith itself.
You don’t seem to make a distinction between faith “and” works that “follow” as a "result of" faith and the end result of that is salvation by faith AND works. We are saved by grace through faith, not works. (Ephesians 2:8,9) Please read everything that I shared with you very carefully and I hope and pray that this may be your turning point.
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