James 2:21 "Was not Abraham our father rendered righteous/justified by [means of] works, by [means of] having offered his son Isaac upon the altar?"
Wait a minute, you say, doesn't this fly in the face of Paul in Romans 4:1-5? It would if they were talking about exactly the same thing, but they are not - context, context, context. Paul is talking about Abraham having faith BEFORE he was circumcised. (Rom.4:10) Paul points out it is not circumcision that saves a person. Circumcision is a SIGN of an ALREADY existing faith.
James, on the other hand, is using Abraham's willingness to offer up Isaac on the altar as a confirming EVIDENCE of the faith he already had [a PROVEN faith, Jms.1:12 "tried", "approved", "tested"; a faith evidenced by obedience to God (Heb.11:19 "...concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead...")].
Paul and James use the same words, but are talking about different acts. Paul discusses Abraham's faith, not his circumcision, as the basis for his justification. James, in context, points to Abraham's offering of Isaac as a proof/evidence of his ALREADY existing faith. Circumcision (for an OT Hebrew) and obedience to God's commands are the natural outcomes of saving faith. [It's also helpful to remember that James and Paul agreed with each other at the Jerusalem Council in 49 AD. (Acts 15; Gal.2).]
James 2:22 "You (singular) are seeing that faith was working together [in association with] his works, and faith by [means of] works was perfected/made complete."
You can't understand v.21 without reading v.22! Abraham's "works" (actions, deeds) were the natural outcome of his faith. They worked together with his faith to form a "completed", "perfected" faith...which is true of saving faith. Faith is not just an intellectual exercise [Jms.2:19 "...Even the demons believe and tremble." - BUT they DON'T respond to God in obedience...the sign of true, saving faith].
2 comments:
I was gonna' refer back to Gen 15, but Mark beat me to it. I think it is also worth noting the timing/location of Gen 15. Quite simply, it comes before Gen 17 and 22. There was no covenant formed between God and Abram in chapter 15, no covenantal duties or obligations for Abram to perform; it was simply God telling Abram what he was going to do and Abram believing Him. The covenant of circumcision was introduced in chapter 17, and the near sacrifice of Issaac in chapter 22. Both required works on Abraham's part, but these did not earn him righteousness, for he had already been declared righteous before God for his belief back in 15.
It is important, too, as Deb said, that we realize James and Paul were in accord at the Jerusalem Council. The issue being debated there was whether or not Gentile believers needed to be circumcised as the Jewish believers asserted. But, James himself, by quoting Amos 9, showed that the Gentiles did not need to be joined to the Jews via the work of circumcision because they were already joined with them through faith. In Acts, we see that James, who presided over the council in Jerusalem, clearly agrees with Paul and Peter, and declares salvation is by grace through faith, not works. This declaration must be remembered when reading his epistle.
You both pointed out an important consideration concerning Bible interpretation - WHAT IS THE TIMING? I know I'm not always super cognizant of this. But it certainly IS worth noting carefully.
In SS I've been teaching Genesis and as I read it again I am struck by the number of practices evident BEFORE the Mosaic Covenant was given: sacrifice [Cain and Abel], tithing [Abraham to Melchizedek & Jacob's pledge at Bethel] and the concept of clean/unclean animals [Noah]. I'm thankful that teaching SS makes me read through the Bible carefully every 3 years. Each time I notice more things!
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