SyCarl,
The following is lengthy but it addresses your points.
Abraham is justified 3 times. (proof)
Instance #1
In Genesis 15:6 Abraham believed God concerning his descendants being as numerous as the stars, and his belief was reckoned to him as righteousness.
Instance #2
Hebrews 11:8 makes reference to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-4, and says, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” We know this is a reference to saving faith because in Hebrews 11:1-2 it says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old received divine approval.” Divine approval is given for a person’s faith only when it is a saving faith.
Instance #3
James 2:21-23 makes reference to Abraham having faith when he was to sacrifice his son Isaac upon the altar and James says that the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness; and he was called the friend of God.”
We will now examine the instances labeled #2 and #3.
James mentions that Abraham was justified when he offered Isaac upon the altar. The passage reads as follows:
James 2:21-24
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
–The passage clearly shows that Abraham was justified by his works in his obedience to God in offering Isaac upon the altar.
–The passage clearly says that Abraham’s faith had works associated with it and that his faith was completed by works.
–The passage clearly states that this episode fulfills his faith and thus his faith is reckoned as righteousness.
–The passage clearly states that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. The man used as an example was Abraham. Abraham was justified by his works in sacrificing Isaac.
Some non-Catholics attempt to make the claim that James 2:21 uses the word “when” to indicate that Abraham was already justified “when” he was going to sacrifice Isaac, and that this “when” is a reference to Abraham’s justification in Genesis 15:6. They try to substantiate this by saying that James would have otherwise used the word “by.” They will also claim that his later statement in verse 23 that “…the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God,” proves that the justification is only found in Genesis 15:6. This is a case where the doctrine of faith alone and the unbiblical claim that Abraham was justified only once is superimposed on the text in an attempt to make it say something other than what is clearly intended.
Any attempt to make a production out of the word “by” which is not in the text versus the word “when” which is in the text will fail. James asks a rhetorical question saying “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?”
Even a child reading this text will know that the apostle is telling us that Abraham was justified by works at the point in time “when” he offered his son Isaac upon the altar. The word “by” is not necessary to make the Catholic case and the word “when” does nothing to support the opposing view. In fact, either word is fatal to the doctrine of faith alone and to the view that Abraham was only justified on one occasion. The reasons for this are as follows:
- The non-catholic claim is that only faith justifies. James says otherwise. Moreover, he begins his rhetorical question by indicating that Abraham was justified “by” works. That is the thrust of his argument throughout Chapter 2 of the epistle. It, therefore, wouldn’t matter if it is a “when” or a “by” in reference to the offering of Isaac. The “when” or the “by” still refers to works which is fatal to the argument.
- Another reason the contention concerning the word “when” is flawed involves the way some attempt to connect it to Gen 15:6. Please note that James makes a complete thought that Abraham was justified in his work of offering Isaac. It is only after making this complete thought that James goes on to say, “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works,” Now think about this: Abraham believed God and he was on the verge of sacrificing Isaac. In this, we clearly see the faith and works of Abraham. His faith and trust in God was active along with his works and his faith was completed by his work of willingly offering his son upon the altar.
Once James clearly makes those points he then, and only then, quotes the verse that Paul points out concerning justification. This is deliberate on his part and is designed to clarify misunderstandings that did and could emerge concerning Paul’s teaching. James says, "and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” This verse is chosen by James to indicate that the righteousness that he is talking about is the same righteousness that Paul is talking about. He uses, however, a different instance in Abraham’s life than Paul does and this is crucial. If James was talking about the promise concerning descendents as the only justifying event then he would have used that example as Paul did, but he had an obvious purpose for making the connection using a different instance in Abraham’s life.
cont. on next post
