"So, faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." (James 2:18)

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Gaelic_Bard said:
First we have to ask what faith is in a biblical sense. The gospel of Jesus Christ is, ultimately, a promise. It is a promise from God that our sins, in full, have been borne on the cross by the Son of God and the debt for our transgressions has been satisfied.
…

God made a similar, though veiled, promise to Abraham.
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This is what James is zeroing in on. Abraham completed, showed, etc. his faith in God’s promises by being obedient, knowing that no matter what, God would be true to His word.
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I agree, but don’t agree that we can look on justification as solely being about God keeping his promise to individual believers. It’s not just about God fulfilling his promise to believers, it’s about God fulfilling his promise to Israel (Old Testament), through Christ (New Testament).

It is only through the Resurrection that we are “saved,” and the form of that salvation is within glorified physical bodies. Both Jesus (John 10:12) and Paul (1 Cor 15:36-37) use the metaphor of the grain of wheat that must be sewn to “die” to form something greater – based in the grain’s own nature. Later in 1 Cor 15:53-54, Paul writes that the corruptible body must be “clothed with” incorruptibility. There are similar passages in 2 Cor 5:2-4, Romans 8.

The intent of our salvation is critical. Most fundamentally because Jesus Christ himself speaks relatively little about Atonement, and is more focused on defining the Kingdom of God. The Incarnation itself is the beginning of the Kingdom, and Christ instructs us in how to live within that Kingdom. Paul further brings that out, in passages that tend to escape the notice of many evangelicals. It is not just so “we are saved,” it’s that our salvation is part of his filling the world with glory, culminating in Revelation 21, with God dwelling among his people in the New Jerusalem that parallels Eden in its description. This is further spelled out in Philippians 3:21:
“He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.”
Romans 8:19-23 has notable parallels between our salvation and the transformation of all creation:*
"19 For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; 20 for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that all **creation is groaning *in labor pains even until now; 23 and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies."

This is relevant to the James 2 faith/works verse because it establishes a reason and a basis for our salvation. If the entire purpose of soteriology is to save us from damnation, and leave the world behind, then faith alone would seem to work just fine. But it’s not just our salvation, it’s the eventual end of God living among his people wherein the world becomes the shekhinah as once the Tabernacle and Temple was (e.g., Exodus 25:8, 29:45, Leviticus 26:11, Ezekiel 37:27).

It’s in that context that James 2, plus all of Christ’s teachings about the Kingdom (including the sheep/goats parable of Matthew 25), and Paul’s ethical exhortations throughout all his epistles become central to soteriology… not its “how” (faith through grace), but its “why” (to transform all creation). It’s this that is the fulfillment of the promise, not just of the New Testament, but of the Old as well.
 
The answer to why this is a poor proof-text lay in the context itself (as it does with so many proof-texts, nearly by definition):

“…(18) Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. (19) Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe [e.g. confesseth with the lips], and tremble.”
 
Reuben_J said:
Here is the important part. What is that we must obey? What is that we must have our faith in? There are many commandments of the Lord, even if one looks at the Bible only. Do we have to follow everything that are said there or do we pick and choose?

The above post if it is to be complete needs to tell us what is that we must obey so that our trust is not void of reality and an empty profession.
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All of the commands of Christ, whether spoken by Himself or through his apostles. Of course, it goes without saying that we cannot pick and choose. We invariably will to some extent, inasmuch as none us will keep His commandments perfectly.
 
fnr said:
I agree, but don’t agree that we can look on justification as solely being about God keeping his promise to individual believers. It’s not just about God fulfilling his promise to believers, it’s about God fulfilling his promise to Israel (Old Testament), through Christ (New Testament).

It is only through the Resurrection that we are “saved,” and the form of that salvation is within glorified physical bodies. Both Jesus (John 10:12) and Paul (1 Cor 15:36-37) use the metaphor of the grain of wheat that must be sewn to “die” to form something greater – based in the grain’s own nature. Later in 1 Cor 15:53-54, Paul writes that the corruptible body must be “clothed with” incorruptibility. There are similar passages in 2 Cor 5:2-4, Romans 8.

The intent of our salvation is critical. Most fundamentally because Jesus Christ himself speaks relatively little about Atonement, and is more focused on defining the Kingdom of God. The Incarnation itself is the beginning of the Kingdom, and Christ instructs us in how to live within that Kingdom. Paul further brings that out, in passages that tend to escape the notice of many evangelicals. It is not just so “we are saved,” it’s that our salvation is part of his filling the world with glory, culminating in Revelation 21, with God dwelling among his people in the New Jerusalem that parallels Eden in its description. This is further spelled out in Philippians 3:21:
"He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself."
Romans 8:19-23 has notable parallels between our salvation and the transformation of all creation:*
“19 For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; 20 for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that all **creation is groaning ***in labor pains even until now; 23 and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.”

This is relevant to the James 2 faith/works verse because it establishes a reason and a basis for our salvation. If the entire purpose of soteriology is to save us from damnation, and leave the world behind, then faith alone would seem to work just fine. But it’s not just our salvation, it’s the eventual end of God living among his people wherein the world becomes the shekhinah as once the Tabernacle and Temple was (e.g., Exodus 25:8, 29:45, Leviticus 26:11, Ezekiel 37:27).

It’s in that context that James 2, plus all of Christ’s teachings about the Kingdom (including the sheep/goats parable of Matthew 25), and Paul’s ethical exhortations throughout all his epistles become central to soteriology… not its “how” (faith through grace), but its “why” (to transform all creation). It’s this that is the fulfillment of the promise, not just of the New Testament, but of the Old as well.
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Very well said, fnr. There’s nothing here I disagree with.
 
Gaelic_Bard said:
Very well said, fnr. There’s nothing here I disagree with.
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Here’s a verse on which I’d like to hear your thoughts, Gaelic Bard…
1 John 3:
“2Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure. 4 Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. 7 Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God. 10 In this way, the children of God and the children of the devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother.”

This is one of the “Johannine” books of the Bible, following on John’s gospel. This passage is particularly a tricky one in my mind, trickier than James 2:18. I tend to think of it through my Catholic worldview. I’m interested in yours.

In context, verse 2 seems to be talking about the Resurrection, as I previously discussed. Verses 3 and 4 seem to link the hope of Resurrection with a believer’s resisting sin. Verse 5 seems to be just a reiteration that Christ takes away our sins, and that he is perfect. Verse 6 is where it gets tricky – “no one who remains in him sins” seems to say that when we are in a state of sanctifying grace (Catholic term?) and focused on maintaining our discipleship in Christ.

Then comes verse 7 – to me, this seems to say that as long as we are in a state of sanctifying grace, and commit no mortal sin (in Catholic parlance), we retain the imputed righteousness of Christ. However, verse 8 goes right on to say that anyone who sins belongs to the devil, and that in a state of mortal sin Christ will judge us as damned. Verse 9 kinda stumps me… we cannot sin if we are “begotten by God?” Whoa… that makes me feel like an awful failure! And verse 10 again says that failing to act in righteousness marks us as children of the devil!

I don’t have a good understanding of the historical context of John 1, other than that it seems to have been facing a nascent form of gnosticism or docetism. One idea I have is that 1 John is using “absolute language” to strengthen the resolve and faith of his audience. Kind of like saying, “these colors don’t run” in modern America. Any thoughts?

My standard (Catholic) reply to this passage would be to refer to sacramental confession as Christ’s means of expiation of sins and returning to a state of sanctifying grace. However, I can also see 1 John saying that knowledge of God and right conduct are inseparable (1 John stresses love throughout). That would seem consistent with how 1 Corinthians 12-13 discusses the various ministries and how by themselves they are inferior to agape/love/charity. 1 John seems very much parallel with the Matthew 25 story of sheep and goats.

I’d very much appreciate thoughts you or anyone else have! 🙂
 
fnr said:
Here’s a verse on which I’d like to hear your thoughts, Gaelic Bard…
1 John 3:
"2Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure. 4 Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. 7 Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God. 10 In this way, the children of God and the children of the devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother."
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Interesting passage to address, fnr. I must say it’s the first time I’ve seen it brought up in a discussion of James 2! 🙂 I think you are correct that the main thrust of the letter is in opposition to gnostic and docetic teachings. From what I understand, it was written by John in Ephesus (probably to the church there?) Ephesus was a hotbed of gnostic and docetic influence. Jesus commends the Ephesians in Revelation for resisting their teaching (the Nicolaitans).

The main thrust of the section you quoted is two-fold; transformation and purity from sin. 4-5: Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. Sin is lawlessness. The false teachers John refers to earlier were teaching Christians that sin is not a grave matter (1 John 1:8-9), but John disagrees. Sin is open rebellion against God.

It’s interesting that John describes sin as lawlessness (anomia). This is the only time the word lawlessness is used in the letter, and the word law does not appear at all. It could mean breaking God’s law, but as John doesn’t go into detail, it would leave the reader wondering which laws John is talking about. I believe John is using the word to convey much the same idea that Paul does in 2 Thess. 2:3, 7. There the word is associated with the final outbreak of evil against Christ and signifies rebellion against God’s will. So for John, to commit sin is to place oneself on the side of Satan and to stand in opposition to Jesus.

6-7: No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. John has already noted that the person who says he has no sin is a liar and the truth is not in him (1 John 1:8-10). John is referring to habitual sin here. The ESV and NIV translate this passage well, “no one who abides in him keeps on sinning” to signify the continual nature of the sin. John is not speaking of perfection but of the direction and pattern on a person’s life. Christians fall into sin; they do not run full speed or dive head first into it. I think this dovetails well into the conversation about James 2, so it’s good you bring it up! John does not want his readers to be deceived. It’s not about what a person says, but about what he practices. The false teachers talked the talk but did not walk the walk.

People who have the devil for their father act like the devil (John 8:44). People who do not practice righteousness do not belong to God, but to God’s enemy. Since Jesus came to take away sin and overthrow Satan, Christians cannot compromise with either.

Christians do not make a practice of sinning. Paul is emphatic about this in Rom. 6, “Can we who have died to sin keep on sinning?” We stumble in many ways (James 3:2), but we must step back and look at the trajectory of our lives. You right to raise questions here about justification; I don’t believe John has the finer points of such theology in mind (imputed vs. infused, for example), but he definitely has in mind here that if one walks in sin, there simply is no justification present. When God regenerates a fallen sinner, causes the new birth, etc., the Christian’s heart is transformed from being a hater of God to, as John puts it, a child of God. Such a radical transformative power will have the results that John stresses here. An imperishable seed cannot be present where the power of that seed is not evidenced. Without regeneration, there is no justification which follows it.
 
I found the following quote by Lee Camp, author of Mere Discipleship, helpful:

"Salvation,’ instead of being construed as the gift of a transformed, abundant life in the now-present kingdom of God, begins to be equated with an otherworldly reward. More crassly put, ‘salvation’ is increasingly viewed as a fire-insurance policy - rather than the gift of new life in the here and now that stands confident even in the face of death, ‘salvation’ becomes a ‘Get Out of Hell Free Card,’ guaranteeing an escape from the fires of torment and ensuring the receipt of treasures in heaven.

Jesus of Nazareth, the Gospel accounts relate, always comes asking disciples to follow him, not merely ‘accept him,’ not merely ‘believe in him,’ not merely ‘worship him,’ but to follow him.

A ‘disciple’ is a ‘pupil,’ a ‘learner,’ an ‘apprentice,’ one who typically follows a master or teacher in order to learn how one should live and conduct one’s life.

For Paul, God’s grace is always much more than mere legalistic forgiveness of sins; grace is not a mere forensic transaction in which the legal accounts are cleared so we will not be sent to hell in the afterlife. Grace is not merely pardon, but power: for Paul, the gifts of God’s love are manifested not merely in forgiveness (though certainly in forgiveness, which we desperately need), but also in freeing us from lives of ‘slavery,’ freeing us to be the people God intends us to be, seen most fully in the incarnation of Christ.

Grace that is merely ‘forgiveness’ is what Paul calls ‘sinning that grace may abound’ (Rom. 6:1). Or is what Bonhoeffer called ‘cheap grace.’ Grace does not merely provide forgiveness so that we may be forgiven, but empowerment to be the people of God, to be the body of Christ, to continue the work and ministry of Christ in human history.

The Pauline epistles do not depict a cheap salvation by grace by which we are ‘forgiven’ by giving mental assent to ‘Jesus as my Lord and Savior,’ but a gospel that proclaims the power of resurrection working among us and in us, that Christ himself now works in us."
 
Faith alone cannot save. There is no Once saved, always saved.

Yes, Salvation is free. It is a gift. But that does not mean you automatically get it.

Faith plus works = Salvation.

I have often likened it to getting a bicycle for Christmas that you must assemble. Does the fact you have to assemble it make it less of a gift? No. Can you truly enjoy the bicycle without the assembly (work)? No.
 
TexanKnight said:
Faith alone cannot save. There is no Once saved, always saved.

Yes, Salvation is free. It is a gift. But that does not mean you automatically get it.

Faith plus works = Salvation.

I have often likened it to getting a bicycle for Christmas that you must assemble. Does the fact you have to assemble it make it less of a gift? No. Can you truly enjoy the bicycle without the assembly (work)? No.
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Good, and I liked your analogy
 
TexanKnight said:
Faith alone cannot save. There is no Once saved, always saved.

Yes, Salvation is free. It is a gift. But that does not mean you automatically get it.

Faith plus works = Salvation.

I have often likened it to getting a bicycle for Christmas that you must assemble. Does the fact you have to assemble it make it less of a gift? No. Can you truly enjoy the bicycle without the assembly (work)? No.
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Depends on what one means…(see Pope Benedict XVI)
Now –

Is it possible that one might have the grace of Faith and never get to be baptized and still be “saved”? Yes

Is it possible that one has Faith (or is an infant and the Faith is infused first at baptism) and receives Baptism and never gets to do any
“good work” and dies and is saved? Yes!

And it is by grace as you note. A gift.

“Faith plus works = Salvation” – is not quite the way to put it.

We are a new creation – prior to any “good works” done from within the grace of that new reality.
 
“Being justified” means being made righteous, that is, being accepted by God’s merciful justice to enter into communion with him and, consequently, to be able to establish a far more genuine relationship with all our brethren: and this takes place on the basis of the complete forgiveness of our sins.

Well, Paul states with absolute clarity that this condition of life does not depend on our possible good works but on the pure grace of God: “[We] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3: 24). With these words St Paul expressed the fundamental content of his conversion, the new direction his life took as a result of his encounter with the Risen Christ.

~ Pope Benedict XVI

(see above for full context)
 
Jimmy_B said:
This verse is from the Book of James. The Book of James was originally called the Catholic Epistle. Luther later called it the “Epistle of straw”.

Your Thoughts? … after the 1500 or 1600 century :cool:
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Not exactly true, Jimmy. He referred to it as a book of straw when compared to Paul’s epistles, and by this he means that while Paul’s epistles speak of the Gospel, James does not. Instead, James is focused on law.

Now that, in and of itself, is not bad, and Luther says so. He says he praises it, for it brings forward the law, without doctrines of men.

As for your OP, James is exactly correct,

“So, faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”
(James 2:18)
This is one of the verses that troubled Marin Luther and still troubles all those who hold Protestant, non-Catholic beliefs. Please read James 2:14-26, before posting.
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What troubled Luther about it was its lack of Gospel (remember Luther’s theology was one of the cross), and what he viewed as the Catholic Church’s emphasis of it over and above Paul, in that time.

Jon
 
Gaelic_Bard said:
I found the following quote by Lee Camp, author of Mere Discipleship, helpful:

"Salvation,’ instead of being construed as the gift of a transformed, abundant life in the now-present kingdom of God, begins to be equated with an otherworldly reward. More crassly put, ‘salvation’ is increasingly viewed as a fire-insurance policy - rather than the gift of new life in the here and now that stands confident even in the face of death, ‘salvation’ becomes a ‘Get Out of Hell Free Card,’ guaranteeing an escape from the fires of torment and ensuring the receipt of treasures in heaven.

Jesus of Nazareth, the Gospel accounts relate, always comes asking disciples to follow him, not merely ‘accept him,’ not merely ‘believe in him,’ not merely ‘worship him,’ but to follow him.

A ‘disciple’ is a ‘pupil,’ a ‘learner,’ an ‘apprentice,’ one who typically follows a master or teacher in order to learn how one should live and conduct one’s life.

For Paul, God’s grace is always much more than mere legalistic forgiveness of sins; grace is not a mere forensic transaction in which the legal accounts are cleared so we will not be sent to hell in the afterlife. Grace is not merely pardon, but power: for Paul, the gifts of God’s love are manifested not merely in forgiveness (though certainly in forgiveness, which we desperately need), but also in freeing us from lives of ‘slavery,’ freeing us to be the people God intends us to be, seen most fully in the incarnation of Christ.

Grace that is merely ‘forgiveness’ is what Paul calls ‘sinning that grace may abound’ (Rom. 6:1). Or is what Bonhoeffer called ‘cheap grace.’ Grace does not merely provide forgiveness so that we may be forgiven, but empowerment to be the people of God, to be the body of Christ, to continue the work and ministry of Christ in human history.

The Pauline epistles do not depict a cheap salvation by grace by which we are ‘forgiven’ by giving mental assent to ‘Jesus as my Lord and Savior,’ but a gospel that proclaims the power of resurrection working among us and in us, that Christ himself now works in us."
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Honestly, for a Protestant, your views of salvation (justification and sanctification) are already on this side of Roman Catholic and drawing nigh to Eastern Orthodox (which don’t draw any real distinction between the two). You even have a little of the rejection-of-satisfaction/substitution in favor of Christus Victor going on.

What sort of Baptist are you? Baylor-educated? Welcome home?
 
Luther’s commentary on Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love.

*Faith must of course be sincere. It must be a faith that performs good works through love. If faith lacks love it is not true faith. Thus the Apostle bars the way of hypocrites to the kingdom of Christ on all sides. He declares on the one hand, “In Christ Jesus circumcision availeth nothing,” i.e., works avail nothing, but faith alone, and that without any merit whatever, avails before God. On the other hand, the Apostle declares that without fruits faith serves no purpose. To think, “If faith justifies without works, let us work nothing,” is to despise the grace of God. Idle faith is not justifying faith. In this terse manner Paul presents the whole life of a Christian. Inwardly it consists in faith towards God, outwardly in love towards our fellow-men. *

Jon
 
Khalid said:
Honestly, for a Protestant, your views of salvation (justification and sanctification) are already on this side of Roman Catholic and drawing nigh to Eastern Orthodox (which don’t draw any real distinction between the two). You even have a little of the rejection-of-satisfaction/substitution in favor of Christus Victor going on.

What sort of Baptist are you? Baylor-educated? Welcome home?
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Far from either! Of course, outside of justification itself, there would much about either Rome or the East which I do not confess to be the teaching of Christ or the apostles; ecclesiology, sacramentology, hagiography, etc. I do hold that justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. I confess this to be the clear teaching of both Old and New Testaments. Having said that, we have to avoid the danger of making justification the end and focal point of salvation or even of being the central teaching of the Scriptures; it’s not. Christ and His current and coming kingdom are. As a result, I would also press against the idea of many Lutheran and Reformed Christians of making the law/gospel distinction the constant topic of Scriptural discussion.

This results in a truncated NT that reduces everything to forensic justification. It’s tgere, but not in the main.

I did my undergraduate studies at Liberty University (a hot bed of Arminianism, which made life wonderful for this 5 point Calvinist Baptist!)
 
Another good perspective is by a mentor of mine, Dr. Tom Schreiner, Baptist theologian:

“When James says that faith alone does not justify, faith here refers to mere intellectual assent. For instance, demons affirm monotheism, but such “faith” is not wholehearted and glad-hearted assent that leads demons to embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Instead, the faith of demons is theologically orthodox, but leads them to shudder because they fear judgment (James 2:19). The faith that saves, according to Paul, embraces Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, placing one’s life entirely in his hands. James criticizes a “faith” that notionally concurs with the gospel but does not grip the whole person. In other words, James does not disagree with Paul’s contention that faith alone justifies, but he defines carefully the kind of faith that justifies. The faith that truly justifies can never be separated from works. Works will inevitably flow as the fruit of such faith. Faith that merely accepts doctrines intellectually but does not lead to a transformed life is “dead” (James 2:17, 26) and “useless” (James 2:20). Such faith does not “profit” (ophelos [James 2:14, 16 RSV]) in the sense that it does not spare one from judgment on the last day. Those who have dead and barren faith will not escape judgment. True faith is demonstrated by works (James 2:18). James does not deny that faith alone saves, but it is faith that produces (synergew) works and is completed (teleiow) by works (James 2:22). The faith that saves is living, active, and dynamic. It must produce works, just as compassion for the poor inevitably means that one cares practically for their physical needs (James 2:15-16)…The foregoing comments, of course, need qualification. As I argued above, in some contexts Paul also emphasizes that good works are the fruit of faith and are needed for justification (e.g., Rom. 2:13; 4:17-22). The purpose of James as a whole, as is evident from this entire discussion, is to emphasize that good works are necessary for salvation. His letter apparently responds to a situation where moral laxity was countenanced. Nevertheless, James should not be interpreted to teach that believers can gain salvation on the basis of good works. Righteous deeds are the fruit of faith. James recognizes that all believers sin in numerous ways (James 3:2), and that even one sin makes a lawbreaker of the one who commits it (James 2:10-11). Being sinners, humans lack the capacity to do the works required to merit justification. They are saved by the grace of God, for in his goodness and generosity he granted believers new life (James 1:18). Even faith is a gift of God, for God chose some to “be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom” (James 2:5). What James hammers home is that such faith must always manifest itself in good works if it is genuine faith, but such good works are a far cry from perfection, as James 3:2 clarifies.”

-Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007), pp.603-605.
 
Jimmy_B said:
"So, faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."
(James 2:18)

This is one of the verses that troubled Marin Luther and still troubles all those who hold Protestant, non-Catholic beliefs. Please read James 2:14-26, before posting.

Your Thoughts.
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Depends on the other Christian … …

God bless and hopefully peace
 
Jimmy_B said:
"So, faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."
(James 2:18)

This is one of the verses that troubled Marin Luther and still troubles all those who hold Protestant, non-Catholic beliefs. Please read James 2:14-26, before posting.

Your Thoughts.
Click to expand...
Actually, it doesn’t trouble me at all. It is by grace through faith that I am saved. My works are my fruit that I produce because of that faith. It is my proof, not to God for God knows my heart, but to others that I belong to Him. For scripture tells us by their fruit you will know them. Believers are a new creation in Him and as new creations we are to produce good fruit. One cannot claim to be a new creation in Him if their fruit hint otherwise. So, it is very true that if we are to claim we have faith yet have no works it is a dead faith, for if you are a true believer and follower of Jesus Christ your faith in Him will produce those works.
 
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