Bible Study There are two justifications for Christians

[MisterE]

James 2.24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone (NET Bible)

ὁρᾶτε ὅτι ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως μόνον.

Lets start with a corrected translation first before looking at one of the details

You see that a man is justified by works, and not only justified by faith.

James is saying that a by-faith justification is not the only kind of justification there is. There is also a by-works justification. The former type is before God; the latter type is before men.

The key to understanding this verse is the Greek adverb only (monon), which does not qualify the word 'faith' because the form would then have to be mones. As an adverb, however, it modifies the verb justified that is to be supplied in the second clause.

There is no justification that is by-faith PLUS works. You have two justifications that James is writing about.

 

[for_his_glory]

To say faith without works is dead is the same as saying faith without love is dead for the works we do unto the Lord are our labor of love for others as in Matthew 25:34-40. It's the same labor of love Christ did for us. Faith is action and if it has no fruit it is a false faith. James is not speaking about one who has faith, but one who claims to have faith. It's like giving lip service, but the heart is empty and void of God. Just because one claims to have faith doesn't mean they do, especially if there is no fruit to judge in them as that is how we judge one another, Matthew 7:15-23. We are saved by faith (Christ Jesus) through that of Gods grace (favor) as we can not earn it, but confess it.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

 

[Who Me]

There is no justification that is by-faith PLUS works. You have two justifications that James is writing about.

There is only one justification and that is recieved by faith.
James is attacking those who either have no faith or who sit on their bums doing nothing good.
Read the whole passage to get the context:-
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

 

[MisterE]

21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

Yes, Abraham was justified when he offered up Isaac, but he had been a believer for years before that. This the justification before men. Same with Rahab. She was a believer before the spies came to her apartment. Her justification/vindication was before men. She was also justified before God years before the spies came.

Your faith justifies you before God and your works justify you before men. Those whose works demonstrate their justification by faith would be another way of saying it. But, people are not justified/saved by works before God.

I wrote: The key to understanding this verse is the Greek adverb only (monon), which does not qualify the word 'faith' because the form would then have to be mones. As an adverb, however, it modifies the verb justified that is to be supplied in the second clause.

That is why James says there are two justifications. Research the adverb and what it modifies.

 

[Free]

Even without understanding the Greek and believing that James is talking about one justification, based on the typical translation of James 2:24, one can still come to the correct conclusion with proper study of the immediate context and by looking at Romans 4. James and Paul use the same passage about Abraham and appear to come to contradictory conclusions, but that is because each is using a different meaning of justification (if James is considered to be addressing only one meaning).

 

[miamited]

Hi Who Me

I agree with your position that there is one faith, but whether our faith is true or not is known by our deeds. I believe that's what James was saying. He tells one who has faith without deeds to show it, ... but how can he? There are no deeds and no one can read his heart and mind. But he then says I will show you my faith through my deeds. The deeds don't save or bring us the faith that promises eternal life, but they are, after one has come to that faith and received that promise of eternal life, the evidence of what that life looks like when it's lived out in the world.

 

[MisterE]

Even without understanding the Greek and believing that James is talking about one justification, based on the typical translation of James 2:24, one can still come to the correct conclusion with proper study of the immediate context and by looking at Romans 4. James and Paul use the same passage about Abraham and appear to come to contradictory conclusions, but that is because each is using a different meaning of justification (if James is considered to be addressing only one meaning).

James is definitely referring to two justifications. The grammar requires two justifications as well as the context.

 

[Dave...]

There is only one way to be justified. It was impossible for us, but possible for God.

Evidence of a genuine faith is not justification. Justification is evidenced by a genuine faith. That faith is evidenced by good works. That evidence is the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of the believer. For what do you have that you didn't receive?

God's standards, every man has failed. If you sinned once, you failed.

Dave

 

[MisterE]

There is only one way to be justified. It was impossible for us, but possible for God.

If you are referring to justification as a reference to being saved, then I agree. But you need to reword it so you don't contradict James 2.24. Based on your post I assume you are not trained in Greek.

 

[follower]

In English God Says IF you DO what TORAH SAYS, I (GOD) Justify you ....
In English God Says IF you DO NOT do what TORAH SAYS, you are unjustified.

 

[Christ_empowered]

If you love Jesus Christ keep His commandments.

((Paraphrase))

 

[Free]

In English God Says IF you DO what TORAH SAYS, I (GOD) Justify you ....
In English God Says IF you DO NOT do what TORAH SAYS, you are unjustified.

Where does God say that?

 

[Dave...]

If you offended the Law at one point, you've offended it at every point. Who passed?....tic....tic....tic...tic...tic...tic...NNNNNNNBuzzerNNNNNN. Give up? Jesus did.

Dave

 

[mailmandan]

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)

 

[Soyeong]

James 2.24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone (NET Bible)

ὁρᾶτε ὅτι ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως μόνον.

Lets start with a corrected translation first before looking at one of the details

You see that a man is justified by works, and not only justified by faith.

James is saying that a by-faith justification is not the only kind of justification there is. There is also a by-works justification. The former type is before God; the latter type is before men.

The key to understanding this verse is the Greek adverb only (monon), which does not qualify the word 'faith' because the form would then have to be mones. As an adverb, however, it modifies the verb justified that is to be supplied in the second clause.

There is no justification that is by-faith PLUS works. You have two justifications that James is writing about.

James quoted Genesis 15:6 to support his point, so he isn't speaking about a different form of justification than that verse.

We can do works that express our faith, such as with the examples listed in Hebrews 11, so it is not that we need to add our works in addition to our faith as if faith alone were insufficient for justification, but rather our works are the way to have faith.

 

[MisterE]

but rather our works are the way to have faith.

that's nonsense.

... works are a way to demonstrate our faith...

 

[Free]

James quoted Genesis 15:6 to support his point, so he isn't speaking about a different form of justification than that verse.

But what was the cause of Abraham being credited righteousness?

Jas 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
Jas 2:22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
Jas 2:23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. (ESV)

It actually wasn't Abraham offering his son Isaac on the altar, as that comes in Gen. 22. In Gen. 15:6, when he was still Abram, he simply believed God's promise (Heb. 11:17-19).

Gen 15:4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
Gen 15:5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Gen 15:6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (ESV)

There was no work, just faith. Abraham's willingness to offer Isaac on the altar was the evidence of the faith he already had--he was willing to sacrifice Isaac because of what God had already promised in Gen. 15:4-5.

We can do works that express our faith, such as with the examples listed in Hebrews 11, so it is not that we need to add our works in addition to our faith as if faith alone were insufficient for justification, but rather our works are the way to have faith.

In Romans 4, Paul uses Gen. 15:6 to show that just as Abraham was justified by faith and not works, so are all those who put their faith in Christ. Paul repeats this idea many times, including in Ephesians:

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Eph 2:9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)

Good works are evidence of having already been justified, of having been saved, but no one is justified by them.

 

[Hopeful 2]

that's nonsense.

... works are a way to demonstrate our faith...

I really see them as the same thing.
Having, demonstrating, manifesting: all the same from the perspective of the outsider looking in.

 

[Soyeong]

There is only one way to be justified. It was impossible for us, but possible for God.

Evidence of a genuine faith is not justification. Justification is evidenced by a genuine faith. That faith is evidenced by good works. That evidence is the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of the believer. For what do you have that you didn't receive?

God's standards, every man has failed. If you sinned once, you failed.

Dave

Even if someone managed to have perfect obedience to God's law, then they still wouldn't earn their justification as a wage (Romans 4:1-5), so that was never the goal of why should obey it. If we sin once, then we need to repent, and if we needed to have perfect obedience, then repentance wouldn't have any value.

 

[Soyeong]

that's nonsense.

... works are a way to demonstrate our faith...

If you came to a bridge and were told by a guide that it was safe to cross, then the way to have trust in your guide would be crossing it. God is trustworthy, therefore His instructions are also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so the way to trust in God is by obediently trusting in His instructions, which is why the Bible frequently connects our faith in God with our obedience to Him. For example, in Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that faith is one of the weightier matters of the law. In Romans 1:5, we have received grace in order to bring about the obedience of faith. In Romans 3:31, our faith upholds God's law. In Psalms 119:30, he chose the way of faith by setting God's law before him. In Revelation 14:12, those who kept faith in Jesus are the same as those who kept God's commandments. In John 3:36, it equates believing in Jesus with obeying him. In Hebrews 3:18-19, it equates disobedience with unbelief. In Numbers 5:6, it describes disobedience as breaking faith.

The way to believe in God is by directing our lives towards being in His likeness through being a doer of His character traits. For example, by being a doer of good works in obedience to God's law we are testifying about God's goodness, which is why our good works bring glory to Him (Matthew 5:16), and by testifying about God's goodness we are also expressing the belief that God is good. Likewise, the way to believe that God is a doer of justice is by directing our lives towards being a doer of justice in obedience to His instructions, the way to believe that God is holy is by being a doer of His instructions for how to be holy as He is holy, and so forth. This is exactly the same as the way to believe in the Son, who is the radiance of God's glory and the exact likeness of God's character (Hebrews 1:3).

Likewise, the reason why there are many verses that say that the way to have eternal life is by believing in the Son and many verses that say that the way to have eternal life is by obeying God's commandments is because God's commandments are His instructions for how to believe in the Son. In other words, God's word is His instructions for how to believe in God's word made flesh.

So the significance of our works in obedience to God's law has absolutely nothing to do with trying to contribute anything towards earning our justification as the result, but rather the significance is that it is the way to have faith, and it is by that faith alone that we are justified.