RichardBurger
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Or was he still preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, which included the Law?
James 2:20-21
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
(NKJ)
No, he was not!!!!!!! ---- He was accounted righteous before God several years earlier, BEFORE the birth of Isaac, and before he had done anything to "prove" his faith in God.ÂÂ
Gen 15:4-6
4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir."
5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
(NKJ)
Not only that, but God accounted him righteous solely for his faith in His Promises, and not by anything that He did. Paul accurately reports this. It seems that James, in order to mix salvation by works and faith, did not consider this fact in the scriptures. It was not until Genesis 22, many years after Isaac was born, when Abraham was well over 100 years old, that he agreed to offer Isaac.
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James writes:
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," and he was called God's friend.
Neither of those last two statements jives with the Genesis 15:4-6 account. Nowhere does the OT Scripture say that Abraham "was called God's friend" because he was willing to offer Isaac. As a matter of fact I cannot find a statement in the O.T. that says Abraham was called a friend of God.
Based upon faulty premises, one is bound to come to a faulty conclusion:
24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
Which is, as shown above, a direct contradiction of the Gospel that Paul taught and the account given in the scriptures.
In my opinion the book of James is devoid of the gospel of grace as taught by Paul. Here are some facts that support my opinion. I find them interesting.
1. The word “Law†is found in 18 places
2. The word “grace†is found in 2 places
3. The word “Christ†is found in 2 places
4. The word “Justified†is found in 2 place with the words “by works†after them
5. The words “by faith†is found 1 time (justified by works and not by faith only)
6. The word “cross†is not found
7. The word “reconciled†is not found
8. The word “sanctifiedâ₠is not found
9. The word “saved†is not found
10. The words “in Christ†are not found
Written by: Richard Burger, 2003
James 2:20-21
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
(NKJ)
No, he was not!!!!!!! ---- He was accounted righteous before God several years earlier, BEFORE the birth of Isaac, and before he had done anything to "prove" his faith in God.ÂÂ
Gen 15:4-6
4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir."
5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
(NKJ)
Not only that, but God accounted him righteous solely for his faith in His Promises, and not by anything that He did. Paul accurately reports this. It seems that James, in order to mix salvation by works and faith, did not consider this fact in the scriptures. It was not until Genesis 22, many years after Isaac was born, when Abraham was well over 100 years old, that he agreed to offer Isaac.
ÂÂ
James writes:
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," and he was called God's friend.
Neither of those last two statements jives with the Genesis 15:4-6 account. Nowhere does the OT Scripture say that Abraham "was called God's friend" because he was willing to offer Isaac. As a matter of fact I cannot find a statement in the O.T. that says Abraham was called a friend of God.
Based upon faulty premises, one is bound to come to a faulty conclusion:
24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
Which is, as shown above, a direct contradiction of the Gospel that Paul taught and the account given in the scriptures.
In my opinion the book of James is devoid of the gospel of grace as taught by Paul. Here are some facts that support my opinion. I find them interesting.
1. The word “Law†is found in 18 places
2. The word “grace†is found in 2 places
3. The word “Christ†is found in 2 places
4. The word “Justified†is found in 2 place with the words “by works†after them
5. The words “by faith†is found 1 time (justified by works and not by faith only)
6. The word “cross†is not found
7. The word “reconciled†is not found
8. The word “sanctifiedâ₠is not found
9. The word “saved†is not found
10. The words “in Christ†are not found
Written by: Richard Burger, 2003
