Paul talks about attaining righteousness through faith. James talks about attaining righteousness by showing faith through your works. Which is it? Faith or works? Is there a balance, or are there two ways of attaining righteousness?
What stands out to me: Verses 5-6 stand out to me
Why do they stand out to me: Paul uses Abraham as an example of righteousness attained through faith. But, if Abraham did not act on his faith would he still be used as an example? This argument still confuses me. I know at one point I am supposed to have faith, but my faith needs to be shown. Yet, the act of showing my faith is not what saves me; my faith is what saves me (faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior).
How this applies to my life: A few days ago I wrote about how easy it can be for Seminarians (myself included) to use big terms and get lost in their knowledge of the Bible. But it is not this knowledge that saves. Faith is what saves. Not only did Abraham have faith in God, he acted upon that faith. For me, it is not only important to have faith, it is also important to act upon that faith. If Abraham did not act, he would not have been used by Paul as an example of faith. I once heard a professor say in a class I took that Paul and James (the writers of some of the New Testament) would not get along. I respectfully disagree. I think Paul would have to admit that it was because of Abraham's actions that he is a great example of faith. Abraham could have had all the faith in the world, yet not acted upon it; and would not be an example of faith for us to follow.
Sorry for all the preaching, the application for me after reading this post is to show my faith through my actions. This will mean stepping out of my comfort zone and reaching out to my neighbors. This will mean continuing to show campers love whom I get tired of loving sometimes. Not easy steps for me, but neither is an active life following Jesus!
I am taking tomorrow off as a day of rest! I will not be posting! I will be back on Tuesday and we will be reading Galatians 3:10-14! See you then!
In His service,CrazyPete
Shouldn't Eph 2:8-9 clear this up? James is talking about not that we do works to become Christians, but that we do works because we are Christians. "Faith without works is dead" is he not saying that we do good things in response to our salvation? I believe that is directly in line with Paul's teaching.
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