In the same way, faith that does not reach out through actions to seize the sacrifice of Christ and continue to hold firmly to it, has no real life or existence and cannot put a man right with God. James 2:26. This “bare faith,” or faith that does not result in a life of good deeds, is not the kind of justifying faith that Paul talks about in Romans 3 & 4. [Note: Stulac, p116. [Note: Hodges, The Gospel . To summarize, I believe what James wrote in James 2:14-26 means this. When we do that with regard to justification, we learn that both James and Paul teach that…. So “justify” in Paul refers to how a person gets into relationship with God, while in James it connotes what that relationship must ultimately look like to receive God’s final approval. Already by Calvin, Calovius, Gerhard, and others, and in recent times particularly by Hofmann, Wiesinger, Brückner, Lange, Philippi, and others, the wished-for reconciliation has been attempted to be brought about, by ascribing a different meaning to the word δικαιοῦσθαι in James from what it has in Paul; that James speaks not de actu, but de statu justificationis. This is maintained in recent times by Neander, Thiersch, Hofmann, Wiesinger, Lange, Hengstenberg, Philippi, and others. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. It is to be observed that in Galatians 5:6, πίστις διʼ ἀγάπης ἐνεργου΄ένη does not (as is almost universally assumed) refer to δικαιοῦσθαι, but to ἀπεκδέχεσθαι ἐλπίδα δικαιοσύνης, thus to the hope of those who are σεσωσμένοι διὰ τῆς πίστεως. This is Christian life teaching, not teaching on how to become a Christian. This does not mean that true believers never sin. There are those in our day that separate faith and works. (2.) Paul often spoke about “the obedience of faith” (Rom. Third, we must be careful not to read Paul’s use of words into James, or vice versa. He never made the comparison at all. Essentially James is asking, "Can faith exist by itself, unconnected from the rest of one's life?" The spirit: this may be understood either, according to the marginal reading, of the breath; and then the sense is, that life and breath being inseparable companions, as the the of breath argues want of life in the body, so, lively faith and works being as inseparable, want of works argues want of life in faith: or, according to the reading in the text, spirit, taking it for that substance which animates the body, and is the cause of vital functions in it, which is sometimes called spirit, Psalms 31:5 Ecclesiastes 12:7 1 Corinthians 2:11; and then the sense is, that as a body is without a soul, so faith is without works, i.e. All through the chapter we see how faith acted. Note the graphic nature of the illustration. Acts 13:39 requires our interpretation. Let us therefore endeavour to shew our faith by our works. So when you believe in Christ as the one who died for your sins, God not only declares you righteous. Night and day I pondered until … I grasped the truth that the righteousness of God is that righteousness whereby, through grace and sheer mercy, he justifies us by faith. He then explains (2:22), “You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled…” and then he cites Genesis 15:6. See Authorized Version m., and compare Genesis 2:7. But what is this faith—this saving faith? so faith without works is dead also. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? Let faith then be active and influential. An unprofitable faith (James 2:14). 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