# considering James 2



## Scott (Jan 11, 2006)

I recently heard this about James 2:24 ("You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone")and wanted to pass it along. The point related to whether "justified" means justification in God's sight (eg. the Roman interpretation) or in man's sight. A problem with the Roman view that view is that it places Abraham's justification in God's sight *after* his circumcision and Paul says in Romans 4:10 that it was '*not after but before* he was circumcised' that he was justified before God. The offering of Isaac (which is what James 2 is discussing) happened long after Abraham was circumcized. 

Anyway, this is a good point to raise with those who use James 2 to defend a works righteousness system.

[Edited on 1-11-2006 by Scott]


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## Contra_Mundum (Jan 11, 2006)

That is a good and valid point, Scott. There are several ways of understanding the James passage that harmonize with Paul (Eph. 2:8-9, et. al.) and the entire biblical witness concerning justification by faith alone. _New Horizons_ carried an article last year dealing with how in the sentence "alone" ought to modify.

Then there is my personal persuasion that incorporates the temporal fact that you pointed out above. Namely, that the other sense of the word for justification--vindication--is what James has in mind (cf. Mt. 11:19; Lk. 7:35). And he has it in mind precisely because he is thinking about where "works" falls in the whole scheme of things.

In 2:23, James quotes from Gen 15:6 (which is temporally prior to offering Isaac, v.21 & Gen 22:9, as well as circumcision, Gen 17). Verse 22 says his "faith" was perfected or completed, not his "righteousness". What Abraham did, with respect to Isaac, In other words, his works _proved the true worth or value_ of the faith he claimed--not to God, who needed no such proof to know a man's heart better than he knows himself; but proving it to himself (when his heart deceives him), or to others who only have externals on which to base a judgment.


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