Our verses today continue with the thought James started several verses back regarding the show of faith. How is faith justified?
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? James 2:14
And again in verse 18:
But someone will say , “You have faith and I have works.” Show [justify] me your faith apart from your works, and I will show [justify] you my faith by my works. James 2:18 [brackets added]
And so we see that we are justified (our faith before men) by our deeds, by what we do. A deedless faith, though alive is not seen, therefore as good as dead, inactive, useless.
Unfortunately for us today, the gospel has been confused and evidently requires evidence for justification before God! You have to raise your hand, pray a prayer, walk the isle, repeat some words, light a candle, promise to be good, be baptized, be sorrowful for your sins, promise to never sin again, cry, beg, coerce, ask God for forgiveness, persevere in good works until the end, practice the church rituals, receive laying on of hands, surrender to God, commit to God, live for God, go to church, be a good person, oh and yeah, believe. Salvation is never received by doing any of these things, ever!
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:1-2
These things people are doing are simply not the gospel. The gospel is the work that Jesus Christ did:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that
Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Grace is offered as a free gift to us but it is the work of Jesus:
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, Titus 2:11
Salvation (justification before God) is never about works:
he saved us, not because of worksdone by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, Titus 3:5
I trust the explanation here is clear enough to demonstrate that the Scriptures never teach salvation by faith plus works.
On the contrary, people need visual evidence to see faith. For instance, in Canada we play jockey. Someone could say they are a die-hard Toronto Maple Leaf’s fan and how they love them. Another could drive by with Habs bumper stickers all over his truck, wearing the Montreal Canadiens hat and jersey and have the hockey game blasting over the radio. Which fan do you think is more convincing, which fan would we justify? It reminds us of a previous verse in James:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22
The usage of the words makes us think of an auditorium. Hearers only are like those in the audience watching someone perform. They might identify secretly with the performer, they might pretend to be like him but they are the audience. Doers are the poets, the artists up on the stage, the ones doing the performing, the genuine article. Faith without works is the same as being a hearer only.
The term ‘is justified‘ in the verse today is in the present passive indicative, which should not be understood as ‘is made righteous’ but could rather be translated ‘is shown to be righteous’. Shown to who? According to the context, to men.
Rahab the prostitute showed what she believed when she received the Jewish messengers and hid them and sent them another way.
By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. Hebrews 11:31
Rahab would have perished that day (as a believer), but because her works showed her faith, she was justified before these men and the Israelites let her live. As many people as were in her house that day, were spared death.
Mi Historia 