Week 4 - James 2:14-26

Last week, we saw James use the Greek equivalent of the Southern Phrase "Bless your heart".  He said that when they loved the rich person they "did well", when completely missing the mark of the completed Christian, who loves with impartiality.

This week he uses the phrase again.  

James 2:19

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

As ineffectual as well-wishing a hungry person, so too is belief (internal) that is not turned into faith (external), which can be only demonstrated by works.  James declared, seemingly contradicting Sola Fide:

James 2:24

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

He used two examples to support this bold claim, over which much ink has been spilt, that Abraham committed his future nation into the hands of God by offering Isaac and that Rahab the prostitute committed her whole family, likewise, as she helped the spies.

James, as we know, was echoing what he had heard.  He heard, what Jesus taught on the Final Judgement (hear as a Beatitude):

Matthew 25:34-35

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,

How is giving food demonstration of faith?  We believe we will still have enough!  

To understand this a little more we explored briefly the thief on the cross.  Promised by Christ that he too would be in Paradise that very day, we wondered what "work" he had opportunity to do.  We came to understand that his confession of Jesus as the Son of God was that work.

Romans 10:9

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

It requires both.  Said a different way, from the Celestial perspective, Satan is conquered when:

Revelation 12:11

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

While our works are mandatory. They are not meritorious. Our righteous remains as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), until we are justified by the completed work of Jesus Christ.  That, when we confess Him as Lord.  

It is only then that we are granted to be able to wear our righteousness as fine linen:

Revelation 19:7-8

Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

Folks, let's not be poorly dressed.