EXEGESIS OF JAMES 2:21-24
James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by
works, when he had offered Isaac his son
upon the altar?
How was Abraham justified before God?
_________________________________________
(hint, see Genesis 15:1-6 below)
Genesis 15:1-6
vs. 1 After these things the word of the Lord
came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear
not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy
exceeding great reward.
vs. 2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou
give me, seeing I go childless, and the
steward of my house is this Eliezer of
Damascus?
vs. 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast
given no seed: and, lo, one born in my
house is mine heir.
vs. 4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came
unto him, saying, This shall not be thine
heir; but he that shall come forth out of
thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
vs. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and
said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the
stars, if thou be able to number them: and
he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
vs. 6 And he believed in the Lord; and he
counted it to him for righteousness.
and;
Accordingly, before whom was Abraham justified by
his works? _____________________________
James 2:22 Do you see that faith was working together
with his works, and by works faith was made
perfect?
The word "perfect" does not speak of sinless perfection. Nor
does it speak of finally being "justified," or declared "not
guilty" of one's sins after a long life of good works. The
word "perfect" comes from the Greek word "eteleiothei"
(root n-"telios"). It refers to a completion or end.
In the English language, for example, Graduation from high
school or college is called "commencement." That is,
graduation is not the "end," but the "beginning." The
adoption of this term was, perhaps, to remind enthusiastic
graduates that the road was not completed, but only well
begun.
The same is true with our faith. The natural end of faith is
good works. The apostle Paul shares the very same logic as
James in one of the most well quoted "grace" verses in the
Bible. "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any
man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in
Jesus Christ unto good works, which God had before
ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
We are created for good works. So our faith in Christ has an
end beyond simply granting to us eternal salvation. Every
one of the apostles preached holiness, as does every free-
grace believer alive today. Preaching "salvation by works" is
not a formula for getting more holiness out of one's
congregation by threatening them with hell. It is simply a
formula for denying that Jesus Christ and He alone is the
Savior of mankind.
However, whether or not someone arrives at the preferred
end does not place in doubt the beginning. Good works and
holiness are not the automatic result of salvation. If they
were, it would not be called "work," it would be called
"gliding" or "free falling" or something similar. There are
Christians who do not live up to their high calling. If this
were automatic, Paul would not need to admonish Christians
to "walk in a manner worthy of your calling." (Ephesians
4:1)
For example, if someone were to earn a Ph.D. in electrical
engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
then never worked in the field, one might say his education
was never "eteleiothei." That is, it never went to the end to
which one would hopefully look. However, it would be
absurd to say that he was "never really a Ph.D." His
doctorate is totally independent of his subsequent profession.
Similarly, there is nothing whatsoever in the Greek term
"eteleiothei" to suggest that Abraham was "never really
saved," until he actually offered up his son Isaac on the altar.
On the contrary, the verse demands that he was saved.
Before his "faith" could be made complete, his "faith" had to
exist! (That is, of course, unless one has acquired self
evolved powers of divination by which they can miraculously
divine forty-eight (or so) different varieties of faith from
single Greek phrase "ei pistis" in James 2:22. Of course,
such marvelous powers are generally limited to self
appointed prophets living in Southern California.)
James 2:23 "And the scripture was fulfilled which says,
'Abraham believed God, and it was imputed
unto him for righteousness.' And he was
called the Friend of God."
The word "fulfilled," does not mean that there was some
prophecy about Abraham's future. The term "epleirothei"
(root n-"playroma") means that a fullness was given to the
Scripture that stated (in past tense) that it was imputed to him
(Abraham) for righteousness. We have similar metaphors
for "fullness" in English. For example, a new college
graduate might say, "I'm ready to spread my wings." The
"spreading of wings" is a metaphor of fullness. One's
college education is going to receive meaning and be given a
fullness when one gets a job or starts his own business,
thereby utilizing one's education. Tracking the language of
verse 22 above, one might say, "Do you see that the business
I started was working together with my education, and by
that business, my education fulfilled its purpose." In modern
English, this is virtually identical to Paul's thought in verse
22, except for the substitution of education and employment
for faith and works. Although the terms "telios" and
"plaroma" ("made perfect" and "fullness" of vs. 22 and 23 are
different in meaning, as in the English examples of a college
degree, they convey substantially the same thought.)
In verse 23, James confirms, Abraham was justified
by faith alone. This is one of only two verses in James in
which he forwards a statement about eternal salvation. James
1:17 makes it clear that regeneration is a gift, and here, in
James 2:23, James makes clear that Abraham was justified by
faith alone. Eternal life is a gift through faith in Jesus Christ.
However, there is not a "fullness" (playroma) to our
relationship with God simply by being justified before Him.
One establishes an eternal relationship with God by faith
alone. But one walks in fellowship with God, and gives
vitality and sweetness to that relationship by one's works.
(1st John 1:3). Believers who sin remain unchangeably
secure in their eternal relationship with God (John 10:27-30),
but they lack a living and vital moment-by-moment
relationship. It was not to all those who were saved, but to
those whom Jesus knew through intimate and meaningful
relationship that he called "friends." (John 15:13-15). So
too, Abraham entered into an eternal relationship with God
when he believed God. But he entered into a fullness of that
relationship, wherein he was truly a "friend of God," when
his faith in God developed to the point that he was not only
prepared to follow God by works, but, perhaps by the most
demanding work possible . . . to sacrifice his own son unto
death.
Those who claim that vs. 23 teaches justification by faith plus
works must be prepared to follow this verse to its logical
conclusion. If one would not follow God so closely as to be
willing to sacrifice their own son, they were never really
saved. That does not leave the gates of heaven open to many
of us.
James 2:24. You see then how that a man is justified
by works, and not by faith only.
Neither vs. 24 above, nor any other passage in
Scripture, teaches justification (before God, or before men)
based on "faith plus works."
In verse 24 above, the word "only" is the neuter Greek
word "monon," not the masculine "monos." In the
masculine, this word would be an adjective. As such, it
would be modifying a noun, such as "faith." But in the
neuter, it is an adverb, and modifies the verb "justified."
To understand this distinction, let us look first at what
this verse would mean if the adjectival form "monos" had
been used.
As an Adjective. ("monos," masculine in Greek)
"George traveled to Hawaii, and he did not traveled to
Hawaii alone." The word "alone," is an adjective, and
modifies a noun. In this case, is modifies the pronoun is
"he" (i.e., George). It implies that George was not the only
person who traveled to Hawaii. There was someone else
with him. There are two nouns, George, and someone else.
If James had used the masculine, monos, it would have
modified "faith." In that case, James would be saying, "So
you see, a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone."
That is, faith, the noun, would not be alone. There would be
two nouns, faith plus works, simultaneously required for a
person to be justified.
It is common to hear one uneducated in Greek and
modest in their grasp of theology say some nonsensical thing
like, "we are justified by faith alone, but faith does not come
alone." But that pithy little aphorism is never taught in
Scripture. James never talks about justification by "faith plus
works," because he never used the masculine adjective,
"monos."
Now, let's look at this verse as it is actually written,
with an adverb ("monon"), identified as an adverb by its
neuter form in Greek. It is this neuter (adverbial) form that
James actually uses. An example might be, "George traveled
to Hawaii, and he did not traveled to Hawaii only!" As an
adverb, the word "only" modifies the verb "traveled."
Accordingly, the "traveling" to Hawaii is not the only
"traveling." There was additional traveling. Perhaps George
also traveled to Bangkok, or Paris, or Buenos Aires. The one
thing we do know is that he didn't travel to Hawaii only. He
also traveled somewhere else. There was more of the verb
"travel."
This is how James uses the neuter adverb, "monon."
James says, "So you see that a man is justified by works, and
not by faith ONLY." There is more than one kind of
justification. One act of justification is before God, and that
is by faith alone. And there is another action of justification
. . . this, before man, and it is effected by one's works. It is
by works alone. That is why the state of Israel proclaimed
Oscar Schindler a righteous man. He was righteous in the
eyes of man because of his great work.
James never speaks of justification by "faith plus
works." He speaks of one justification by faith, and of
another justification by works. And any preacher or teacher
who claims that James teaches Justification by "faith plus
works" is simply ignorant of Greek grammar. James never
talks about one justification by "faith plus works." He talks
about two different forms of justification. One form of
justification is by faith alone. And that is our justification
before God. And the other form of justification is by works
alone. And that is our justification in the eyes of our fellow
man.
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Chapter 16: Exegesis of James 2:21-24 |
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