James 2 – Salvation by Faith or Works

Welcome to the Rapid Bull, daily edition, where we provide a quick Biblical interpretations and applications.

This is a ministry of striving for eternity. A passage that is often misused is

James chapter 2 when it comes to the issue of faith and works. People try to argue that James has a different gospel than Paul, one by faith and one by works.

And what you see is most of the people that want to say that James teaches faith by works they want to start in verse 15.

Why don't they want to start in verse 14? Because when we look at context we get answers and they don't like the answers that it provides.

See verse 14 provides the question that verses 15 and following are answering.

What is the question? The question is this. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

Can that faith save him? So what you see is it's talking about a specific type of faith.

A faith that doesn't have works associated with it. So this is talking about someone that already claims to be a believer.

First off because he's called brother. But a second reason is the fact that he's saying he has faith already.

But that faith doesn't have a works associated with it. James's point is that if you have saving faith then you have sanctifying works immediately following.

So if you have someone who says they have faith but they don't have the works that precede that faith,

James is asking the question, does that faith save? So when he says that faith without works is dead, it's that specific faith he's talking about there.

This podcast is part of the Striving for Eternity ministry. For more content or to request a speaker or seminar to your church, go to strivingforeternity .org