James 2 – Salvation by Faith or Works

Andrew Rappaport's Rapp Report Daily

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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?

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

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

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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