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Justification By Faith or Works
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Justified by Faith |
Justified
by Works |
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Therefore by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight,
...We conclude, that a man is justified by faith
without the deeds of the law.
Romans 3:20, 28
For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath
whereof to glory, but not before God.
Romans
4:2
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of
the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 2:16
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight
of God, it is evident; for, The just shall
live by faith. And the law is not of faith:
But, The man the doeth them shall live in them.
Galatians 3:11,12
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For
not the hearers of the law are just before God, but
the doers of the law shall be justified.
Romans 2:13
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he
hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save
him? ...Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being
alone. ...Was not Abraham our father justified
by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the
altar? ...Seest thou how faith wrought with his works,
and by works was faith made perfect? ...Ye see then
how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith
only....For as the body without the spirit is dead, so
faith without works is dead also.
James 2:14, 17, 21, 22, 24, 26 |
One may wonder if Paul and James were
looking at two separate sheets of music here. Actually,
they were merely addressing two different aspects of the same
great truth.
In the left-hand column, Paul is
speaking to religious legalists, who believe that man is
justified by works alone - by adherence to the law.
They believed that faith was irrelevant to the concept of
salvation and justification. He mentions Abraham in the
context of his deed alone. What of Abrahams intended
sacrifice of Isaac, if it was not born out of faith?
James was addressing antinomians -
those who believe that a merely subjective statement of faith
or believe is all that is required to be saved. To
adopt a modern variation on James' point, I could declare
that I am a multi-millionaire, but without the money in my
bank accounts, what I believe and declare is not necessarily
true.
These two apostles were addressing a
"cause-effect" relationship. True faith bears fruit -
in this case, works. Without works, the true validity
of the faith must be questioned. Paul exhorted the
"cause" of the good works - faith. James addressed the
effect - works. In the case of Abraham, Paul's
perspective was that Abrahams deed, were it not motivated by
faith in God, would be an empty deed. James held the
same opinion, but addressed in in another way:
Abraham's faith was evidenced by his obedient work.
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Are Some Sins Unforgivable
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All sins
forgivable |
Some sins
unforgivable |
And
by him all that believe are justified from all things
from which ye could not be justified by the law of
Moses.
Acts 13:39
Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
Romans 5:20
If
any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous.
1 John 2:1 |
Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall
not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in
the world to come.
Matthew 12:32
He
that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never
forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.
Mark 3:29
There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he
shall pray for it.
1 John
5:16 |
The passages on the left by no
means assert that every sin, wherever and by whomever
committed, will be forgiven. Only sins that have been
repented of will be forgiven. The passages on the
right refer to sins which will never be repented of, "unto
death".
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