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To: LearsFool; boatbums; trebb; RnMomof7
>>Surely you don’t mind that I quoted what James wrote, even if it corrects your misunderstanding of the role of works in salvation, do you?<<

Directly from the Greek word for word.

James 2:21 Abraham the father of us not by works was justified having offered Isaac the son of him upon the alter

James 2:22 You see that his faith was working with the works of him and by his works his faith was accomplished.

His works were only the end result of his faith which saved him.

Romans 4:2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Abraham was counted as righteous before he ever did anything. His actions only followed his saving faith.

104 posted on 02/21/2015 12:45:45 PM PST by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus)
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To: CynicalBear; boatbums; trebb; RnMomof7
Abraham was counted as righteous before he ever did anything.

Nope. Hebrews 11:8 says otherwise: "By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed"

Still no answer to my question? Well, that's okay, because you've still come to see what the role of works is.

You have to answer "No", because you can't help but admit that without the marching, the walls wouldn't have fallen.

Nor can you help but admit that without the dipping in the Jordan, Naaman would've remained a leper.

Nor can you help but admit that without the building of the ark, Noah and his family would've drowned in the flood.

When God issues a command, faith works, and God gives the promised reward. So you understand that for all of these (Abraham, Noah, etc.), "by their works their faith was accomplished", and the promise God wished to give them was achieved by "their faith working with their works."

"And the scripture was fulfilled", and so Abraham's faith was the justifying kind.

But some people don't want to work when God issues a command, so they don't get the promised reward. It's not that they're lazy. It's just that they don't have faith.

So the question for you (no, you don't have to answer this one to anyone but God) is whether you'll do the work God has commanded to "accomplish your faith" and make it the kind that saves. Will your faith be fruitful or barren? Alive or dead? Like the disciple's or like the devils'?
105 posted on 02/21/2015 1:31:36 PM PST by LearsFool ("Thou shouldst not have been old, till thou hadst been wise.")
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