A JUSTIFIED FAITH: JAMES 2:21-23

Verses 21-23:Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.

James now uses the examples of the faith of Abraham and Rahab (v.25) to validate his argument. We should be reminded that his audience is made up specifically of Jewish believers who had been dispersed (1:1), and so he appeals to their knowledge of their Jewish history of which they would have been well acquainted.

This question in the original Greek which James asks anticipates a yes response1—yes, Abraham was justified by works. But this must be interpreted considering who James is speaking to and within the framework of Old Testament teachings. For there is a distinct difference between what James and Paul mean by justified.

What Paul states in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”, has all the appearance of being contradictory to James’ statement in this passage. However this seeming contradiction is explained and dispelled by Dr. L.S. Chafer:

The entire context, James 2:14-26, will be recognized as the central passage bearing on the general Biblical contention that a true regeneration is demonstrated by its fruits. The Apostle Paul discloses the truth in Romans 5:1 that the requirement on the human side for justification before God is faith; but the Apostle James declares that the requirement on the human side for justification before men is good works [emphasis added].2

Paul’s teaching of being justified refers to God’s declaration that the sinner is now in a righteous standing before Him, not because of any work the sinner can do to attain this standing—it was all accomplished by Christ on the cross. This declaration of justification is God’s response to the sinner believing in Jesus Christ for salvation (Acts 16:31).

But concerning James’ statement of Abraham being justified by works, Dr. Charles C. Ryrie states that “here in James it [justified] means ‘to vindicate’ or ‘show to be righteous’ before God and men.” 3 He goes on to state that,

Abraham's justification in Paul's sense is recorded in Genesis 15:6; Abraham's justification in James's sense took place 30 or more years later in the patriarch's crowning act of obedience in offering Isaac (Genesis 22). By this act he proved the reality of his Genesis 15 faith.4

What Ryrie mentions is the essential key to understanding the apparent contradiction between James and Paul: obedience. James is accentuating the distinguishing element of salvation—a moment-by-moment active relationship with our Lord that is evidenced by others. Abraham maintained an active one-on-one relationship with the Lord after his initial expression of faith as Scripture illustrates (Genesis 15-25). He further validated his saving faith by his obedience on two occasions. James mentions the offering of Isaac (Genesis 22), but there was another instance prior to this as recorded in Genesis 17:23-24 where Abraham obeyed God and had himself and all his male servants circumcised in order to establish the sign of the covenant relationship with the Lord and all of Abraham’s descendants.  

Faith Was Working

You see is a declarative statement which could be translated notice.5 In this instance James is asking that the reader to take note of this particular principle. The Greek verb to see [βλέπω] is used here as a technical term to perceive in one’s mind and does not always mean to see with one’s eyes.

So here, James is summarizing his conjecture that Abraham’s faith (his belief in God as an active, vibrant salvation) was working together with his works (his obedience in following the directive of the Lord). Lenski explains what James wants us to comprehend, that

 [I]t is faith through which the works have value in that they attest the genuineness and the living quality of the faith; faith proves itself in our life by the fact that it acts.6

It is as if James is asking us to “see that faith really works as it did in the case of Abraham, the father of faith.”7 And once we fully understanding and emulate Abraham’s example, our faith will also be perfected.

So what does James mean by perfected? How can genuine faith be perfected? Again, the term faith here refers to “that which is believed,”8 specifically, a belief system that maintains that the Christian faith is one in which outward manifestations are necessary. The Greek word9 for perfected has the meaning of “to complete, make perfect by reaching the intended goal.”10 A faith that is complete and reaches its intended goal is one which demonstrates the fruit of salvation.

Scripture Fulfilled

As James continues, he states that Scripture was fulfilled, that is, the Scripture concerning Abraham’s obedient faith had reached its intended goal: righteousness before God and justification before others who observe the evidence of his faith. For he states concisely that Abraham believed God—not believed in God, for he had already believed in God when He called him out of Ur (Genesis 12:1-3; Acts 7:2-3).

In order to clarify further, when Abraham first believed God, he believed the unseen God, the Creator, Who controls the universe. God had promised him that his descendants would be “innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore” (Hebrews 11:12). Abraham was not asked to do something or to perform a system of rituals in order to gain a righteous standing before God. He simply believed God just as the writer of Hebrews delineated:

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

This verse tells us that it is impossible to please God, that is, to obtain His righteous standing by doing some ritual. It must be by faith—a faith that simply says “Yes, I believe that you exist and that you desire an eternal relationship with me, your creature.” This faith would include the full understand that:

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5)

And as James points out, this faith which Abraham possessed was more than an affirmation to God, with the expectation of merely securing eternal salvation in the afterlife. Abraham understood that this faith was to be an active relationship with his Creator—that he would need to respond in obedience to God’s directives.

So here in this verse, James states that Abraham believed what God had told him, how he would be the father of immeasurable descendants (Genesis 22:17; 26:4), and that even if he obeyed and the sacrifice of Isaac had been completed, he knew that God would still provide an offspring to fulfill His promise.

In so doing, Abraham was called the friend of God. However, he earned this title not during his lifetime but from those who wrote about him as the prime example of genuine faith (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8). Note how Our Lord declared the same of those who believe in Him:

“You are My friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:14)

In this verse, James is illustrating Abraham’s faith which exemplifies the totality of genuine Biblical faith—that body of doctrine which is believed for salvation. It encompasses the initial belief that maintains that Christ accomplished the work necessary to satisfy the righteous demands of God for the forgiveness of sins, in order that the sinner may be forever justified before God (Romans 5:1) and that which maintains that the believer’s life is to be characterized by works of obedience to his Lord in order to prove (i.e. to justify) the reality of his saving faith before others.

 

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[1] There are two negative particles in the Greek: oὐ and μή; James employs oὐ in this verse. “Oὐ expects the answer ‘yes’ (cf. Mt.7:22) and μή the answer ‘no’ (cf. John 7:31).” Robertson, A.T. (1934). A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, p.1175; Dana, H.E. and Mantey, Julius (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: The Macmillian Co., p.265.

[2] Chafer, L.S. (1976), Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 3.297-298.

[3] Ryrie, Charles C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible, Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, p. 1971, note 2:21.

[4] Ibid, Ryrie.

[5] Michaelis, W. (1964–). βλέπω → G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, & G. Friedrich (Eds.), Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 5.317, 344.

[6] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 10.591.

[7] Zodhiates, S. (1999). Faith, Love, & Hope: An Exposition of the Epistle of James (electronic ed., Jas 2:22). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.

[8] Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1957). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 669.

[9] τελειόω [teleióō]

[10] Zodhiates, G5048.