James 2 :18-21

[seed_time_harvest]

James 2:18-21
King James Version (KJV)

18.)Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

19.)Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

20.)But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

21.)Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
+++
I thought verse 20 was talking about If man doesn’t have real GOD faith then his works are dead.
Could someone help me with the Interpretation of verse 20?
I may have been In Error on this If so please forgive me.

 

[eternally-gratefull]

James 2:18-21
King James Version (KJV)

18.)Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

19.)Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

20.)But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

21.)Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
+++
I thought verse 20 was talking about If man doesn’t have real GOD faith then his works are dead.
Could someone help me with the Interpretation of verse 20?
I may have been In Error on this If so please forgive me.

I see it as saying if one does not have true faith in God (James calls it a “claimed faith- ie, if one claims to have faith, but has no works) then he will not have any works.

ie, even demons believe, yet tremble.

So I think he is saying there is a difference between mere believe in God, and an actual living breathing faiht in God.

whoever has faith will work. Work is a byproduct of faith. If one does not have the byproduct, then the thinking which produces the byproduct is missing.

 

[EarsToHear]

James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

"Faith without works is dead", it is a dead faith. To put it another way, your faith, as well as yourself, is a fake. Many people today say that works are not necessary when you are a Christian. God is very natural in everything that He does, and anything that will not work God does away with. When it is no longer of use, it returns back to its original elements. Rust or oxidation returns steel back to iron, oxygen and the elements that it was made of. Plants that die are decomposed to their original elements, and in faith, when the faith does not produce the natural order that it is intended to produce, it returns to what it was at the start. The natural order of any faith in Jesus Christ is to produce the works that your faith is supposed to produce. God gives each of us some form of gifts that He expects us to use and strengthen our faith. When we do not use those gifts, our faith dies and returns to what we were before receiving the faith.

In the case of the handicapped, they have a very special gift, and their testimony means far more than someone that is old and without works. When the unbeliever sees someone handicapped that is a believer and has faith and works, it goes a long way in turning them into Christ. In Revelation 14:13 we are told exactly what we can take with us when we leave this life in our flesh bodies.

Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforeth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

Your works are the only thing that you take with you, for your works are already written in the book. It is what your eternal garment that you will be wearing for all eternity is made of. John was doing the writing as the Holy Spirit of Jesus is doing the talking, and telling John exactly what to write. Your labors are what you do in the flesh, not the spirit, it is what you do while in your flesh body. Your labors are your works and those things that you do for Christ and each of them follow you to heaven when you die, or at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Your works are what shows the quality of man or woman, boy or girl that you are.

Don't let some reverend or teacher rob you of those blessings that God has for you both now and in the eternity by telling you that works just don't count. They do count and they are the only thing that counts. They are what all of the eternity is based upon, with regards to your rewards, your inheritance, your position and what you will be wearing throughout eternity. Let's go to Revelation 19:6-9 and see how our works are treated at the coming of the Lord, at the "marriage of the Lamb" to his bride [all the believers].

Revelation 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters (peoples), and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.

This wedding takes place after the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to set up His thousand-year Millennium kingdom right here on earth. Each person that has by faith accepted Jesus as their Savior through their repentance in Jesus name, goes to make up the voice of a great multitude that is spoken of here.

Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.

Those of the elect that did not yield to Satan and his system when he came to the earth, but remained true to the seventh trumpet and the return of Jesus Christ, are the only ones that will enter into marriage supper of the Lamb, from our generation. Except for those that have died and passed on, of course. These are the ones that are making themselves ready for the supper.

Revelation 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Friend, your righteous acts are the works that you have done while living in your flesh body here on earth, and at this time those acts are the only thing that will go to make up the fine linen that you will be wearing in the Millennium and in the eternity. Those works are the only thing that covers you at the marriage supper of the Lamb, that is where the rewards are given out, and where you are assigned your inheritance.

Do you get the picture? Your faith is needed to get you into the supper, but to attend the supper you need to be properly dressed. It is your works that decide what you will be wearing to the supper. James then is saying that if your works are dead, so is your faith also, for it takes one to obtain the other. You are not saved by your works, but by your belief and faith in Jesus Christ, it is your works that test whether your faith is genuine. Your works are the guard at the door to check to see if your ticket qualified you to enter into the marriage supper of the Lamb, who is Jesus Christ. To see if you are a true man or woman of God, or just a cheap fake and counterfeit. There is no place setting at the supper table for those that think they can sneak in by some other means.

Revelation 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.

When your faith is checked out by your works, and those works are found to be true and genuine, God will truly bless you with His riches, as you become joint-heirs with Christ in that heavenly kingdom. Today it is common to hear that, "your works just don't matter." These are also the ones that tell you not to read the book of Revelation, and that the book of Revelation is not to be understood. They are the same old boys that think they can con the man at the door controlling the entering into the "marriage supper of the Lamb", and come up by some other way. They are the ones for you to mark well in anything that they say, and their words must be tested by the Word of God before being accepted, and there they will be found to be "hay and stubble, to be burned in the fire".

James is a very direct book and it gets said what must be said, especially to those that have blinded themselves to the book of Revelation.

 

[trofimus]

I think there is an interesting fact:

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Late Greek manuscripts have:

ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν
The faith without works is dead.

---

Old Greek manuscripts have:

ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστιν
The faith without works is workless.

 

[Hizikyah]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to Yah has to believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him.”[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Hebrews 5:9, “And having been perfected, He became the Causer of everlasting salvation to all those obeying Him.”

True faith obeys, only in our modern mindset is belief and action a seperate thing:

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[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son possesses everlasting life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Yah remains on him.”

Why does one not put their hand on the stove? They have faith it will burn them...


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[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Hebrews 11, By belief they performed an action;[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:1, "And belief is the substance of what is expected, the proof of what is not seen.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:4, "By belief, Heḇel offered to Yah a greater slaughter offering than Qayin, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, Yah witnessing of his gifts. And through it, having died, he still speaks.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:5, "By belief, Ḥanoḵ was translated so as not to see death, “and was not found because Yah had translated him.” (Gen 5:24) For before his translation he obtained witness, that he pleased Yah.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:6, "But without belief it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to Yah has to believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:7, "By belief, Noaḥ, having been warned of what was yet unseen, having feared, prepared an ark to save his house, through which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to belief.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:8, "By belief, Aḇraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he was about to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.11:9, "By belief, he sojourned in the land of promise as a stranger, dwelling in tents with Yitsḥaq and Ya‛aqoḇ, the heirs with him of the same promise,"11:10, "for he was looking for the city having foundations, whose builder and maker is Yah.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:11, "By belief also, Sarah herself was enabled to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the normal age, because she deemed Him trustworthy who had promised.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:17, "By belief, Aḇraham, when he was tried, offered up Yitsḥaq, and he who had received the promises offered up his only brought-forth son,[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:20, "By belief, Yitsḥaq blessed Ya‛aqoḇ and Ěsaw concerning that which was to come.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:21, "By belief, Ya‛aqoḇ, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Yosĕph, and did reverence on the top of his staff.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:22, "By belief, Yosĕph, when he was dying, made mention of the outgoing of the children of Yisra’ĕl, and gave orders concerning his bones.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:23, "By belief, Mosheh, having been born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a comely child, and were not afraid of the sovereign’s command. (Exo 2:2) [/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:24, "By belief, Mosheh, having become great, refused to be called the son of the daughter of Pharaoh,"11:25, "choosing rather to be afflicted with the people of Yah than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time,"11:26, "deeming the reproach of Messiah greater riches than the treasures in Mitsrayim, for he was looking to the reward.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:27, "By belief, he left Mitsrayim, not fearing the wrath of the sovereign, for he was steadfast, as seeing Him who is invisible.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:28, "By belief, he performed the Pĕsaḥ and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the first-born should touch them.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:29, "By belief, they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, and when the Mitsrites tried it, they were drowned.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:30, "By belief, the walls of Yeriḥo fell, having been surrounded for seven days.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:31, "By belief, Raḥaḇ the whore did not perish with those who did not believe, having received the spies with peace.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11:33, "who through belief, overcame reigns, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,"11:34, "quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight."11:35, "Women received back their dead by resurrection. And others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain a better resurrection."11:36, "And others had trial of mockings and floggings and more, of chains and imprisonment."11:37, "They were stoned, they were tried, they were sawn in two, they were slain with the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in need, afflicted, mistreated,”[/FONT]

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[seed_time_harvest]

Where I think I am In error Is this question

Is faith without a persons works accepted by GOD?I would say yes.

What would be the answer If the question was asked THIS way?Is faith dead to GOD without works?
As In Is faith dead without works?

 

[Hizikyah]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]James 2:17, "So also belief, if it does not have works, is in itself dead.[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]"

3498. nekros ►
Strong's Concordance
nekros: dead
Original Word: νεκρός, ά, όν
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: nekros
Phonetic Spelling: (nek-ros')
Short Definition: dead, a corpse
Definition: (a) adj: dead, lifeless, subject to death, mortal, (b) noun: a dead body, a corpse.


[/FONT]

 

[eternally-gratefull]

Where I think I am In error Is this question

Is faith without a persons works accepted by GOD?I would say yes.

What would be the answer If the question was asked THIS way?Is faith dead to GOD without works?
As In Is faith dead without works?

We are saved by faith apart from works. So a person would have to be saved BEFORE works are done.

However, God knows our heart. So he knows who has true faiht and who does not.

True faith produces works, so those truely saved WILL produce works, even though they were saved eternally BEFORE they did one work

 

[Nehemiah6]

I thought verse 20 was talking about If man doesn’t have real GOD faith then his works are dead.

Quite the opposite. If a person claims to be saved (having put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ) but has absolutely no good works in his life, His faith is FAKE and therefore -- for all intents and purposes -- dead. Just as a tree which is alive and healthy produces good fruit, a faith which is alive and genuine produces good works.

What James is discussing is how other people determine if we are truly justified by grace through faith. In the eyes of men we are justified by what we do as a result of being saved.

 

[FlyingDove]

James 2:18-21
King James Version (KJV)

18.)Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

19.)Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

20.)But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

21.)Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
+++
I thought verse 20 was talking about If man doesn’t have real GOD faith then his works are dead.
Could someone help me with the Interpretation of verse 20?
I may have been In Error on this If so please forgive me.

The misquoted & misunderstood Book of James

James epistle is written in the 40's to the 12 tribes (Jews only) who had been scattered Js 1:1

James is writting to the 12 tribes of Israel. Still under the Law. To Jews steeped in Old Testament doctrines. The Temple is in full operation, and nobody has ever been told to stop Temple worship, or to stop the sacrifices.

There is nothing in the Book of James that speak's of the Body of Christ/Church. Nothing of the power of the Resurrection, found in Paul’s writings.

Counsel at Jerusalem took place in 51 AD & is a key transitional inflection point. The book of James is written 2-12 years BEFORE the Counsel at Jerusalem.

James the 1/2 brother of Jesus, was head of the Jerusalem assembly & the moderator for the Counsel at Jerusalem (Acts 15)

Acts 15:
7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up & said unto them, Men & brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

13 And after they had held their peace, ""James"" answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:

Read vs 13-19 & see James message now, 8-10 yrs after he wrote the book of James

22 Then pleased it "the apostles & elders" with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul & Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas & Silas, chief men among the brethren:

23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; "The apostles, elders & (JEWISH) brethren" send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria & Cilicia:

24 We have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised & keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment.
(NOTE: All the Apostle's agree & send letters to ALL the Churches: Gentiles don't need to be circumcised or keep the law of Moses)

James, Peter & John shake on the Counsel at Jerusalem deal here too:

Gal 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me they gave to me & Barnabas the right hands of fellowship that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the Jews.

 

[mailmandan]

James 2:18-21
King James Version (KJV)

18.)Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

In James 2:14, we read of one who says/claims *key word* he has faith but has no works (to give evidence to his claim). That is not genuine faith, but a bare profession of faith.

So when James asks, "Can that faith save him?" he is saying nothing against genuine faith, but only against an empty profession of faith/dead faith. *James does not teach that we are saved "by" works. His concern is to show the reality of the faith professed by the individual (James 2:18) and demonstrate that the faith claimed (James 2:14) by the individual is genuine.

19.)Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

In James 2:19, we see that the demons believe "mental assent" that "there is one God" but they do not believe/entrust their spiritual well being to Christ; have faith/reliance upon Christ for salvation.

In other words, they do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31) and are not saved. Their trust and reliance is in Satan, as demonstrated by their rebellion in heaven and continuous evil works.

20.)But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? I thought verse 20 was talking about If man doesn’t have real GOD faith then his works are dead.
Could someone help me with the Interpretation of verse 20?
I may have been In Error on this If so please forgive me.

In James 2:20, "faith without works is dead" does not mean that faith is dead until it produces works and then it becomes a living faith or that works are the source of life in faith, as works-salvationists teach. That's like saying a tree is dead until it produces fruit and then it becomes a living tree and the fruit is the source of life in the tree.

*James is simply saying faith that is not accompanied by evidential works is dead. *If someone says-claims he has faith but lacks resulting evidential works, then he has an empty profession of faith/dead faith and not authentic faith.

21.)Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

In James 2:21, notice closely that James does not say that Abraham's work of offering up Isaac resulted in God's accounting Abraham as righteous. The accounting of Abraham's faith as righteousness was made in Genesis 15:6, many years before his work of offering up Isaac recorded in Genesis 22. The work of Abraham did not have some kind of intrinsic merit to save him, but it proved or manifested the genuineness of his faith. This is the sense in which Abraham was justified by works. He was "shown to be righteous."

James is discussing the proof/evidence of faith (says-claims to have faith but has no works/I will show you my faith by my works - James 2:14-18), not the initial act of being accounted as righteous with God (Romans 4:2-3).

 

[garee]

Faith (believing), without works is dead just as in the same way these bodies of death without the spirit essence, our breath of life cannot work having no spirit life to make it possible to work.

God who lives in the believer as Emmanuel, God with us, performs that which he does appoint to us to both will and do his good pleasure . We work it out... not work for to gain .

The faith in those verses is the faith of Christ as a imputed righteousness .It was imputed to both Abraham and Rehab the two examples used.

If we would have that mutual faith in respect to Abraham or Rehab we have make the faith of Christ without effect and do blaspheme the holy name by which we are called, the warning at the beginning of chapter 2. It the faith of Christ as the work of Christ carries the theme to the end of the chapter .

It is God who worked in Abraham as well as Rehab to give them a living Hope. So it’s a faith that has works, a must according to Christ three day labor of love. From His works we receive His grace.

Looking at the imputed I have (paraphrased it) to help know whose faith is in view that makes whose faith perfect.

Jam 2:22 Seest thou how(Christ’s )faith wrought with his (Christ’s ) works, and by (Christ’s ) works was (Christ’s ) faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it (Christ’s work of faith )was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

 

[Nehemiah6]

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Since "faith" is inanimate, what this verse is saying is that genuine faith in God and in Christ MUST produce good works. So if a person claims to be saved but has not good works his "faith" was not genuine, perhaps just a mental assent to the Gospel. Those who are genuinely saved are born again, and children of God will produce good works.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10)