Actually Scripture is clear that it is He who Justifies. Not us who justify ourselves.
James was simply saying, you say you have faith and that is good, but how do you know your faith is real without works? And to really get into the context, what good does your faith do (for those around you) without works?
The point is though, that we can not work ourselves to salvation. We can only work FROM salvation. Faith produces works. Or which I think is better visual, fruit. Because Jesus said bad trees can not bear good fruit. So He changed our tree, hence, we are new creations, with a new heart, a new spirit, old man is dead, and we even have the mind of Christ. Now from THIS place we can begin to do live a supernatural life that preaches the Kingdom of God through love namely, hence Jesus said we shall know who belongs to Him by the love they show one another. Not by their theology.
Further - we love God because He loved us first. We love each other because of His love. We can only give what we have received. This is the essence of grace, it empowers, this is critical to walk in true holiness, which isn't what we DO, but who we now are.
C.
James was simply saying, you say you have faith and that is good, but how do you know your faith is real without works? And to really get into the context, what good does your faith do (for those around you) without works?
The point is though, that we can not work ourselves to salvation. We can only work FROM salvation. Faith produces works. Or which I think is better visual, fruit. Because Jesus said bad trees can not bear good fruit. So He changed our tree, hence, we are new creations, with a new heart, a new spirit, old man is dead, and we even have the mind of Christ. Now from THIS place we can begin to do live a supernatural life that preaches the Kingdom of God through love namely, hence Jesus said we shall know who belongs to Him by the love they show one another. Not by their theology.
Further - we love God because He loved us first. We love each other because of His love. We can only give what we have received. This is the essence of grace, it empowers, this is critical to walk in true holiness, which isn't what we DO, but who we now are.
C.
The works everyone misunderstands justifies our faith. It makes faith valid. If one does not produce fruit, faith is lost and so one will not inherit salvation at the end.