Re: ROMANS 3:23 ETC.
The difference is that justification by faith alone pertains to the ungodly as Romans 4 precisely says. Justification by faith is what Abraham had when he was ungodly and changed by trusting YHWH. At that point he had no works, & was justified by faith alone.
Many, many years later, Abe was not ungodly, but godly, and his obedience in offering Isaac was a good work which God approved of and which rightly declared that Abe was righteous. The obedience with Isaac was a result of salvation. The original faith in God years before got Abe declared righteous without works. The original justification was part of the salvation Abe got. The second years later was not a part of salvation, but the result of it.
The first mention of Abram in the scripture aside from the genealogy is him obeying the word of God. You say he had no works look at vs 4....you are talking rubbish ...show where Abram was ungodly...You disrespect the man of God...
12 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
[SUP]2 [/SUP]And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
[SUP]3 [/SUP]And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
[SUP]4 [/SUP]
So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
[SUP]5 [/SUP]And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
[SUP]6 [/SUP]And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
[SUP]7 [/SUP]And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.
[SUP]8 [/SUP]And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.
Abram faith always had works....Do you think he did not go look at the sky then ask God whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it ? But the fact remains He always believed in the Lord....Was it not the same promise from the beginning? But he never gave up hope....and keeps on obeying God
[SUP]
5 [/SUP]And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
[SUP]6 [/SUP]And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
[SUP]7 [/SUP]And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
[SUP]8 [/SUP]
And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
[SUP]9 [/SUP]And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
[SUP]10 [/SUP]And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.