OldOrthodoxChristian;606008 said:
"James does not teach that we are saved by works".
"The letter [of St. James] has many direct parallels with the Sermon on the Mount.
James does not teach that we are saved by works, but he does teach that a dead faith,
one without works, does not save. This is an early polemic against invisible religion, or
mental faith, wherein salvation by faith does not require visible works; and against
antinomianism, the teaching that moral behavior is irrelevant to salvation. James is
clear: the human will is not bypassed in salvation; grace does not nullify personal
responsibility. ("The Orthodox Study Bible," "Introduction")". [page 10: The Epistle of St.
James: A Commentary. The Most Reverend DMITRI Royster, Archbishop of Dallas and
the South. Yonkers, New York: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.].
We do not save ourselves by our good works (Eph. 2:8-9, Titus 3:5), but we are not
saved without good works (Eph. 2:10, James 2:24).
God save us (Titus 3:5). Amen. In Erie PA Scott R. Harrington
"
vv. 21-24. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon
the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works his faith was made perfect? And
the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for
righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified,
and not by faith only."
"We have now come to the section of the Epistle [of James] that was rejected by some of the reformers,
notably Martin Luther, who espoused a "salvation-by-faith-alone" doctrine. This doctrine stems from an
imagined faith-works opposition, a product of the mistake of considering the Scriptures as independent of
any tradition. Luther flatly contradicted St. James, and only reluctantly included his Epistle in his "canon
of Scripture," but "not as one of the chief books, which are to lay the foundation of faith." (See Martin
Luther's "Preface to the Epistles of St. James and St. Jude.")
"The holy Fathers, however, do not recognize any opposition between faith and works. St. Clement of
Rome ("Epistle," Chapters 31-34), for example, asks, "For what was our father Abraham blessed? Was it
not because he wrought righteousness and truth through faith?" And although he stresses the fact that
salvation is a gift from God and according to His will, and that works alone do not merit salvation, he goes
on to point out that he Scriptures indicate that we will be judged according to our works. (For the most
conclusive evidence of this fact, see Matthew 25.)
"According to St. Cyril of Alexandria (ibid., Homily 86), St. Paul (whom he assumes to be the author of the
Epistle to the Hebrews) "has laid down for us a definition, so to speak, or rather a general law, thus
saying: "Without faith it is impossible for anyone whatsoever to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). In the
recounting of stories of the ancients who "by faith ... obtained a good report" (Hebrews 11:2-6), in each
case, he relates the principal deeds which were the proof of their faith: "But that the fathers were
proved by faith, the examination of their deeds demonstrates."
"St. Cyril of Jerusalem ("Catechetical Lecture V," no. 5) expresses his conviction that faith and good
works are inseparable. Speaking of Abraham, he says, "He was justified not only by works, but also by
faith; for though he did many things well, yet he was never called the friend of God, except when he
believed. Moreover, every work was performed in faith." That works are the product of faith, and that if
there are no works, faith is either dead or non-existent, the holy Fathers have no doubt. ...."
[pp. 60-61: The Epistle of St. James: A Commentary. The Most Reverend DMITRI Royster,
Archbishop of Dallas and the South. Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2010.].
God save us in His mercy (Titus 3:5). Amen. In Erie PA Scott R. Harrington
