THE REFUGE
The book of James has been the center of much controversy throughout church history regarding the means of salvation. That is, some have said that according to the book of James you must do works for salvation.
There is no doubt certain passages, such as, “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; 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. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone,” may need more clarity to others who struggle with a works base righteousness.
But looking into Abraham’s life, we see that Abraham’s obedience was the fruit of what was derived out of his loving relationship with God. So Abraham’s actions did not justify him.
He was justified by faith alone in his belief that God would one day send a Savior to bear his iniquity and die in his place. Abraham said to Abimelech, who was king of Gerar, “God caused me to wander from my father’s house.”
The word “caused” carries the understanding of being made to wander about. This implies to us that God moved upon the wicked heart of Abraham, bending his will to freely agree with Him concerning his own sinful disposition.
Therefore, when the Lord said to Abram, “Go a forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” So then it is written, “Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him.”
You see, saving faith is birthed supernaturally into the soul of the one who is being saved, and as time goes by it will display itself outwardly in the members of the body. “Paul said, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.“ So in the renewal of the heart, that is regeneration, the fruit of the Spirit becomes the predominant desires of the heart. So, now we see the book of James is of a vital necessity to understand when he said, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” So the natural inclinations of the heart that knows God, knows compassion and longs to help the suffering.
Reader, please understand me at this point. There is nothing that you can do physically to be justified by God, but to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and that to is given to you from God, as it says in Philippians, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but to also suffer for Him.”
Again, baptism, communion, mass, praying to saints, keeping the law, church membership, or any other thing
“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that
faith save him?”
James 2:14 NASBS that you may be trying to do to be made right with God will damn you in hell. “For there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” “That at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Paul, speaking of religious works, says, “ But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”