In the Letter of James 2:21 Abraham is called “our father (in faith) who was justified by works (flowing out of faith)”. The necessity of combining faith and works, which must go together, constitutes the foundation of James’s argumentation. The author of the Epistle of James demonstrates that Abraham’s faith was active along with his works. One of them was Abraham’s offering of Isaac as a sacrifice. This is how the Scripture was fulfilled and the faith achieved its goal by becoming perfect and mature which means that it leads to salvation (J 2:21-23). That is why the author of the Epistle of James presents this attitude as a model to follow (James 2:22). The author tries to prove that God justifies the Epistle’s addressees by faith active along with works. “The fulfillment of the Scripture” concerns us – those whose trust in God following the example of Abraham is credited as justification, in other words it brings us salvation. Such a view on faith which must be active along with actions unquestionably does not stand in opposition to Paul’s teaching on faith that justifies. Paul also speaks about faith working through love (Gal 5:6).
Download files
Citation rules
Vol. 46 No. 2 (2013)
Published: 2021-01-30
English
Język Polski