Email from Abiding Place Daily Bread – March 17, 2025 (The Second Day – Genesis 1:6-8) James 2:24 – You see then that a man is shown to be righteous by works, and not by faith only. The Example of Abraham’s Works of Righteousness “Abraham believed in the promised Seed, ‘in whom all the nations of the Earth should be blessed.’ But what kind of a faith was his? Was it unproductive of holy obedience? No: it led him to obey the hardest command that was ever given to mortal man, even to slay, and to reduce to ashes upon the altar, that very son, to whom the promises were made, and through whom alone they could ever be accomplished.” (Charles Simeon, Horae Homileticae: James to Jude, vol. 20 (London: Holdsworth and Ball, 1833), 66–67.) James is most definitely referring to a faith that is more than a mental assent, but a power so transformative that it results in a change of life. We possess the abundant life of God, therefore it will be evident! Faith without the actions of doing what is right is merely a mental acknowledgment that is no different than the belief the demons have (James 2:19). James is underscoring how believing alone is not enough. Paul certainly was of the same mind. As we previously pointed out, he describes works in the believer’s life thirty-three different times. To think Paul did not look at faith as more than a passive or mental assent is certainly wrong. Paul described the transformative power of faith in terms of the life of Jesus in us. He focused on the new creation, the Son of God revealed in our lives by the working of the Holy Spirit in us and through us (Galatians 1:16; Ephesians 1:19, 3:20; 2 Corinthians 4:7). Paul characterized faith that declares a person righteous, as faith that produces the fruits of righteousness (Philippians 1:11; Ephesians 5:9; Hebrews 12:11). The chief characteristic of righteousness by faith is the love of God and the works of His love in our lives. When Paul was writing about Abraham’s righteousness it was solely on the basis of Abraham’s faith in the coming Seed (Genesis 15:6; John 8:56; Galatians 3:16; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6). James writes about the test of that righteousness that took place many years later (Genesis 22:1-3). James underscores how Abraham’s righteousness was found to be “perfected” (ἐτελειώθη) in his willingness to be perfectly obedient to God (James 2:22). Therefore, James says Abraham was shown to be righteous when God said, now I know that you fear me (Genesis 22:12). Yet at the same time, James uses the plural form of works when describing Abraham’s obedience (vs 22). We certainly have many great examples of Abraham’s obedience to God beginning in Genesis 12:1. Blessings, Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
Daily Bread 3/17/2025
