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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Resolution, continued
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9—NIV)
Paul says we are accepted of God on the basis of grace and faith.
James says we are accepted of God on the basis of works.
Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. (James 2:21-24—NIV)
"Not by works, so no one can boast."
"A person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone."
Are these two statements both the Word of God? Are they equally true?
On the surface they appear to be contradictory. Do we just forget about this or is there a satisfying resolution? If there is no resolution perhaps either the writings of Paul or the Book of James should be removed from the Bible.
Which one do you want to remove?
Actually there is no contradiction. The purpose of grace is to get us started on the road to righteous, godly behavior. This is the purpose of Divine grace under the new covenant. If we see grace in any other way we have been deluded.
Paul gave us the resolution in the following passage. Let's look at it closely.
"We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners' know a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law so I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:15-20—NIV)
We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners.' Paul was reminding Peter that he, Paul, was a Jew by birth and not a sinning Gentile. Paul is saying, "Look at me! I, a Jew, am putting my trust in Christ instead of the Law of Moses. I am not a sinner of the Gentiles. Peter, you are not dealing with a Gentile!"
Peter was wavering between his upbringing under the Law of Moses and the grace and faith that Paul was teaching. Remember that only to the Apostle Paul was given the explanation of the transition from Moses to Christ.
To be continued.