James 2:24 says, "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." I've had to chew on this one for a while as I had always believed that justification took place by faith at baptism when our sins were forgiven. Would you please explain this verse? -- Jack Reese (Nashville)
I do not believe this verse is talking about the point in time at which we are initially justified, but rather about our ongoing justification. There must be a correspondence between what we profess and what we do, between our walk and our talk. Jesus insisted on this many times (Matthew 7:21-23, for example).
Abraham was justified when he believed God (Genesis 15). His faith and his actions were working together, as James pointed out, at Moriah (Genesis 22).
Stepping back and looking at the big picture, (as someone put it) We cannot be saved by works--but then we cannot be saved without works, either! This is an important biblical theme.
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