JUSTIFICATION by works, grace, or faith?

[TonyChanYT]

Yes, all of the above are necessary. None can be missing.

By works, I mean faithful works, Rom 2:

13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Jame 2:

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

G1344-justify appears 39 times.

BDAG lists 4 meanings for δικαιόω:
② to render a favorable verdict
④ to demonstrate to be morally right

Vertically, meaning ② refers to God's rendering a verdict on a person to declare him righteous. Horizontally, meaning ④ refers to people's demonstration of being righteous.

24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

In one paragraph, James mentioned 3 times "justified by works".

By grace, Rom 3:

24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

By faith:

29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

Now, on the other hand, Isa 64:

5b Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?

No, external righteousness won't save anyone.

6a We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

Paul explained in Rom 3:

20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

External works alone are insufficient because no one is sinless in all his works. Internally, we need faith in our hearts to make our works meaningful. We also need grace to forgive us when we fail in our works.

Paul insisted in Galatians 2:

16 Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

I.e., No one is justified by the external works of the law without internal support of faith.

21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Ezekiel 18:

9 walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God.

Ezekiel 14:

14 even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.

Noah, Daniel, and Job were righteous because they acted in faith by the grace of God.

Grace in Christ is necessary, Galatians 2:

21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Rom 3:

27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Don't boast about your human work. Without faith in God, no one is justified.

29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Since we don't need the works of the law, we may as well throw them away. No, not at all. Do not overgeneralize and misunderstand Paul's point. Faithful works are necessary; don't boast about them. Without grace, your works are useless in justifying you for eternal life.

Eph 2:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Good works are defined by God, not by humans.

Rom 4:

2 If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Even Abraham was not justified without faith. The word "justified" has different nuances. We need all three—works (i.e., faithful works), grace, and faith—to be justified (in all the different nuances).

Men's doctrines complicated things. Jesus told a nice, simple parable in Luke 18:

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

Depending on yourselves instead of on God would not save you.

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

These external works would not save you.

13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

The tax collector depends on God's mercy.

14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Don't boast. Humble yourself before God. His mercy and grace will justify you.

Does righteousness come from the law or not?

No, the law condemns. However, righteousness does come by grace from the faithful works of the law.

Are we saved by faith alone?

Right, and that would include faithful works by grace. Legalistic works do not save us.

See also

• Logical analysis of John 3:36
• faith and faithful works are logically equivalent.

 

[Josheb]

Yes, all of the above are necessary. None can be missing.

By works, I mean faithful works, Rom 2: 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Jame 2: 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

First, no one meets all the requirements of the law (except Jesus) and breaking one law is sufficient to qualify as breaker of the whole law (Jms. 2:10). ALL have sinned, so Paul's words cannot be made to say justification of the sinner is possible by works apart from Christ. That Jesus thing is very important . No (finite) person can work their way to (the infinite) Creator by means of their own (sinful faculties). Second, Paul and James are writing about justification from different contexts. James is specifically writing in the context of those already in a God-initiated covenant (like Abraham and Isaac) and justified by Christ. The works of sinful flesh do not justify anything or anyone.

 

[CrowCross]

James is specifically writing in the context of those already in a God-initiated covenant (like Abraham and Isaac) and justified by Christ.

Important point.

 

[Keiw1]

All 3-- Works builds up a strong living faith( faith without works is dead) that will stand under the pressures that one is faced with. Without the works behind ones faith, James said its dead= worthless. The ones whose faith stands will get grace.

 

[CrowCross]

All 3-- Works builds up a strong living faith( faith without works is dead) that will stand under the pressures that one is faced with. Without the works behind ones faith, James said its dead= worthless. The ones whose faith stands will get grace.

The way I see it the one with out works will get no rewards or very little at the Bema Seat.