Regeneration

This is the second in my series, Them Five Dollar Bible Words

Today’s $5 word: Regeneration

This word only occurs twice in the New Testament:

Matthew 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus is speaking of the kingdom. When he comes again with power and glory, he shall set up his kingdom on the earth and sit on the throne of his glory. Regeneration refers to the physical renovation of the earth, a new birth for the earth. In this time of the kingdom, the apostles will sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. This is pretty clear: there is an earthly kingdom coming, and Israel has a part.

Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Here regeneration means new birth, or being born again.

Jesus spoke of being born again in John 3:1-7

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

First, Jesus tells us that being born again is absolutely necessary to enter the kingdom - Ye must be born again.

Second, he explains being born again: our first birth, of our mother, is of the flesh, meaning she passed on to us life, physical life, life fit for living on the earth; through our first birth we inherit physical and personality qualities from our parents. But this first birth is insufficient for life in the kingdom of God, for we are born separated from God, without the Spirit of God. The second birth is of the Spirit, what Paul called the renewing of the Holy Spirit. By this new birth the Spirit gives to us the life and character of God; by this birth God becomes our Father, and we become his children. Is this a wonderful gospel or what!

Here are just a few verses speaking of the blessedness of being born again:

John 1:12-13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The new birth is God’s work, something he does for those who receive Jesus. We hear this phrase often, Receive Jesus as your Savior. How do we receive him? As many as received him…them that believe on his name. Believing Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, and trusting him to save you is receiving him.

1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 

Our first birth is of corruptible seed – human nature and life; we get old and die, our second birth is of incorruptible seed – God's life, everlasting life!  We are born again by the Word of God.

Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

What a wonderful work of grace this is! By believing in Jesus we are born again; we become children of God; to top it off His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that this is so! This is what they used to call a know so salvation. Hallelujah!

1 Peter 2:2  As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby

When we are born again we begin our new life as babies and our diet is the milk of the Word. As we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our diet changes to the meat of the Word. 1 John (2:12-14) describes our development as going from children to young men to fathers. Hebrews (5:11-6:2) describes it as going from being a baby to being an adult (go on unto perfection). Paul says, If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. The point being, we grow and mature in this new life. Two vital keys to growing in grace are the Word and the Spirit: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, and Be filled with the Spirit.

“How were we drowned in wickedness, so that we could not be purified, but needed a new birth? For this is implied by Regeneration. For as when a house is in a ruinous state no one places props under it, nor makes any addition to the old building, but pulls it down to its foundations, and rebuilds it anew; so in our case, God has not repaired us, but has made us anew. For this is the renewing of the Holy Spirit. He has made us new men. How? By His Spirit.” (Chrysostom)

We must be born again. We can be born again. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born again. Have you been born again?

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Baptism and being born again

by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit

Is this a reference to water baptism? I believe it is. Why? Two reasons:

(1) the word for ‘washing’ (λουτρόν loutron) only occurs twice in the New Testament (here and Ephesians 5:26); Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament says it means, "a bathing, bath; used in the N.T. of baptism." A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Arndt & Gingrich says, "bath, washing of baptism;" they go on to translate Titus 3:5 as the bath that brings about regeneration.

(2) the full line in Thayer is, "used in the N.T. and in ecclesiastical writings of baptism." For example, both Justin Martyr (110-165) and Tertullian (155-240) use washing for baptism.

That’s strong evidence to me.

The real question is, What is the relationship of baptism to the new birth?

I am persuaded that John Calvin offers an excellent explanation:

“The sacraments present, both to good and to bad men, the grace of God. Though wicked men may receive no advantage from the sacraments…believers receive what is offered.”

“We ought to acknowledge in baptism a spiritual washing. We ought to embrace therein the testimony of the remission of sins and the pledge of our renovation, and yet so as to leave to Christ his own honor, and also to the Holy Spirit; so that no part of our salvation should be transferred to the sign.”

“It is necessary to guard against unsound interpretation, lest the wicked superstition of men, as has frequently happened, change a sacrament into an idol. When Paul says that we are washed by baptism, his meaning is, that God employs it for declaring to us that we are washed, and at the same time performs what it represents. If the truth were not connected with baptism, it would be improper to say that baptism is the washing of the soul. At the same time, we must beware of ascribing to the sign what belongs to God alone. We must not imagine that water cleanses the pollutions of the soul, which nothing but the blood of Christ can accomplish. In short, we must beware of giving any portion of our confidence to the element; for the true and proper use of the sacrament is to lead us directly to Christ, and to place all our dependence upon him.

Others again suppose that too much importance is given to the sign, by saying that baptism is the washing of the soul. Under the influence of this fear, they labor exceedingly to lessen the force of the eulogium which is here pronounced on baptism. But they are manifestly wrong; for, in the first place, the apostle does not say that it is the sign which washes, but declares it to be exclusively the work of God. It is God who washes, and the honor of performing it cannot lawfully be taken from its Author and given to the sign. But there is no absurdity in saying that God employs a sign as the outward means . . . for God acts by the sign in such a manner, that its whole efficacy depends upon his Spirit.

The grace of God is not confined to the sign; so that God may not, if he pleases, bestow it without the aid of the sign. Besides, many receive the sign who are not made partakers of grace; for the sign is common to all, to the good and to the bad alike; but the Spirit is bestowed on none but the elect, and the sign, as we have said, has no efficacy without the Spirit.”

Them Five Dollar Bible Words

When I was a young Christian, growing in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the brethren would sometimes joke about the “$5 Words in the Bible.” What in the world are $5 words? They are those long words that people have a hard time explaining. I thought it would be helpful to look at a few:

Justification
Regeneration
Sanctification
Propitiation
Reconciliation
Redemption

Today: Justification

English is a funny language, it has it own vocabulary, but also absorbs words from other languages (vocabulary is from Latin!). Justification came to English from Latin via French. It has to do with righteousness. Righteousness is from Old English, rihtwis (Romans 1:17 in the 1395 Wycliffe Bible, For the riytwisnesse of God is schewid in it, of feith in to feith; the 1535 Tyndale Bible still has, For by it the rightewesnes which cometh of God is opened fro fayth to fayth).

We can chart it like this:

Justice has a slightly different connotation than righteousness. Romans 1:17 in the Latin is, For the justice of God is revealed therein. This is what gave Luther problems, he did not see the gospel as good news until he learned it revealed the righteousness of God, not the justice of God. If you noticed, justify completely replaced rihten (rihtlecen). I have been unable to find any equivalent for justification.

All this means justification has to do with righteousness: to justify is to rihten; or as I like to say it, to righteoufy, that is to declare righteous.

How does justification work? When God justifies us he does two things:

- he forgives our sins: it's just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned

- he imputes righteousness: it's just-as-if-I’d-always obeyed

As we read in Romans 4:4-7, Now to him who works is the reward, not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

And what righteousness is imputed to us? Why, the righteousness of God!

Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 

Romans 3:21-22 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 

Justification is amazing! Awesome!! What a gospel!!!

So, how are we justified? What do we do to have the righteousness of God imputed to us?

Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 

Romans 3:21-22 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

We are justified when we believe in Jesus Christ. Yes, when we repent (confess our sins and abandon all hope of being good enough), believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior, and trust him to save us, we are justified - the righteousness of God is imputed to us. Hallelujah! What a gospel! What a gift! What I don’t deserve and cannot earn, God freely gives to me through Jesus Christ! Have you been justified?


Actually, righteousness may be another $5 word, I mean, what exactly is righteousness? Simply put, righteousness is that which God demands of us, and which we don’t have. Paul says of the gospel, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. So the gospel declares, That which God demands of us, he freely provides for us through Jesus Christ. This means justification is his gracious act whereby he imputes righteousness to us when we believe in Jesus Christ, and because of this we can be right with God, our sins forgiven, fellowship restored.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

Faith and works

This is the final post in the series on James 2:14-26, Faith, works, and justification or Does James really contradict Paul? And boy is it a humdinger! Let’s do this!

James 2:21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24  Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25  Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? – Paul said Abraham was justified by faith: What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

James says by works: Was not Abraham our father justified by works

This is what gave Martin Luther such grief. Looks like a contradiction, right?

Actually, No, it is not. First, the events referred to. Paul is referring to Genesis 15, when Abraham was still just Abram; he was old and had no child; God promised him a son and to make of him a great nation: And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. James is referring to Genesis 22, which is 20, 30, or maybe even 40 years later!

Second, and the real bug-a-boo, is that word justified. It has to do with righteousness. Righteous is from Anglo-Saxon; justify is from Latin. English is fun like that. You could say to justify is to righteoufy, but since nobody says that we should go by the actual meaning: to justify is to declare righteous. He believed and the Lord counted it to him for righteousness; it was imputed to him, reckoned to him. Abraham was declared righteous when he believed. Who declared him righteous? God did.

James says he was also declared righteous some 30 years later. We learn from the gospel that when we are justified by faith the righteousness of God is imputed to us. How do you improve that? Are we justified on the installment plan? No. Obviously, there is a different audience. He was declared righteous by God when he believed. He was declared righteous by men when he obeyed.

And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God – Abraham was righteous. How? By faith. Abraham was the friend of God. How? By faith. How do we know? He obeyed.

Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? – Derek Prince, in his book, Faith to Live By, explains. “Once faith has come, there are three phases of development through which it must pass: confession, outworking, and testing. Faith must be confessed with the mouth; faith must be worked out in action; faith must be tested by tribulation.”

And then concerning what James says here, “Having believed God and having righteousness reckoned to him on the basis of faith alone, Abraham then went on to work out his faith in a whole series of actions. In the next seven chapters of Genesis, we find that God led Abraham step-by-step, in one act of obedience after another, gradually maturing his faith over a period of about 40 years. Finally, in Genesis 22, Abraham came to the point where he could face the supreme test of his faith. Abraham had not been ready to meet such a test in Genesis 15. It took many preparatory tests and struggles, many successive acts of obedience, to bring him to the point where he was willing to offer up Isaac. Faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected.”

Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? – Who is Rahab? She was living in Jericho when the spies came from Joshua to check out the lay of the land. Everybody in Jericho knew Israel was coming, and they all knew of God’s promises to give Israel their land. Once more Derek Prince:

“Rahab’s story vividly ties together faith, confession, and appropriate action. Rahab believed the spies’ testimony that Jericho would be destroyed. She also believed their promise to save her and her household. But that was not enough. She had to confess her faith by placing the scarlet cord in the window. But that, too, was not enough. She had to act out her faith, even at the risk of her own life, by first hiding the spies on her roof and then letting them down from her window. It was appropriate that the scarlet cord was to be placed in that very window. The cord in the window would not have saved her if she had not also used the window to save the spies. Rahab’s story illustrates three things that must never be separated from one another: faith, confession, appropriate action.”

Rahab was justified or declared righteous by God when she believed. She was justified or seen to be righteous by men by what she did.

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also – It’s not that our works vivify our faith, rather that living faith works. We have seen that these works of faith are acts of love and mercy, feeding and clothing brothers and sisters in need; acts of obedience, when we do what Jesus says because we believe in and love Him; as well as appropriate action based on our belief that Jesus is coming to judge the world and set up his kingdom.

Does James contradict Paul? No. James wrote to correct the twisted idea that had developed among some that if they said said they had faith it didn’t matter whether they walked in love and obedience. James says it does, Faith without works is no faith at all.

Nor was James correcting or complimenting Paul’s teaching, for Paul taught the same thing. To the Galatians Paul wrote

For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

And to the Ephesians
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Are we made right with God by what we do? No, for then Christ died in vain. We are justified, declared righteous or right with God, through faith in Jesus Christ. But we are shown to be right with God, declared righteous, by what we do, when we walk in love and mercy, and obedience.

Show me thy faith

Last week I began a series on James 2:14-26, Faith, works, and justification or Does James really contradict Paul? I looked at 2:14, 2:15-17, then took a break for Holy Thursday, Holy Friday, and Resurrection Sunday. The Lord willing, today and tomorrow we will conclude.

2:18  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.
19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 
20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

I confess, I find this a somewhat trying passage. I mean, I understand where he is going, it’s just that he takes a different route than I would. But he’s the apostle, not me!

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works – “Your pretending to have faith, while you have no works of charity or mercy, is utterly vain: for as faith, which is a principle in the mind, cannot be discerned but by the effects, that is, good works; he who has no good works has, presumptively, no faith.”*

I will show thee my faith by my works - "My works of charity and mercy will show that I have faith; and that it is the living tree, whose root is love to God and man, and whose fruit is the good works here contended for.”*

thou believest that there is one God - “This is the faith in which these persons put their hope of pleasing God, and of obtaining eternal life. Believing in the being and unity of God distinguished them from all the nations of the world … and thus they thought themselves secure of salvation. The insufficiency of this St. James immediately shows.”*

The devils also believe, and tremble - "It is well to believe there is one only true God; this truth universal nature proclaims. Even the devils believe it; but far from justifying or saving them, it leaves them in their damned state; they shudder with horror, they believe and tremble, are increasingly tormented; but they can neither love nor obey.”*

Thou believest there is one God - "This proves only that thou hast the same faith with the devils. Nay, they not only believe, but tremble - At the dreadful expectation of eternal torments. So far is that faith from either justifying or saving them that have it.” +

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? – Such a faith as this, that produces nothing, results in nothing, is dead, useless.

What we don’t find here is a dynamic discussion of faith. I mentioned last week that I am currently reading the gospel according to Luke. Faith is mentioned quite often, thy faith hath saved thee, thy faith hath made thee whole. Jesus saves, heals, delivers, all by faith. Paul speaks powerfully of faith in Christ. James does not. He is obviously addressing a warped view of faith, which, as he repeatedly says, is not living faith at all. Ah, tomorrow is when everything hits the fan!


Tomorrow – 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.



* Adam Clarke
+ John Wesley

Be warmed and filled

This is the third post in the series on James 2:14-26, Faith, works, and justification or Does James really contradict Paul?

John Wesley said 2:14 is a summary of what follows: What doth it profit, 2:15-17; though a man say, 2:18-20; can that faith save him? 2:21-26. I would add, James outlines his thought for us rather neatly, each section ending with the phrase, faith without works is dead.

James 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

If a brother or sister is naked, and destitute of daily food - I find it very telling that this is the illustration of good works James sets forth, when he thinks of good works this is what first comes to his mind. This is so apostolic. Let me illustrate

Jesus – Matthew 25:35-36 For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

The early church in Jerusalem - Acts 4:32-35 They had all things common...Neither was there any among them that lacked...and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

Paul - Galatians 2:9-10 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

John - 1 John 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

Peter says we are born again unto unfeigned love of the brethren. This is what faith in Christ produces in us; this is the grace of God at work in us: love for one another.

And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? And yet some among those James wrote to would respond this way??? This is often a joke among believers, Be warmed and filled, but really, this is not funny. What kind of people were these people he is correcting? Whatever they were, whoever they were, they were clearly not born again people. They didn’t have the faith of Jesus. They didn’t have the love of God. What does it profit? indeed. Their professed faith is useless, to them and their neighbor.

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone – This is both a general statement about faith – if it has no works it is dead, and a specific commentary on their professed faith – it is dead. This just makes me sad, even though they were so long ago! How utterly sad it would be to encounter a group, a family, an individual, who boasts of faith in Jesus and yet has such a callous, unloving heart. Such faith is dead; it is useless. I am thankful that the believers I know have a living faith and a love for the brethren!

Neither was there any among them that lacked.

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

This is the faith of Jesus. This is the love of God. Every Apostle would agree.



Monday:
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Can faith save him?

This is the second post in the series on James 2:14-26, Faith, works, and justification or Does James really contradict Paul?


James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Here is the issue in a nutshell. I’m not fancy so let’s just look at the verse:

What does it profit? What good is it? What good does it do? No one gains anything from the faith under consideration. Not the man. Not his neighbor. There is no profit.

though a man say he has faith – Apparently the idea is the person loudly proclaims he has faith; this man is a blowhard. It is true that we are to confess our faith, and bear witness to it, but the only way we know this fellow has faith is he tells us, because….

and have no works – nothing has changed in his life. This is a big problem. True faith always results in doing something.

John the Baptist – bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance
Jesus – If a man love me he will keep my words
Paul – repent, turn to God, do works meet for repentance
John – hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments

This person says he has faith but has no works. This is clearly faux faith.

can faith save him? Here is the first thorn in this passage! The way the question is framed, the expected answer is, No. As if James said, Faith can’t do him any good, can it?

If the question is simply, Can faith save? We would have a problem. Just this morning I read Luke 7. In the very last verse Jesus tells a woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Oh the power of faith! Jesus often told people, Thy faith hath made thee whole. Every time it is the Greek word sozo, saved. Can faith save him? Yes. Can faith heal him? Yes Can faith make him whole? Yes. But I want to be absolutely clear, there is no power in faith itself - the power of faith is that it connects us to Jesus - the Savior, Healer, Deliverer.

Can a person who has no good works, nothing to offer, be saved simply by believing in Jesus? Yes! to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

I am happy to report, that is NOT what James was asking. Then, what was he asking? My Bible has, Can faith save him? They neglected to translate or account for the article. What? Yes, James asked, Can the faith save him? Can this particular faith save him? Can this kind of faith save him? Or taking in the entire verse, Can ‘faith’ that is all talk and no action save him? The answer to that question is, No. Faith is powerful when you consider the results. Faith is dynamic when you consider the difference it makes in me. When I am walking down the road and I see a car coming toward me, if I believe it is going to hit me if I don’t move, I guarantee you I’m going to move!! Even so, faith in Jesus gets big results and produces a big change in me.

John Wesley said James was contrasting “that empty name of faith to real faith working by love. Can that faith which is without works save him? No more than it can profit his neighbor.”


Tomorrow: James 2:15  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Faith, works, and justification or Does James really contradict Paul?

When I was a young Christian, this was a hot topic. A lot of this may have been because we were doing a lot of evangelism and often encountering people who openly believed in salvation by faith and works. I remember having the opportunity once many years ago to preach in my brother-in-law’s (Methodist+) church on a Sunday night. My text for the night was Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Afterwards one of the members complained to him, “What about good works?” This agreed with what I had often heard from Methodists who, when asked, Have you been saved? would reply, “I’m working on it.” I don’t mean to pick on them, we heard it from many other groups as well. Many times James 2 would be quoted as proof that we are justified by works and not faith alone.

In my early days in the faith justification was a common topic, along with propitiation and other five dollar words (I am thinking about doing a series on those five dollar words!). The Bible college I attended laid great stress on justification, naturally so did I in my ministry. When justification is a common topic James is going to be in the picture.

I said all that to say this, For a while I’ve been thinking about doing a series on James 2:14-26, asking the question, Does James contradict Paul? Justification is not mentioned very often these days, but I do hear people saying we are saved by faith and not by works. Yet James says, Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Paul wrote, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law. Which is it? Is this one of the contradictions people claim the Bible is full of?

Martin Luther is famous for igniting the Reformation with its emphasis on justification by faith alone. It is also well known that Martin Luther was not a fan of the epistle of James. He wrote:

“But to state my own opinion about it . . . I consider that it is not the writing of any apostle. My reasons are as follows. First: Flatly against St. Paul and all the rest of Scripture, it ascribes righteousness to works. . . St. James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to the others, for it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it.”*

Was Luther right? My plan is to go through James 2:14-26 and see what it is James actually says. This will not be a detailed study, but it will take several posts (five counting this one) over the next couple of weeks. Spoiler alert: the answer to the question, Does James contradict Paul? is, No.


Tomorrow: James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?


+ Methodists have a great heritage. You can read about John Wesley and his ministry to the poor here

* You can read more of Luther’s views on James here

The Lord's Prayer

This week I want to take a brief look at the Lord’s Prayer. My plan is three posts:
(1) After this manner pray ye – the prayer itself
(2) So much negativity – objections to praying this prayer
(3) Positivity restored – objections shot down

Monday we considered the prayer itself, After this manner therefore pray ye. Tuesday it was the objections of those who say this prayer is not for Christians today, So much negativity. Today we look at the answers to these objections.

Positivity restored

My plan is to go through the list I presented yesterday. I don’t want to repeat the entire post so I will only summarize each objection.

Dispensationalism – Everything Jesus said/taught was to Jews under the Law and has nothing to do with us. The Gospel as we know it was preached by Paul.
This is, in a word, outrageous! Heretical even! We follow Jesus, not Paul. The very first verse of the Gospel according to Mark says, The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The gospel begins with John the Baptist! Jesus said, For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. The entire ministry of Jesus, miracles and teaching, was kingdom of heaven stuff, gospel stuff! We are followers of Jesus and he said, After this manner therefore pray ye.

The milder form of dispensationalism – it is good as far as it goes, but the Apostles and thus the Church have moved on to a higher spiritual realm of prayer.
Is it suggested this is the only prayer to be prayed? No! No one anywhere, ever, has suggested this is the only prayer to be prayed. Have you ever been to a liturgical worship service? Prayers are offered throughout the service. There is more prayer than in many/most evangelical services. Besides, how can you really rise above praying the very words the Lord said to pray?

The repeated use of this prayer falls under the category of ‘vain repetitions.’
And yet, it was on the heels of this statement that Jesus gave us this prayer. Have you never wrestled in prayer, where you bring the same petition over and over to the Father because of the burden of your heart? Or the burden leads you to pray the same prayer for years until it is answered? What about all night prayer meetings? Surely every word and petition can’t be freshly minted. It’s the heart. Vain repetitions, as Jesus explained, is thinking that the mere multiplication of words will give efficacy to your prayer.
Praying the Lord’s Prayer weekly at church or daily at home does not even come close to vain repetitions.

Liturgy and ritual. Bad, just bad. Repeating the Lord’s Prayer is part of empty, mind-numbing ritual which should be avoided.
Everybody has liturgy, some more involved and thought out than others. “What?? My church does not use liturgy!” Do you have an order of service that you follow every week? That’s fundamentally a liturgy. Is your order of service one that without even thinking about it or, gasp, without a bulletin, you know what’s going to happen next? Sounds like mind-numbing ritual. Ha! Actually, we should all avoid judging the intentions and motives of others. Surely we can disagree without condemning.

This is a Catholic thing, right?
There are those for whom this is the real issue, “If Catholics do it, must be bad, we’re not going to do it.” Yes, Catholics pray this prayer. If this is your concern, I can absolutely, positively guarantee praying the Lord’s Prayer will not make you Catholic.

True prayer is extemporaneous, spontaneous, unplanned, and unprepared. Spiritual prayer is from the heart, depending on the Holy Spirit for the words and direction. Therefore, using the Lord’s Prayer, or any other written or prepared prayer, is not spiritual, is not praying in the Spirit.
This is probably the most substantial objection. True prayer is from the heart. Isn’t true praise and worship from the heart as well? Yet we sing songs other people wrote and no one questions whether that is spiritual or in the Spirit. Interesting.
Actually, I don’t know where it is written that reading a prayer is not spiritual. (Spoiler alert: Nowhere.) There are other prayers in the Scriptures, surely we can pray them. I believe the best devotional time is reading the Word either until a prayer arises in your heart from what you read or simply praying what you just read. You are praying the Word of God. With your eyes open, even! When your prayer is the Word of God, is that not the essence of spiritual? The Lord’s Prayer is the Word of God - by definition it is spiritual. It was inspired by the Holy Spirit - by definition that is praying in the Spirit.
Every gospel tract I have ever seen has this at the end, “If this is the desire of your heart, then pray this prayer...” Many church services end with, “Bow your heads, close your eyes, and say with me, Lord Jesus…”
True spiritual prayer is indeed from the heart. It can be both extemporaneous and written.

This as a model for prayer, this was never intended as a prayer to be prayed
I’ve heard this often. I’ve seen it in books. But no one prays this way, following the model. No one. I’ve been to a lot of churches and have never heard the pastoral prayer follow this outline. Interesting. Now surely these seven petitions can serve as a guide or outline for prayer. I occasionally pray through the Lord’s Prayer expanding each petition.
Honestly, I don’t think it is wrong to use the prayer as an outline, but I believe it was given and intended to be prayed as written, and in church, too!

I conclude with the words of Mary from John 2, Whatever he says to you, do. Amen!


Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.