James 2:21

2:14-26 Those are wrong who put a mere notional belief of the gospel for the whole of evangelical religion, as many now do. No doubt, true faith alone, whereby men have part in Christ's righteousness, atonement, and grace, saves their souls; but it produces holy fruits, and is shown to be real by its effect on their works; while mere assent to any form of doctrine, or mere historical belief of any facts, wholly differs from this saving faith. A bare profession may gain the good opinion of pious people; and it may procure, in some cases, worldly good things; but what profit will it be, for any to gain the whole world, and to lose their souls? Can this faith save him? All things should be accounted profitable or unprofitable to us, as they tend to forward or hinder the salvation of our souls. This place of Scripture plainly shows that an opinion, or assent to the gospel, without works, is not faith. There is no way to show we really believe in Christ, but by being diligent in good works, from gospel motives, and for gospel purposes. Men may boast to others, and be conceited of that which they really have not. There is not only to be assent in faith, but consent; not only an assent to the truth of the word, but a consent to take Christ. True believing is not an act of the understanding only, but a work of the whole heart. That a justifying faith cannot be without works, is shown from two examples, Abraham and Rahab.

James 2:21 . Was not, &c. — As if he had said, Take an instance of this in the most celebrated of all the patriarchs, our father Abraham. Was not he justified by works — Did not his works manifest the truth and liveliness of his faith; when — In consequence of the full persuasion he had of a divine command to do it; he offered Isaac his son upon the altar? — Intending, in obedience to what he apprehended to be the will of God, actually to have slain him, and to have trusted in God to accomplish the promise of a numerous seed to descend from him, by raising him from the dead: see notes on Hebrews 11:17-19 . St. Paul says Abraham was justified by faith, ( Romans 4:2 , &c.,) yet St. James does not contradict him. For he does not speak of the same justification. St. Paul speaks of that which Abraham received many years before Isaac was born, Genesis 15:6 ; St. James of that which he did not receive till he had offered up Isaac on the altar. He was justified, therefore, in St. Paul’s sense; that is, accounted righteous by faith, antecedent to his works. He was justified in St. James’s sense, that is, made righteous by works, subsequent to his faith: so that St. James’s justification by works is the fruit of St. Paul’s justification by faith.

When he had offered (ἀνενέγκας) Incorrect. For the participle states the ground of his justification. By works gives the general ground; offered, etc., the specific work. Compare Genesis 22:16, Genesis 22:17. Rev., correctly, in that he offered. The word ἀνενέγκας is, lit., brought up to; and means, not actually to offer up in sacrifice (though Isaac was morally sacrificed in Abraham's will), but to bring to the altar as an offering See on 1 Peter 2:5.

Jam 2:21 . Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν , Abraham our father ) So St Paul, Romans 4:1 .— ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη , was justified by works ) St James recognises the inward and peculiar power of faith, which is previous to works, and distinct from works and from their influence, which reacts upon faith ( Jam 2:22 ): but hypocrites are ignorant of this; speaking more readily in flattering terms of works, of which they themselves are destitute. Therefore James employs an argument ad hominem ; and that he may convince them, he especially mentions works, while in mentioning them, he understands (as lying underneath the works) the active principle of faith. Nor does James use the word δικαιοῦσθαι , to be justified , in a different sense from that in which St Paul uses it; in which sense righteousness is most intimately connected with salvation, Jam 2:14 . But that sense is a very pregnant one; so that the term righteousness is co-extensive in its meaning on the opposite side with sin (see especially the note, Romans 3:20 ); and as sin includes both guilt (reatus) and the taint (vitium) of our nature, so does righteousness denote the whole process, by which a man is righteous , and is judged and pronounced to he so; that is, one with whom God is no longer angry on account of his guilt, but reconciled to him: and one who on his part is no longer an enemy to God, but a friend , Jam 2:23 . Comp. Romans 8:7 with what precedes and follows.

Now both St James and St Paul use this word, δικαιοῦν , to justify , in one and the same sense, though St Paul in a more restricted, and St James in a wider application; and for this reason, that St Paul is accustomed to speak of the act of justification, which chiefly consists in the remission of sins; whereas St James, which is especially to be observed, speaks of the state resulting from the same justification (which is incorrectly but frequently termed a second justification), when a man continues in the righteousness which is of faith, and makes progress in that which is of works. Hence it is that St Paul, from Genesis 15:6 , brings forward Abraham as believing; St James, from Genesis 22:10 , as even offering his son upon the altar, long afterwards. The former simply adduces the saying, It was counted to him ; the latter also this, He was called friend , which was afterwards added. The former says, God justifies , and justifies the ungodly , and we are justified ; the latter simply says, A man is justified . The former makes mention of faith only, and not of works, although they proceed from faith; the latter makes mention of faith and works.— ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιατήριον , upon the altar ) He designs to show, that the work of Abraham was undertaken altogether in earnest. James 2:21

21. Abraham … justified by works—evidentially, and before men (see on [2605]Jas 2:18). In Jas 2:23, James, like Paul, recognizes the Scripture truth, that it was his faith that was counted to Abraham for righteousness in his justification before God. when he had offered—rather, "when he offered" [Alford], that is, brought as an offering at the altar; not implying that he actually offered him.

Was not Abraham our father; not only the father of us as Jews, (for to them he wrote), and according to the flesh, but as believers, and according to the promise; so all believers are called Abraham’s children, Romans 4:11 Galatians 3:7 . Justified by works; found or declared to be justified, not only before God, but in the face of the world; and his faith (by which he had been justified above thirty years before in the sight of God) now approved as a true, lively, justifying faith, by this proof he gave of it, upon God’s trying him in the offering up his son, Genesis 22:9,12 , Now I know that thou fearest God, & c. Abraham did fear God, and believe him before, and was justified before in the sight of God; but by the working of his faith in so eminent an act of obedience, the sincerity of all his graces, and so of his faith, was manifested and made known, and so his faith itself justified, as his person was before, and he obtained this ample testimony from the mouth of God himself. So that Abraham’s justification here was not the absolution of a sinner; but the solemn approbation of a believer; not a justifying him as ungodly, but commending him for his godliness. He was by his works justified as a righteous person, but not made righteous, or constituted in a justified state, by his works.

The design of the apostle is not to show how sinners are justified in God’s court, but only what kind of faith it is whereby they are justified, viz. such a one as purifies the heart, Acts 15:9 , and looks to Christ, not only as made righteousness, but sanctification to them, 1 Corinthians 1:30 ; and consequently not only rests on him for justification, but stirs them up to yield obedience to him. When he had offered Isaac his son; viz. in his firm purpose and resolution, and was about to do it actually, had not God hindered him. It was no fault in Abraham that it was not actually done, and therefore it was counted to him as if it had been really done, Genesis 22:12 Hebrews 11:17 . Upon the altar; this shows the settled purpose of Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, when he proceeded so far as to bind him, and lay him upon the altar; for that argues, that he expected and intended nothing but his death, which generally was wont to follow in sacrifices when once laid upon the altar.

(21) Was not Abraham our father justified by works . . .? —St. James now addresses his two examples from familiar history in force of his plea for active faith. The first is the marvellous devotion and trust of Abraham (Genesis 22) when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar; that boy himself the type of God’s dear Son, who bore, like His meek ancestor, the sacrificial wood up the long weary road of death. Happily, the story is as well known to Christian readers as to the Jewish of old time, and may safely be left here without further comment.

21 . Was not Abraham our father justified by works ] The close correspondence of phraseology with Romans 4:2 at first seems to favour the view that St James is correcting or modifying St Paul’s statement It is obvious, however, that the agreement equally admits of the explanation that St Paul is correcting or modifying the language of St James. He presses the fact that “Abraham believed God,” and that this “was counted to him for righteousness,” i. e. that he was justified prior to any act but that of simple trust. And the impression left by a careful study of the passage referred to is that St Paul is there referring to something that had been urged, as having a high authority, against his teaching that a man is justified by faith. It is clear, at all events, that no inference can be drawn from the two passages in favour of the assumption that the Epistle of St James was later than that of St Paul to the Romans. The use of the word “justify” shews that its meaning is to “acquit” or “count as righteous” ( Matthew 12:37 ; Acts 13:39 ; Sir 26:29 ; Sir 23:11 ). The preposition used in the Greek points to “works” as being the source rather than the instrument of justification. when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? ] Better, when he offered Isaac , the two acts being thought of, not as successive, but simultaneous. It is remarkable that the only scriptural references, after Genesis 22, to the sacrifice of Isaac, are found in Wis 10:5 and Hebrews 11:17 .

It is hardly likely that the latter could have been known to St James, the internal evidence pointing to a later date; but the former, whether, as some have supposed, by the same author as the Epistle to the Hebrews, or written fifty or sixty years earlier, might well have come under his notice. In relation to St Paul’s teaching, as noticed above, it must be remembered that the one writer speaks of the beginning of Abraham’s course, the other of its consummation. St James might well urge that if Abraham had not shewn his faith by his works, up to the crowning work of the sacrifice of his son, it would have proved that his faith too was dead.