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Missions Conference Giveaway
Jeff Durbin, from Apologia Radio is coming out to Moscow to speak at Christ Church’s annual Missions Conference. The theme this year is “The Gospel Online”. I’ll be giving a talk as well. So, make plans to come on out for this weekend conference; to incentivize you, we’re giving away an All-Access membership to Apologia Radio.
You can tell I like these, right?
HT: Daily Timewaster
You should also register for GraceAgenda2017:
Michael Reeves
Michael Reeves will be a plenary speaker at GraceAgenda this year. Here’s a great video clip of him teaching on harmonizing James & Paul.
Will the sessions be available on mp3 or some other media? I live on the east coast and cannot attend, as much as I’d like to!
I can’t see anything but text and the last YouTube video.
I would explain James and Paul thus. James is declaring the type of faith that justifies. Faith justifies. But one cannot just say he has faith, ie. he believes such and such. The demons believe certain things and are not justified. We have faith by trusting. Trusting is proved in obedience. Anyone who does not obey does not trust. So faith isn’t a word that means “believe” or “trust”, rather it carries actual trust. Faith is more orbed than what those who were challenging James were claiming. Paul is not addressing this aspect when he talks about faith. Paul is… Read more »
James is also declaring the type of works that justify (James 2:24) The type of works that justify us (declare us righteous) are the ones God prepared for us to walk in (see Abraham and Rahab). The type of faith that justifies us is the kind that God allots us a measure of. So we are not, in fact, justified by our own faith, or our own works. We are justified by God alone, who supplies both faith and good works (and not in discrete isolation from each other). I find that James’ treatment, even beyond Paul’s, removes the possibility… Read more »
It’s not enough to say that our faith and works come from God. Paul is arguing that faith alone is the instrument of justification. Even God-given works are excluded from the means of justification. Paul did not simply say that works done in our own power are excluded from the means of justification. He excluded works in general, works of godliness, not just works of self effort. That is not only the biblical view, but also the traditional Protestant view. To miss this is to miss the point of the Reformation. The Reformation was not simply about excluding self-wrought works… Read more »
Matt Perman wrote: Paul is arguing that faith alone is the instrument of justification. Paul certainly appeals to faith, in rejection of any meritorious works of the law, but I’m not sure in which Pauline passage Matt Perman sees “faith alone”, let alone exclusive instrumentality. Perhaps he is thinking of Romans 3:28? However, Luther had zealously inserted the word “alone” in his German translation of Romans 3:28, even though he later openly acknowledged that the word did not appear in the Greek. Matt Perman wrote: Even God-given works are excluded from the means of justification. This doesn’t appear to be… Read more »
I wish I had time to go into more detail, but I will keep my comments to two things. First, no one is saying that the Reformation is reduced to “an isolated debate about the doctrine of justification.” The debate was not isolated, but much more importantly we are saying that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is central and essential. Certainly the Reformation involved much more, but you cannot take this away or minimize it. That’s the first problem with what you are doing–you are minimizing the doctrine of justification by faith alone, which Paul regards in Galatians… Read more »
There’s an exegetical problem with Reeves take on James two (the same problem applies to Roman views on the passage as well). The greek word “monon” (only or alone) modifies justified, not faith (otherwise the form would be monhs). Abraham experienced two justifications, one by faith and one by works. Not one justification by faith and works. That’s why translations in the KJV tradition translate “monon” as only (an adverb), not alone (an adjective). It really is that simple.