-.,.,n-
42 CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
Phinehas, "because he was deeply zealous, received the covenant of
everlasting priesthood." "Caleb, because he testified in the assembly,
received an inheritence in the land." These are rewards experienced
during the lifetimes of these leaders of Israel. Thus Abraham, placed at
the head of the list, is to be understood similarly: "Was not Abraham
found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"
(v 52, RSV)? Abraham's reward began during his life on earth. God
declared that his servant was truly righteous and his friend.
It appears, therefore, that both Paul and James use dikaioi5 in a
declarative-judicial sense, but that the emphasis in Paul is upon the
sinner's initial justification by God at conversion (e.g., Rom 5:1),
whereas James' focus is upon the declaration by God (and perhaps by
people) during a believer's lifetime that he or she is truly a righteous
person (e:g., Jas 2:21,25). With this understanding, sinners are indeed
justified by a trusting faith without works (Paul), and such justified
believers are then considered righteous often during their lives from
observation of their actions (James).
III. Abraham in Genesis and James
Having considered the quite different errors addressed by Paul
and James and the manner in which their vocabularies are adjusted
accordingly, we now turn to two closely-related and often-confusing
matters: the way in which James uses the life of Abraham to develop
his argument, and the way in which James' references to Genesis differ
from those of Paul in Galatians and Romans.
With regard to the argument of James, the question of 2:2042 and
the concluding statement of 2:24 indicate quite clearly the central point
James is making in vv 21-23: a faith that has no deeds concomitant with
it is useless, barren, and unprofitable in the matter of one's justification.43
However, before we can fully grasp the unfolding of this thesis in vv
21-23, and the argument of Paul as well, we need to outline briefly
certain crises in Abraham's life from the book of Genesis.
Upon leaving Ur with his father Te~ah to go to Canaan, Abram
journeyed only as far as Haran, where he and his wife lived until T erah
died (Acts 7:2-4). Understanding Gen 11:31-32 and 12:1-3 to refer
together to God's call and promise to Abram while he was still in Ur,44
42 Reicke (James, Peter, and Jude 33) places v 20 as the conclusion to vv 18-19, not
as introductory to vv 21-24 as NIV. Hiebert (James 189), however, recognizes the
transitional character of v 20.
43 Ropes, St. James 217.
44 While the pluperfect "had said" (A V, NIV) in Cen 12:1 is not the usual translation
of the Hebrew (which merely employs the imperfect with the waw consecutive), it is
c.,'
;
Rakestraw: JAMES 2:14-26 43
and knowing that Abram was married when he left Ur and "settled" for
quite some time in Haran (11:31; 12:5), Abram was an adult but not
likely over 65 when called by Cod. In support of this terminus ad quem
we consider that Abram was 75 when he left Haran and entered
Canaan (12:4-5), and it is reasonable to assume he spent ten or more
years in Haran to acquire all that he did (12:5). It need not concern us
here whether or not his stay in Haran involved a lapse of faith and
obedience. The point is that Abram was most likely converted at or
prior to his original call in U r. Otherwise, Cod would have made the
amazing promises of 12:1-3 to an unconverted man, and in that
condition Abram would have obeyed Cod-leaving his country and
people. Against this is the fact that Heb 11:8 commends Abraham as a
man of faith because when called he "obeyed and went, even though
he did not know where he was going." Even if this suggested time of
Abraham's conversion to the one true Cod is not accepted, his conver-
sion certainly took place soon after Abram's entrance into Canaan, for
we see him at that time building altars and calling on the name of the
Lord (12:7-9).
The next major crisis occurs when Abram "believed the Lord, and
he credited it to him as righteousness" (Cen 15:6). Because the patri-
arch's impregnation of Hagar occurred after he had been in Canaan for
ten years (Cen 16:3), and because the events of Cen 12:10-14:24 seem
to necessitate several years at least (see 12:10, 16; 13:2, 6), we may
approximate his age as close to 85. Now, when Abram seemingly could
not perform the righteous act he wished to do-i.e., have a son to
inherit the promises-Cod accepted his faith as righteousness. It is
most important to realize that Abram was already a converted man
when he believed that Cod would give him an heir from his own body,
resulting in offspring as the stars of heaven. This is the word of Cod
which Abram believed, and his faith on this occasion was that which
was credited or imputed to him as righteousness. Abram was surely not
"saved" or justified initially at this time as commentators frequently
state or assume.45 Of course Cen 15:6 expresses exactly the truth of
both grammatically permissible and preferable here (D. Kidner, Genesis [Downers
Grove: Inter-Varsity, 1967] 113 n 1; J. J. Davis, Paradise to Prison [Grand Rapids: Baker,
1975] 166. H. C. Leupold, however, prefers the usual rendering "said" (Exposition of
Genesis [2 vols; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1942] 1.410). Kidner (113-14) and Davis (164, 166)
thus consider the call of God to have been given to Abram while still in Ur. Note also
"had told" in Gen 12:4.
45 See, e.g., Hiebert, James 192, 195; and Tasker, James 67. Others correctly note
that Gen 15:6 does not describe Araham's confession of salvation: Davis, Paradise to
Prison 186; Leupold, Genesis 1. 478-79; H. G. Stigers, A Commentary on Genesis (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1976) 154.
44 CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
justification by faith and describes the justified character of Abraham
throughout his lifetime as a believer. The statement here, however,
refers to one event that showed Abraham's original justifying faith in
operation.
When he was 99 (Gen 17), after waiting over 14 years, and after
wrongly fathering Ishmael, Abram believed God again-believing this
time that Sarai (now 89) would be the mother of the offspring promised
in Gen 15:1-6. This revelation resulted in the names of Abram and Sarai
being changed and Abram and Ishmael being circumcised. The crisis,
however, was in Abraham's believing God's specific promise to give an
heir from the seemingly "dead" bodies of him and his wife (Gen 17:15-
17,21; Rom 4:18-22). '
The final crisis, for our purpose, is Abraham's offering of Isaac in
Genesis 22. Since Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 (Gen 21:5), ;
and since Isaac was old enough to carry the firewood (22:6), Abraham:
was perhaps 115-125. The significance of this event is that when it was;
.over God declared Abraham to be a man who feared and obeyed him:
(Gen 22:12,18), and acted in total faith (Heb 11:17-19). After some 50
or more years Abraham died at the age of 175 (Gen 25:7).
With the above outline in mind we return to James 2. Verse 21
appears clear in light of the previous examination of "justify." The
question, which assumes the answer yes, instructs us that Abraham was
"justified" or "considered righteous for what he did when he offered his
son Isaac on the altar." This is certainly not Abraham's initial justifica-
tion, nor his final justification at the last judgment, but is one Occurrence .,
in his lifetime when God declared his servant to be a righteous person, .[
because he feared and obeyed God (Gen 22:12, 18). God desired
Abraham and subsequent generations to know that the patriarch-a
man who had come to know the one true God many years before-was
indeed one who believed God and acted upon that belief. "You see that
his faith and his actions were working together46 and his faith was
made complete by what he did" (v 22). James is not teaching that
Abraham's faith before Genesis 22 was insufficient to save, but that his
faith was perfected-brought to its intended goal, accomplished its.}
intended purpose47 -by the offering of Isaac. "As the tree is perfected:
by its fruits, so faith by its works." 48 ]
In v 23 James recalls Gen 15:6 and teaches that in the event of
Genesis 22 the declaration of Genesis 15 some 30 or more years earlier49 ::
46 synergei{imperfect active indicative) signifies that this working together of faith
and works was not a unique Occurrence, but was characteristic of Abraham's life.
47 eteleiothe (BAGD 809).
48 Mayor, St. James 104.
49 According to the Rabbis this took place 50 years earlier (Mayor, St. James 104).
"
Rakestraw: JAMES 2:14-26 45
1 was "fulfilled" or made full. Here is a most strategic move in the
, argument. When Abraham began to offer Isaac he was prevented by
I God. He did "work"-up to a point (v 22)-but the offering was as
much an exercise of faith as a work since Abraham didn't actually
sacrifice Isaac. At every step in the drama he had to work and exercise
faith in God's promise to give him offspring through Isaac--'the very
one he was about to slay. When God intervened, however, the work
that Abraham had begun, and was about to complete, was not allowed
to continue. His faith in God was therefore accepted and credited to
Abraham's account as righteousness (i.e., as a work of righteousness50)
in lieu of the work that Abraham would have done if he were able. In
addition; James weaves into his argument the tradition that Abraham
was declared to be God's "friend" (2 Chr 20:7; Isa 41:8), indicating that
the patriarch was one who exercised both faith and obedience toward
his God.
In what sense was the scripture of Gen 15:6 "fulfilled" in the
Genesis 22 account? "Fulfilled" here is not referring to prediction-
fulfillment, as Ropes understands it,51 but connotes rather that Gen 15:6
was shown to be in agreement with the Genesis 22 narrative. James'
approach in chapter 2 is typical of the midrashic method: a primary
event or text is cited (v 21), the text is discussed. (v 22), and then a
secondary text is added to the discussion (v 23).52 Gen 15:6 was thus
"fulfilled" or made full in the sense that the truth of God expressed
therein-that Abraham was a person whose firm trust in God's promises
was accepted for righteousness-agreed with the theological meaning
of Genesis 22 and actually blossomed fully in the offering of Isaac.
Even more than in Genesis 15, Abraham in chapter 22 had to trust God.
The truth-principle of Gen 15:6, which characterized Abraham from
his initial conversion to his death, was gloriously revealed in the
offering of Isaac. Abraham's willingness to offer his son brought out the
full meaning of the words in Gen 15:6. His action made it clear that
Abraham had the caliber of faith that God reckoned for righteousness,
whether initially, finally, or throughout one's lifetime. This was a faith
50 "Righteousness" in Jas 2:23 seems to have the sense of "fulfilling the divine
statutes"-the righteous deeds which issue from the righteous person, the one who has
been declared righteous through faith (BAGD 196 2a). This appears to be the notion of
dikaiosyne in such scriptures as Matt 3:15; 5:20; Acts 10:35; 1 Tim 6:11; 1 John 2:29; 3:7,
10; as well as in the two other occurrences in James (1:20; 3:18). In James there is thus a
profound ethical quality to the word. See also Moo, James lID-Ill, ..Additional Note" on
justification.
S! Ropes, St. James 221.
52 Davids, James 129; R. N. Longenecker, Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975) 23-28.
..~
--
46 CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
that did what God commanded. "Abraham was justified by the kind of
faith which involves obedience, even costly obedience."53 While the
argument could proceed smoothly from v 22 directly to v 24 (and
would certainly seem to strengthen the argument thereby!), James
adds v 23 to emphasize the faith-foundation for Abraham's actions.
In v 24-the scripture said to contradict Paul most sharply-James
concludes the argument from Abraham by stating that a person is
declared to be righteous "by what he does and not by faith alone." The
alleged conflict with Paul, however, disappears when this verse is read
in the light of the previous verses, the Genesis account, and the
different concerns and vocabularies of Paul and James. How can one
be declared or said to be righteous if all one knows about the person is
his or her affirmation of a set of doctrines? James' point is certainly not
that orthodox belief is wrong, but that such faith must be active in the
tangible experiences of life in order for God or anyone else to declare
its owner a truly righteous person. The central element in the Jewish
concept of righteousness was that of active, visible, and practical
deeds, and the thoroughly Jewish writer, James, is teaching here that a
person of "faith" without such deeds cannot be justified-cannot be
declared righteous. C. E. B. Cranfield says it well: "Had there been no
works, Abraham would not have been justified; but that would have'
been because the absence of works would have meant that he had no
real faith." 54
IV. Abraham in Galatians and Romans
Bible students have often been confused by the way in which Paul
argues from the life of Abraham when this is placed alongside James'
use of the patriarch. Both use the same leading example and both quote
from the same leading text (Gen 15:6) to arrive seemingly at.opposite
conclusions. The two chief texts in which Paul argues from the Genesis
account are Romans 4 and Galatians 3.
Paul's argument in Galatians 3 is to convince those in the churches
who had begun the new life of the Spirit by faith (as evidently many
had) that they were "foolish" and "bewitched" to think that they could
add to their Christian standing before God and reach the goal of final
salvation by human effort through works of law (vv 1-5). Abraham is
then introduced in v 6, where Paul quotes Gen 15:6 to establish his
point: Abraham believed God and this faith was credited to him for
righteousness. He stood righteous before God by faith. As noted above,
53 Mitton, James 113.
54 Cranfield, "Message of James" 340.
~=~-'-'c"'c-=cccc-cc,cc-'-~~~c,
Rakestraw: JAMES 2:14-26 47
of this key scripture states exactly the truth-principle of justification by
he faith, even though the event in Abraham's life where it is mentioned is
Id not his initial conversion. The scripture also depicts the general charac-
es ter and actions of Abraham from his conversion to his death. It is used
here by Paul to demolish the false teaching that adherence to works of
~s law was essential for attaining salvation at any stage in the life of a
IS person. "Those who believe are children of Abraham" (v 7). The
Ie Christian life is begun by faith and is lived. by faith. Of course, just as
d James insists, works are necessary in the life of-the believer, but these
.e are to be works of love that spring from faith (Gal 5:6; 1 Thess 1:3), not
e works of law when these issue from fear or from disbelief of the
[s sufficiency of divine grace under the new covenant. "Now that faith has
It come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law" (v 25).
e In Romans 4 we find Paul again using Gen 15:6. Following his
~ classic statement in 3:21-31 concerning God's imputed righteousness
1 through faith apart from works, Paul then considers Abraham as a
.1 central example of this doctrine. Abraham's justification was not by
1 works (v 2), for he believed God and this was credited for righteous-
~ ness-a righteous standing before God (vv 3-5). Paul thus uses the
) event of Genesis 15, when Abraham as a justified man for many years
~ again had his faith reckoned for righteousness, to establish that the
I patriarch was a person justified by faith, not works. Paul goes on to
explain that Abraham was reckoned righteous when he was approaching
85-long before his circumcision at the age of 99 (vv 9-12). The apostle
is seeking especially to establish the fact of Abraham's justified condition
because of his belief in God's promises, not because of his obedience to
God's laws, however important those laws may have been (vv 13-17).
It is the faith-principle of Gen 15:6 that is important to Paul and to his
argument. Paul is not saying that Abraham was converted initially in
Genesis 15, but that he was a converted, justified person in Genesis 15.
He was a man of faith before the promise of Gen 15: 1-5 was given and
he showed this by his trust in God's word at that time.55
Paul continues developing the faith-principle in Rom 4:18-24, but
here he uses Genesis 17 to make his point. When Abraham was 99 and
55 E. Kiisemann's (Commentary on Romans, 4th ed. [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1980] 110) statement on Rom 4:1-8 that Paul "does not have in mind here either a quality
or a meritorious work of the patriarch but the latter's devotion to the issued word of
promise, according to which God wills and acknowledges nothing but faith," needs to be
adjusted by the realization that Abraham's faith-devotion to God's promises was a quality
of the patriarch's life. K. Barth (The Epistle to the Romans, 6th ed. [London: Oxford
University, 1963] 121) asserts: "Abraham believed. Here is the action which makes him
what he is; here is the hidden source of all his well-known works (iv. 2). As a believer
Abraham is what he is."
~
48 CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
Sarah 89, Abraham believed God's promise that Sarah would be the
mother of the seed promised in Genesis 15. He and Ishmael were then
circumcised. Once again Paul uses Gen 15:6 (vv 22-24), obviously not
because Abraham was justified initially at this time, but because the
principle underlying this doctrine of justification by faith-believing
God's promises and having this faith credited for righteousness-again
was shown to be operative in the patriarch's life.
Several events in Abraham's life, then, argue for the Pauline
doctrine of justification: the initial call and promise to Abraham (Gal
3:6-9) and the experiences of Genesis 15 and 17 (Rom 4). (Even the
offering of Isaac is a profound statement of Abraham's faith according
to Heb 11:17-19.) Paul's central application from the life of Abraham is
that '"those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham the man of
faith" (Gal 3:9). While his concern is the faith that initially justifies,
thereby procuring a righteous standing before God, the principle
applies also to the faith that is continually accepted for righteous deeds
throughout a believer's life-those deeds which a justified person
would do in certain situations if it were possible to do something other
than trust.
With this understanding of Paul's use of Abraham, it is now
apparent that there is no conflict with James. While both use the same
leading example and the same leading text, they do not arrive at
opposite conclusions. Paul refers to Gen 15:6 and Genesis 17 to show
the necessity of faith-to argue that no one, not even the law-abiding
Abraham, is justified initially by works, even if those works are good in
themselves. Paul refers to Abraham's trust in God, concerning his
offspring in Genesis 15 and 17, to emphasize that Abraham was
declared to be righteous through faith, not works. He could not work in
those two instances, for he had tried and failed to produce seed
through Sarah. God therefore credited Abraham's unshakeable faith in
the promises as righteousness. But Abraham's faith is not presented as a
work, as in later Judaism. Paul teaches that it is this kind of faith-a
faith that believes apart from works-that is the medium for a person's
initial justification, procuring a righteous standing before Go,d and
leading to exploits for God.56
J ames refers to Gen 15:6 and Genesis 22 to show the necessity of
works-to establish that Abraham's faith was an active, obedient faith"
which resulted in this already-justified man being declared righteous. -
,i
56 We are not saying here that a person's faith is equivalent to the righteousness of :
Christ that brings salvation. Faith is rather the God-appointed means whereby a person
receives the righteousness graciously given by God. see Kiisemann, Romans 111-:12; and
R. Haldane, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans (London: Banner of Truth, 1958
reprint) 162-71.
--
~
;
Rakestraw: JAMES 2:14-26 49
For James the formula "the scripture was fulfilled" (2:23) holds a major
clue to the way he uses Gen 15:6. The truth of this scripture was made
full and blossomed beautifully when Abraham believed God and acted
upon that belief by offering his beloved son. Similarly, James' insertion
that Abraham was called the friend of God (v 23) reveals that James is
not talking about Abraham's initial justification through God's imputed
righteousness, but a personal relationship whereby Abraham, through
obedient faith, maintained close fellowship with God.
V. Conclusion
Does James contradict the Paulinesoteriology? Are there really
two ways of salvation presented by Paul and James? This article has
sought to demonstrate that there is no genuine conflict between the
apostles. As C. Vaughan writes, "Paul was expounding the way of
justification. James was describing the life of the justified. Paul was
;;fombati.ng Jewish legalism; James was combating antinomianism." 57
James is not contrasting two methods of salvation-one of faith and
one of works-but two kinds of faith: one which saves and one which
does not. '
; In Rom 2: 13 Paul sounds very much like James: "For it is not those
who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who
c
;Qbey the law who will be declared righteous." The apostles do not
9Ppose each other, but work together to combat the enemy on different
fronts. Paul stresses the initial justification of a sinner by grace through
f~ith without works, whereas James stresses the continuing justification
pi a believer by grace through faith whic~ issues in works. Paul's words
;~ Gal 5:6 can be thought of as the text James is expounding: "For in
;:ghrist Jesus neither circumcision nor un circumcision has any value.
~~e only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." As
,:J:?avids states, "to argue that James directly attacks Paul is to argue that
ijJ~mes is a consummate blunderer, for he fails to meet Paul's arguments
?"C
;,,~t all and instead produces a work with which Paul would have
,,~~reed"'58
c" The ethical ramifications of J as 2:14-26, as well as of the entire
"c;,,~pistle, are enormous. The situation which James faced was in essence
,,!IjPt dissimilar to that in the Church today. L. Goppelt wisely observes
,,;C
;,,;~at James was confronting
;"
;;
i,,; a Christianity for which God and justification by faith alone had become
,,";(;,,;; metaphysical theories. People were so convinced of these theories that
iii;;;;;;i
iic"i;;; 57 Vau
ghanJames 56.
"; ,
ii";" 58 Davids
,James 21.
;" c
"
--
I
I 50 CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
59 Goppelt, Theology of NT 2. 209.