{"id":39389,"date":"2017-09-11T07:00:14","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T14:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.olivetree.com\/?p=39389"},"modified":"2022-03-07T09:31:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T17:31:16","slug":"is-faith-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/is-faith-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Faith Enough?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is faith enough? It’s a common question. Let’s turn to Scripture to determine an answer. Also, we’ve included some helpful insights from the Quest Study Bible<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Scripture Say Faith is Enough in James 2?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe\u2014and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, \u201cAbraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness\u201d\u2014and he was called a friend of God.” –\ufeffJAMES 2:14-21<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It’s Enough<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Are we saved by grace through faith alone (Eph. 2:8\u20139) or do we also need good works?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James does not argue that good works are required for salvation. Nor does he say that deeds are more important than beliefs. Rather, he insists that there are two kinds of faith\u2014one legitimate and the other illegitimate; faith \u2026 made complete (v. 22) and without deeds (v. 20). Both are \u201cbelief\u201d in one sense of the word. But legitimate faith goes deeper than \u201cright thinking\u201d to \u201cright living.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confusion may arise, however, when we recall that Paul writes that we cannot earn salvation. He uses Abraham as an example of one who received God\u2019s promise, not through human effort, but through faith<\/strong> (Gal. 3:6\u201312).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James also uses Abraham as an example, but his focus and emphasis are different than Paul\u2019s. He skips over the futility of human effort to discuss the futility of deficient faith\u2014faith that stops at the intellectual level. Even demons have that kind of \u201cfaith,\u201d James exclaims (v. 19)!
James\u2019s point, then, is that Abraham exercised authentic faith\u2014demonstrated by his actions. Abraham\u2019s deeds earned him nothing, but they proved his belief was genuine: Right faith led to right actions. If he had not trusted God, Abraham could never have offered his son\u2014the fulfillment of God\u2019s promise\u2014on the altar (vv. 21\u201322). Paul uses Abraham to show that people are justified on the basis of real faith; James shows that Abraham\u2019s was proven to be real because it worked (compare Gal. 5:6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So then, we don\u2019t need anything but faith\u2014the right kind of faith\u2014to be saved by God. And our behavior will show what our faith is made of, whether or not it is legitimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn More<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"NIV<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This blog post was adapted from The Quest Study Bible.<\/em> Verse-by-verse, this study Bible asks questions that most Christians ask, and then provides a biblical answer. This tool is priceless as you begin to study God’s Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about The Quest Study Bible<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
GET IT TODAY<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Want to answer even more questions about the Bible? Study the Word of God from multiple angles with the NIV Bible Study Pack<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, a curated selection of helpful tools, including the Quest Study Bible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is faith enough? It’s a common question. Let’s turn to Scripture to determine an answer. Also, we’ve included some helpful insights from the Quest Study Bible. Does Scripture Say Faith is Enough in James 2? What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":50291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5338],"tags":[6060],"class_list":{"0":"post-39389","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-testament-articles","8":"tag-quest-study-bible"},"yoast_head":"\nIs Faith Enough? - Olive Tree Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is faith enough? It's a common question. Let's turn to Scripture to determine an answer. 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