JAMES 2:21-24

• Paul = we are NOT justified by works.

• James = we ARE justified by works.

Both cite Genesis 15:6 to prove their point - so it is NOT speaking of different 'justification' - one towards God and the other towards men.

• Paul's works = works of boasting ("whereof to glory") - Romans 4:2

• James' works = obedience ("faith made perfect")

Faith blesses, only when it is strong enough to lead its possessor to obedience. This is evident in the lexical significance of the word pistis translated "faith" in the New Testament. Thayer, in his Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, defines it as "used especially of the faith by which a man embraces Jesus; i.e. a conviction, full of joy, trust, that Jesus is the Messiah -- the one divinely appointed author of salvation in the kingdom of God, conjoined with obedience to Christ" (1886 edition, page 511).

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