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Justification: Forgiveness from God


                    is, a faith that issues forth in works. Paul insisted that good works do not
                    justify us (Titus 3:5). He insisted that it is saving faith, apart from works,
                    that justifies (Romans 3:21–22). Someone has said, “We are not saved
                    by faith and works; rather, we are saved by faith that works.”


                       Perhaps we can understand better
                    the difference of approach between
                    James and Paul if we consider what         We are not saved
                    each one was contending with. Paul         by faith and works;
                    was  clearly  fighting  against  the
                    notion  that  a  person  was  justified     rather, we are saved
                    by faith plus keeping the Law. James,      by faith that works.
                    on  the  other  hand,  was  fighting
                    against those who claimed that since
                    believers are justified by grace alone,
                    they are not obligated to keep the requirements of the Law or to pay the
                    penalties for breaking it. Those who held this view contended that the
                    Christian is free from all moral law and can utterly disregard it—a view
                    that encouraged loose morals and low living.


                       Thus James and Paul do not contradict each other; rather, they are
                    like two soldiers who are fighting back-to-back against an enemy who
                    is attacking on two sides. Paul fights against those who depend on the
                    Law for salvation, while James fights against those who think salvation
                    permits them to ignore the Law.


                       Paul  praises  the  kind  of  faith  that  trusts  God  alone,  while  James
                    condemns inactive faith that is merely intellectual assent. Paul rejects
                    works without faith, while James praises actions which show that faith
                    is real. The justification that Paul preaches refers to the beginning of
                    the Christian life. James, on the other hand, speaks of justification as
                    that life of obedience and holiness which is the outward evidence that a
                    person has been saved.


                       Scripture  teaches  that  the  source  of  justification  is  the  free  grace
                    of God. Scripture also teaches that the basis of our justification is the
                    atoning work of Christ, for we “are justified freely by his grace through
                    the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). God’s grace
                    and the cross of Christ are the source and basis for our justification.


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