The “twelve
tribes which were scattered abroad” were exhorted by James to
have “faith” that “works” and not just “faith”
alone. “Faith” by itself is vain, and without
corresponding “works”, it
avails nothing. In chapter two and verse twenty-one of his
letter, James used “Abraham” to show how “works”
“justified” him where we read:
Was not
Abraham our father justified by works,
when he
had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
The
verse begins, “Was not Abraham our father justified by
works,...” James began with
the words, “Was not Abraham”
whose name means “father of a multitude” and was “the son of
Terah and the founder of the Jewish nation” “our
father” which means “the
generator or male ancestor, founder of a family, tribe or progenitor
of a people and forefather” “justified”
or “rendered righteous or such as he ought to be, to show, exhibit,
evince, declare and pronounce to be just” “by works”
which refers to “business,
employment and that which one occupied”. James referred to
“Abraham” as an
example of a person who was “rendered righteous” by his physical
offering.
The
verse goes on to say, “...when
he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?” James
continued, “when he had offered”
which means “carried, brought up, lead up and put upon the altar”
“Isaac” whose name
means “to laugh” and was “the son of Abraham and Sarah” “his
son” or “the offspring of
men and posterity” “upon the altar”
or “a place for slaying and burning of whole burnt offerings”.
When “Abraham”
fully “carried and brought up” his son “Isaac”
to “offer” him as a sacrifice unto the Lord, he was “shown to
be righteous” as he demonstrated his “faith” in
God.
When
we consider these words of James, we see how “Abraham's”
“work” demonstrated what he really believed. We cannot
imagine the mental and emotional difficulty “Abraham”
suffered as he trod up the hill to obey the Lord to sacrifice his
son, and yet, “Abraham” obeyed. Jesus Christ desires a
“faith” in us that is shown by “works”, and as
He used James' words to inspire the people within the “twelve
tribes which were scattered abroad”, so He encourages us today.
May the Lord bless us to know what it means to have “working
faith” and not empty “belief” that has no evidence of being
real.
Next
time James declares,“by
works was faith made perfect”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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