A MANIFESTED FAITH (James 2)

A MANIFESTED FAITH (James 2)

He who has received Christ in reality will manifest his faith by his works. - H. A. IRONSIDE  

Jesus declared the second great commandment is “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” James designates this the royal law. It sums up man’s responsibility to his neighbor. He who fulfills it will love all men and look with contempt on none. Therefore, to have respect to persons, preferring one above another, is to violate the letter and spirit of this sacred precept, and so to commit sin and be convicted of the law as a transgressor. - H. A. IRONSIDE  

But that law, so terrible to the sinner, is a law of liberty to the regenerated one, because it commands the very behavior in which the one born of God finds his joy and delight. Let the Christian then be careful that he does not act inconsistently with his profession, for “he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy.” Under the divine government men reap as they sow; and with what judgment they judge others, they are judged themselves, but “mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” It is not the desire of God to deal harshly with anyone. He is ever ready to forgive and bless where sin is recognized and confessed. As objects of such mercy ourselves we are called upon to show mercy and compassion to others, no matter how lowly their condition may be. - H. A. IRONSIDE  

The Holy Spirit used the Apostle Paul in a special way to show the fallacy of the first of these views. He insists that justification before God is never by the deeds of the law but by faith in Christ. James deals with the second error, and makes it plain that the faith that saves is a faith that works, and that no one is justified before God who is not justified practically before men. - H. A. IRONSIDE  

Was not Luther right in declaring that this letter of James’ was not true, inspired Scripture but just “an epistle of straw”? Luther and many others failed to note those words, not before God. How was Abraham justified before God? James and Paul agree that it was when “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.” But when he went to Mount Moriah and there by faith offered his son upon the altar (Heb. 11:17–19), he was justified by works before men, as he made manifest the reality of his profession of confidence in God and His Word. - H. A. IRONSIDE  

In other words, as Paul also tells us, faith worketh by love; otherwise it is not real faith at all. - H. A. IRONSIDE