James2:21-24”Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only”.
The above verses also shows us what justification by faith really is. Verse 21 says, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?" James 2 mentions the case of Abraham. Galatians 3 and Romans 4 also mention the case of Abraham. Paul says that man is justified by faith, not by works, and he uses the case of Abraham as proof. Both Romans 4 and Galatians 3 prove that man is justified by faith rather than by works. James also mentions the case of Abraham, but he uses it to prove that man is justified not only by faith, but by works as well. If he had used other persons, we might not understand this matter. But in mentioning the case of Abraham, we can surely understand what justification by faith really is.
In using the case of Abraham, Paul refers to Genesis 15, whereas James refers to Genesis 22. In Genesis 15 God promised Abraham that his seed would be like the stars in heaven. In Galatians 3, Paul puts strong emphasis on God's promise to Abraham. In the book of Galatians, Paul repeatedly talks about the promise. The word promise is used very frequently in the book of Galatians. Paul uplifts the promise in Galatians.
Do you know what a promise is? In the whole world, there is only one way for man to receive a promise, and that is by faith. There is no other way for a man to receive a promise. There is only this one condition. If God says that we must do something and we do it, it is work. But God did not tell Abraham that He would give him something if Abraham did this or that. Rather, God said that He would give him descendants. How did Abraham receive the promise? There was no other way but by faith. Suppose a brother tells his son that if he memorizes a list of vocabulary words tonight, he will receive five pieces of candy tomorrow. If the son is to receive the five pieces of candy, he has to memorize the words. This is work. But if the brother simply promises his son five pieces of candy, what does his son have to do? Will he say, "I have to do this or that before I can get the candy"? The child does not have to do anything. All he has to do is believe that his father will do it for him. In Genesis 15 God did not give Abraham one single thing to do. It is as if God said, "I will do it for you. I will give you descendants." Abraham believed in God, and that was reckoned to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). Going back to the example of the brother's son, the child may say, "Will my father really give me five pieces of candy? It does not seem like such a good thing could ever happen." If he thinks this way, he does not have faith. Everyone who wants to understand the book of Galatians must realize that a promise is without condition and without work. One does not have to do anything. The Father has done everything. Thank the Lord that everything that God promises He will accomplish. As long as God is trustworthy, everything is fine. Even if one tries to do a work, it will not avail.
In Genesis 15 God promised Abraham that He would give him many descendants. Abraham had everything. But he did not have a son. He had cattle, he had sheep, and he had tents. But he did not have a son. However, Abraham believed God. He believed that God would give him a son. He merely believed God. He did not do any work. In chapter twenty-two, after God had given him a son, He said to Abraham, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" (v. 2). Then Abraham got up early in the morning and took his son to Mount Moriah. He laid the wood for the burnt offering on his son Isaac's back, and Isaac bore the wood for the burnt offering, in the same way that the Lord Jesus bore the cross. When they reached the mountain, Abraham built an altar, laid his son on the altar, and was about to kill him. This is the incident that James recounts when he refers to Abraham's justification. In Genesis 15 God's justification of Abraham was related to his son. And in Genesis 22 God's justification of him was also related to his son.
In Genesis 15 Abraham had no son. But he believed in his heart that if God said He would give him a son, he would surely have a son. In chapter twenty-two he did have a son, but God wanted him to offer up this son. If Abraham had not had faith, he would have said, "God, You told me that You would give me many descendants. Now if I kill my son, will I not lose them all? It is not that I am unwilling to do this; I just want to see Your promise fulfilled. It is not that I dare not do it; I just want to preserve Your faithfulness." Do you think that Abraham's offering of Isaac was a work or an act of faith? What good work is it to kill one's son? What is there to praise about in killing one's own son? That Abraham raised the knife to offer up his son shows that he still believed the promise of chapter fifteen. God had promised to give him many descendants, and to this end He had given him one son. Now if God wanted him to kill this son, it must be that God would raise him up from the dead. This is what Abraham had in mind when he was about to kill his son. His willingness to kill his son shows that he believed that Isaac would be raised from the dead. The faith in Genesis 15 is a faith in Him who calls things not being into being, while the faith in Genesis 22 is a faith in Him who raises people from the dead (Rom. 4:17). In both instances, what Abraham did was not something of work, but of faith. Abraham's act proved that he had faith. This does not mean that Abraham could be justified by killing his son. It means that in pulling out his knife, he proved that he had faith. The proof of Abraham's faith lies in his willingness to offer up his son.
Hence, James did not say that one cannot be justified by faith. Paul says strongly that justification is not by works, but James could not strongly say that justification is not by faith. If the two contradict each other, we would expect one to say, "Justification is of faith, not of works," and the other to say, "Justification is of works, not of faith." But James does not say this. We must not say what James has not said. James does not say that we should not have faith; he says that one should prove his faith with his work. Paul is the one who talks about the principle, so he can boldly declare that justification is of faith and not of works. James is a man of practice. Thus, he says that one must not have faith only, but should have works as well. Only when there are works can a man prove that his faith is genuine. Let us read James 2:21 again: "Was not Abraham our father justified by works in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?" His offering up of his son was a work, and it was this work that proved that he had faith.
Verse 22 says, "You see that faith worked together with his works." Paul is bold to say that one can have faith alone, without works. But James does not dare to say that one should have works alone, without faith. He indicates that the faith in Genesis 15 and the work in Genesis 22 go hand in hand. Then he adds another clause. He does not say that justification comes through faith plus work. Rather, he says, "And by these works faith was perfected." In Genesis 15 we see that because Abraham had faith, he was justified before God. In Genesis 22 we see that because Abraham had works, he was justified before men. Abraham's justification was perfected by his work in Genesis 22. The offering up of Isaac in Genesis 22 manifested the faith in Genesis 15, and the faith in Genesis 15 was perfected by the work in Genesis 22.
In verse 23 our brother James also quotes from Genesis 15. In Romans 4 Paul quotes from Genesis 15 to prove that one needs faith only, not works. Now our brother James quotes the same word that Paul does: "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, `And Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness.'" In James the word it refers to the act on the mount in Genesis 22. Abraham's offering of Isaac in Genesis 22 was an offering of faith. It was a work that manifested his faith. It was a fulfillment of the words in Genesis 15 that say that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. In Genesis 15 God justified Abraham due to his faith. Abraham's work in Genesis 22 fulfilled God's promise in Genesis 15. Hence, we cannot say that faith alone does not save and that there is the need of works as well. The condition for salvation is faith, not works. But if there is faith, then spontaneously there will be a change in works. Many people are very good in their works. But these works do not manifest their faith. These are works without faith; these are not what James was concerned with.
Verse 24 is very good: "A man is justified by works and not by faith only." See how careful James is? He says man is justified by works and not by faith alone. Paul is able to say that man is justified by faith and not by works at all. But James never says that man is justified by works alone and not by faith at all. If he were to say that, we would have to conclude that the two apostles have divergent views on doctrine. James says that man is justified by works. But following that he adds another word, that it is not by faith alone. When one has works, it proves that he has faith. This does not mean that one should have good works only, but that one should have works of faith.

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