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Originally posted by BobRyan:
INSTEAD of arguing "these are just too much for us to KEEP - JAmes makes the OPPOSITE argument with his "He who is guilty of one is guilty of all" argument!!
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gb said --
You are taking the entire book of James out of its context. The context is to a group of Greek speaking Jews who think they are God's people and are therefore saved by their thinking they are God's people.
Wrong.
In Acts 15 it is the ENTIRE church of the SAINTS - not just unsaved Jews that are subject to James' decisions and writing.
He makes NO reference at all to the group you mention as being his only readers and we have NO REASON at all to think that these are the only people who were intended to read his writing!
INSTEAD of writing to unsaved Jews - HE is writing to the Christian church!
WE as CHRISTIANS must read and accept this Book of the Bible. Though it is instructive to see someone like you arguing against it because it means that we can add this to the list of Bible books being dumped by Christians today.
gb
James points out the difference between a genuine saving faith and a creedal faith written on a page. A genuine saving faith is written in the hearts of believers.
Less smoke - more fire. Try actually quoting James 2 to make your case ABOUT James 2!!
My point is that if you look IN the chapter and SEE HIS USE of the specific quotes of the LAW it is obvious that he appeals TO THEM and MOTIVATES the reader to ACCEPT them as binding "AS THOSE who ARE to be judged BY the LAW of liberty".
He does NOT say "IF you read this law AND IF you fail to embrace it then you are the only one that will be judged by it".
I admit that this would have made a great text in James 2 for your argument - sadly it is not there.
I also agree that at the end of James 2 he does address those who SAY but do not DO those things of the LAW as James makes the case for "JUSTIFIED by WORKS and NOT by faith ALONE" speaking of Abraham and saying "YOU SEE THEN that a man IS justified by works AND NOT by faith alone".
This is not the forensic justification that comes at salvation - it is the legal, corporate, objective and judicial justification in that future judgment that Paul mentiones in Rom 2:11-16 and in 2Cor 5 .
In Christ,
Bob