Is Faith without Works Really DEAD? by Ron Knight

We all know that the Apostle James wrote in James 2:20, and also in verse 24 that a person is justified (declared righteous by God) "by WORKS and not by faith ONLY", and that "faith WITHOUT works is DEAD". The problem with that is, the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 4:5 that "to him that worketh NOT, but believeth on (Christ), his FAITH is counted for righteousness", and "by grace are ye saved through FAITH...NOT of works...(Ephesians 2:8-9), and "NOT by works of righteousness which we have done..."(Titus 3:5)! So, how do YOU solve the contradiction?

Well, with "right division" we give to Israel the truth of justification that belongs to them and we give to the Body of Christ the truth of justification that belongs to them. We know that James writes to the nation of Israel (James 1:1), and Paul writes to the Body of Christ (Romans 11:13). God's LAW program with that Nation in time past and in the future is one of performance based acceptance. That means that based on their faith AND WORKS, they were either accepted by God or rejected. But not so today!

Here in God's dispensation of GRACE (Ephesians 3:2), salvation is offered by God full and free, and everyman (Jew and Gentile alike) is accepted, based not on our works, but on that person's FAITH and faith ALONE resting in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ spilled on Calvary's cross for their sins...Amen! Unlike the nation of Israel, it is only AFTER we are saved that works become part of our "experience" as we live lives pleasing to our Lord by obeying the doctrine that Christ gives to us thru the 13 books written by Paul (Ephesians 2:10, Titus 2:14).