[b-greek] Re: What OU negates in James 2:24.

From: Moon-Ryul Jung (moon@saint.soongsil.ac.kr)
Date: Tue Feb 13 2001 - 00:53:10 EST


Dear Alan,
Here are my comments.

> Moon
>
> Concerning your translation...
>
> > It is by works, not by faith alone that man is
> > justified.
>
>
> I still think that this is awkward since it does not
> bring out the contrast being highlighted by James
> between TWO justifications. Or as I understood you to
> say: two MEANS OF justification.
>
> For example, as James points out, Abraham was
> justified BY WORKS (Genesis 22) when he offered up
> Isaac. But he was ALSO justified by faith, a
> justification that was evident in Genesis 15 (where
> there was NO WORKS).

[Moon]
I see what you are trying to say. I do not thin that James is
talking about two justifications. Let me try to explain.
Consider 2:21-24:
21 Abraham our father was not righteoused out of works when he brought up
Issac his son on the altar of sacrifice?
22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and out of
his works his faith was brought to its goal
23 and (thereby) the scripture was fulfilled that said, "Abraham believed
GOd and it was reckoned to him for righteousness and he was called God's
friend".
24 You see that out of works man is righteoused and not out of faith
alone.

Verses 22-23 seems to say that Abraham's justification out of his faith
was
fulfilled by his justification out of his works. The former is incomplete
without the latter. Verse 24 sums up the argument by saying that
being vindicated before God is based on works not just on faith.
Because justification out of works is the fulfillment of justification
out of faith, I do not see two justifications or two means of
justification
here.

So, I think that my rendering "It is out of works, not just out of faith
that man is vindicated before God" conveys James 2:24 well.

Moon
Moon-Ryul Jung
Sogang Univ, Seoul, Korea

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