JAMES—NOTE ON James 2:21 Abraham... justified by works. James may seem to contradict Paul here (compare Romans 4:2). However, while Paul cites Genesis 15:6 to show that Abraham was justified by faith, James bases his claim on Genesis 22:9, where Abraham was willing to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Thus James apparently has a different sense of the word “justify” in mind here. Paul uses “justify” to express being declared righteous by God through faith, on the basis of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice (Romans 3:24). James seems to use “justify” to stress the way in which works demonstrate that someone has been justified (compare Matthew 12:33). Paul emphasizes how one is justified; James focuses on what justification looks like in practice.

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