By and Without

 

 

By and without:

What is he talking about?

I will get to it in minute,

No need to shout.

 

Works and salvation:

We’ve been here before

But since the last time,

There is more.

 

By and without

Are key prepositions

In the relationship between

Works and salvation.

 

Examine with me

The following statement

Concerning the content therein

As well as its intent.

 

We are not saved

By our works

But we are certainly not saved

Without them.

 

 

Transformed from:

Prior unrighteous works

To: a life of righteousness

And good works.

 

To say one is saved

Is to speak of good works,

No change in a so-called believer

Should really hurt.

 

Paul’s “not by works”

Speaks to the acquisition,

James “without works” speaks to

Walking in salvation.

 

 

The tree is identified

By the fruit it bears,

The born-again believer’s fruit

Must appear.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9; James 2:26

 

I was not saved by

By the works that I do

But without righteous works

Neither are you.

 

Works is a testament

To a believer’s salvation

Though it is not by these works

He attains salvation.

 

Salvation is God’s gift

To a born-again believer

And of the enablement for works

The believer is a receiver.

 

The Father worked

And His Son worked too,

So too the Holy Spirit

In me and in you.

 

We are not saved

By our works

But we are certainly not saved

Without them.

 

Here ends today’s lesson.

 

Stewart Russell © March 28, 2025

Absolutely No Conflict

 

 

 

Some perceive there’s a conflict

Between the apostles James and Paul

On the matter of salvation

But I see none at all.

 

For a background to this matter

Of these two texts take note:

There are Ephesians 2:8 and 9

And James 2:24 and I quote:

 

You see then how

That by works

A man is justified

And not by faith only.

 

Now hear the apostle Paul:

 

For by grace are you saved

Through faith;

And that not of yourselves:

It is the gift of God:

Not of works,

Lest any man should boast.

 

At a glance it would appear

There is obvious contradiction

But look a little closer and you’ll see

There is no such opposition.

 

Paul appeals to the fact:

The fact of salvation, I mean,

While James coming in behind

Speaks to the resulting scene.

 

Saved by grace!

It starts and ends with God,

And the faith that comes by hearing

Is also divinely caused.

 

By grace through faith:

Both from God’s loving hand,

Compliments of His precious Word

Effecting salvation’s plan.

 

No works to raise the dead

Or in keeping the dead alive

And none can maintain salvation

No matter how he strives.

 

So, where do works come in

As James appeared to suggest?

It is the fruit-producing consequence:

The evidentiary process.

 

 

By their fruits!

This is how we come to know,

The fruit of the one that is saved

Will gradually begin to show.

 

Paul speaks to the heart

While James reflects the walk,

It’s what’s inside intimates Jesus:

Living is more than talk.

 

Paul speaks to the internal:

That’s where God’s work is done,

James appeals to the external:

That’s where our race is run.

 

Compass by many witnesses

As this Christian race we run,

The battle’s is the Lord’s, we are told

And He has already won.

 

Take note of James’ “Show me!”

 

Show me your faith

Without your works,

And I will show you

My faith by my works.

 

 

Works is the external evidence

Of the work done inside:

The work of the Holy Spirit

In the one in whom he abides.

 

There is therefore no clash

Between the two apostles,

Actually, one complements the other

In this perceived tussle.

 

No evidence, no life!

That poor old soul is dead!

“All talk and no walk”, indicates

He is on his deathbed.

 

 

For as the body

Without the Spirit is dead,

So faith without works

Is dead also.

 

No conflict, I reemphasize,

Absolutely no conflict at all,

No contradiction of sorts or otherwise

Between the apostle James and Paul.

 

Stewart Russell © October 11, 2022

 

Living Faith

 

 

Is there a contradiction between

The Apostles Paul and James

In Ephesians 2 and James 2

Relative to their faith claims?

 

I will point you to these passages

And let you read them for yourself,

I will give you a minute or two

To grab your Bible off the shelf.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9

 

For by grace are ye saved through faith;

and that not of yourselves:

it is the gift of God:

 

Not of works,

lest any man should boast.

 

James 2:14, 17

 

What doth it profit, my brethren,

though a man say he hath faith,

and have not works?

can faith save him?

 

Even so faith, if it hath not works,

is dead, being alone.

 

If there are contradictions

Please point them out,

There are none, as far as I can see,

And in this I have no doubt.

 

 

Neither do they refute one another

As some would argue,

What is more, I put it to you

They are of the same point of view.

 

Apostle Paul’s focus is different

From that of Apostle James

And when each is examined in context

They are both truth claims.

 

Paul highlights grace and faith

While James zeros in on faith and works,

To see that one follows on from the other

Does not require an expert.

 

Before God, we are saved by faith

And not by works

And as that faith arises in us

We instantly become converts.

 

That faith is not of ourselves

But it is the gift of God,

It is God’s saving faith

That He gives to the called.

 

James’ point is different

And so is his focus

And this should be easily picked up

With little or no fuss.

 

God needs no testimony from us

Either spoken or given,

He is eternally aware

Of them He has forgiven.

Our living testimony

Is for the sake of all men,

That’s where faith and works come in

Hence, I see no problem.

 

“If a man says,”

It is not if God says,

That the man is in question here,

Should be as clear as day.

 

One may profess to be saved

But if there is no evidence

Then that man’s faith is a dead faith

And his walk lacks consistence.

 

A vain man, according to James,

Trumpets his faith without any works,

Thus, he is void of saving faith

And is not yet a convert.

 

James 2:26

 

For as the body without the Spirit is dead,

so faith without works is dead also.

 

According to Paul,

It is a living faith that justifies

While according to James

Of such a faith, fruit testifies.

 

These Apostles, as I see it,

Are not arguing to the contrary

But their positions regarding the saved

Are explicitly complimentary.

 

Stewart Russell © December 22, 2021