The word Justify in James/ an examination of whether it can just mean "show to be righteous"I recently read on another blog that the word justified in James 2 means “to show to be righteous” rather than “make righteous.” If this is true, then it strongly upholds the Protestant view that all James meant to teach in this passage was that works demonstrate saving faith and nothing more. I went back and read the passage in James 2 carefully, though, and I concluded otherwise, namely, that James has in view the meaning “make righteous”—not merely “show to be righteous.” Admittedly, I am still working through this issue, but as of right now this is my take on James 2. I’ll go through it in parts to show how I arrived at my conclusion.14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?So James is asking whether a certain faith is saving. This is important because the entire explanation that follows is written to answer that question. James is concerned with the issue of salvation, not whether others see our faith as genuine. He does not set out to answer the question, “How can someone know whether my faith is genuine?” but rather “What makes saving faith saving?” Certainly the former question gets answered in the process, but it’s vital to remember that James’ goal in this passage is to answer the rhetorical question he poses in v. 14: Can faith devoid of works save? And his answer is no because:17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.He is defining saving faith, not trying to explain what makes it look genuine in the eyes of others.18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.”Here he presents a hypothetical objection from someone who attempts to separate faith from works, claiming that it’s possible to have saving faith without works.Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.He now responds to the hypothetical claim that saving faith can exist apart from works. Note that his answer to this hypothetical objection is just part of his process of defining saving faith. This provides further proof that he is not primarily interested in whether works validate faith as saving in the eyes of other men. He’s not chiefly concerned with outward appearances—even though that does come up—but rather with what makes saving faith saving.19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!A mere intellectual belief is not enough for faith to be genuine, for even the demons believe but have no good works.20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?Here he brings up an example from the OT, Abraham, saying he was “justified by works.” Remember from v. 14 that he is mainly addressing whether a person’s faith is saving, not whether other people see it as such. James has salvation in view in this explanation, not the demonstration of genuine faith to others. So when he uses the phrase “justified by works” in reference to Abraham, what else can we make of it but that works played a role in Abraham’s justification and, therefore, did more than merely show him to be righteous?22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;It is impossible for true saving faith to exist without works, since faith and works are equally active, and faith is completed by works.23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.If James means “justified” here as “show to be righteous,” then the meaning would be: “You see that a person is shown to be righteous by works and not [shown to be righteous] by faith alone.” But again, this flies in the face of the issue he is seeking to resolve, as made plain in v. 14: whether faith without works saves. So he must be using the term justified in the same sense that Paul used it, i.e., in a manner connoting salvation. Since that is the case, how can works, according to James, be limited to a merely demonstrative role that takes place after justification?25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.If justified here means “show to be righteous,” then Rahab was a poor example to use, since she lived among pagans and thus her good works would not have shown her to be righteous to anyone.Jeremy commenting at 342 here: http://www.calledtocommunion.com/2012/08/imputation-and-paradigms-a-reply-to-nicholas-batzig/#comment-37875
see also this link http://www.calledtocommunion.com/2010/08/%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9%CF%8C%CF%89-a-morphological-lexical-and-historical-analysis/
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