Should the Christian have faith with or without works?
That’s a classic question that has been debated for hundreds of years and continues to be a controversy for those who do not take a moment to step back and see the big picture.
What is the big picture?
It is that the Israelites should have had faith with works while we Christians should have faith without works – two people groups – two audiences – a different writer to each variety of human.
Israelites were never new creations, yet we Christians are because we are those living in due time, which is not the time of the past.
See Romans 5:6, 1 Corinthians 15:8, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 1:3
Moreover, Paul is our apostle since he was given the apostleship of the gentiles, which is any breed of human other than Jewish.
See Ephesians 3:1, Romans 11:13 (the apostle of the Gentiles) The grammatical article.
In conclusion, Paul wrote for us to have faith without works and James wrote to the twelve tribes of Israel that faith without works was dead for them.
See James 2:17 and Romans 3:28
One startling observation is that it’s impossible for a Christian to have faith and works for salvation because Jesus finished the crosswork necessary to save a soul.
This means we are justified by Faith and so have peace with God. (Romans 5:1)
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