James, the brother of Yashayah and the ruling elder of the first Nazarean community of believers in Jerusalem, speaks quite frankly about the Torah and its continuing purpose. ((He reinforces the teachings of Yashayah regarding the applicability of the Torah.)) James teaches that works of righteous must always accompany faith. If a person says they have ((faith)) and their works are corrupt, then their faith is dead. (((This is a foundational teaching of the Torah itself.)))
James1: 22-25 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholds himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was. (((But whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.)))
In this passage, James calls the Torah the (((perfect Law of liberty.))) It is the spiritual application of the Torah and all of its precepts that frees, liberates us, from the constraints of sinful habits and behaviors.
James 2: 8-12 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well. But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Here we see James continues by issuing a treatise regarding partiality among believer. As his brother before him, so he again reiterates that hatred is akin to murder. Another mention is made to the ((law of liberty)), this time directly connecting the phrase ((law of liberty)) to the Torah itself.
James 2: 14-20 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? (((Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.))) Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, (((O vain man, that faith without works is dead?))) …. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Now, James directly connects faith and works together. One cannot exist without the other. People who are making a simple ((profession of faith)) without continuing on to good works are fooling themselves. James is saying that obedience to the moral and ethical components of the Torah is the only valid indication of salvation. (((( Mere confession of religious affiliation by words alone is not sufficient.))))
Throughout James epistle he reinforces the finest points of the Torah. His greatest concerns is the exhibition of love displayed between one person and another. This is a fulfillment of Leviticus 19:18 (((you shall love your neighbor as yourself.))) According to his teachings, the Torah and its moral obligations still apply.
James1: 22-25 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholds himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was. (((But whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.)))
In this passage, James calls the Torah the (((perfect Law of liberty.))) It is the spiritual application of the Torah and all of its precepts that frees, liberates us, from the constraints of sinful habits and behaviors.
James 2: 8-12 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well. But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Here we see James continues by issuing a treatise regarding partiality among believer. As his brother before him, so he again reiterates that hatred is akin to murder. Another mention is made to the ((law of liberty)), this time directly connecting the phrase ((law of liberty)) to the Torah itself.
James 2: 14-20 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? (((Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.))) Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, (((O vain man, that faith without works is dead?))) …. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Now, James directly connects faith and works together. One cannot exist without the other. People who are making a simple ((profession of faith)) without continuing on to good works are fooling themselves. James is saying that obedience to the moral and ethical components of the Torah is the only valid indication of salvation. (((( Mere confession of religious affiliation by words alone is not sufficient.))))
Throughout James epistle he reinforces the finest points of the Torah. His greatest concerns is the exhibition of love displayed between one person and another. This is a fulfillment of Leviticus 19:18 (((you shall love your neighbor as yourself.))) According to his teachings, the Torah and its moral obligations still apply.
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