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Week 2, Day 4 — Genesis 21-23

Jeremy Paschall
01/07/24 - Podcast

And now, a minute with the Word…

Was Abraham justified by faith or by works? The events of Genesis 22 are referenced in Hebrews 11.17-19 — “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac…” — and Hebrews 11.39 says that all those listed in the preceding verses, including Abraham, were “commended [gained approval] through their faith.” However, those same events are referenced in James 2.21 — “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?” How do we reconcile these texts? Keep reading in James 2.22-24 — “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 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. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”