THE
EARLY FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST AND 1.1 The Word “Christians” Were Unknown To Jesus 1.2 Diversity In the Early Followers of Jesus 1.3 The Nazarenes Versus the Pauline Christianity 1.4 St. James, the Head of the Nazarenes 1.6 The Origin of the Word Nazarene 1.8 The Early Church, The Church of the Circumcision 1.9 Salvation Is Through Faith & By Obeying God’s Law 1.10 Obey the Scribes or Teachers of the Law 1.11 Jesus Instruct His Followers to Offer “the Gift that Moses Commanded” 1.13 Jesus: Those Who Do Not Follow The Law Are Hypocrites 1.14 St. James: Faith Without Good Works Is Useless And Cannot Save Anyone 1.16 Paul, The Real Founder of Christianity 1.18 Paul and His Pauline Churches Changed Jesus Into God |
1 1.14 St. James: Faith Without Good Works Is Useless And Cannot Save Anyone
“The Epistle of James, at one place, is unique among all the accounts of the disciples because he says that Salvation does not depend on Faith alone but that it also requires “Good Deeds”. He also says that the Torah was the Law of freedom” The Magdeburg Centuries[1] James in his Book or Epistle [2] writes: “Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well” – but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, some people have faith; others have good deeds. I say, I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds. Do you think it’s enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror! Fool! When will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless?” (James 2:16-20, NLT) In chapter 2 verse 12 of his book, James believe that God’s Law Gives Freedom: “So whenever you speak, or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law of love, the law that set you free.” (NLT) The above statements of the head of the Nazarenes Community are enough to confirm the importance of God’s Law (al-Shari‘ah) to achieve salvation. The naïve idea that faith without good works being done automatically guarantee’s one’s place in heaven is in contradiction to the teachings of Jesus and St. James. Elaborating further on this matter, Maulana Abd Haq Vidyarthi, a great scholar and debater of Islam says: “Who can make these people understand that without paying obedience to and keeping the commandments of Jesus, it is useless and futile to profess his love, and likewise, without abiding by and obeying the commandments of God…it is foolish and vain to make the noise in the world that God is Love, God is Love…And this commandment which Jesus is now giving is the commandment of the Father…in respect of which disobedience and non-compliance will cut asunder and break the relationship with Jesus and God…”[3] [1] Izharul Haq, Part 3, 15 [2] Written probably about 45 C.E. Christians admit that the Book or Epistle of James has a very Jewish flavor. It contains many short, proverbial sayings and resembles the teachings of Jesus—especially the Sermon on the Mount. (New Living Translation of the Holy Bible, 704) [3] Muhammad in World Scriptures, Volume 1, 388 (adapted in part)
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