Larry Wessels, director of Christian Answers of Austin, Texas/ Christian Debater (YouTube channel: CANSWERSTV at http://www.youtube.com/user/CAnswersTV; websites: http://www.BibleQuery.org, http://www.HistoryCart.com & http://www.MuslimHope.com) is joined in studio by former Roman Catholic Rob Zins, Th.M, Dallas Theological Seminary (website: http://www.CWRC-RZ.ORG). Rob Zins has authored the books, "On the Edge of Apostasy," "Romanism: The Relentless Roman Catholic Assault on the Gospel of Jesus Christ" & others. The Bizarre and Dangerous Teachings of the Grace Evangelical Society The way in which the English word save (sozo in the Greek text) is used by James is a point of severe controversy. We wish to begin our examination with James 2:14 as a starting point. There are principally three very distinct ways to understand James 2:14. There is the Roman Catholic interpretation, the Grace Evangelical view, and the Reformed position. One’s elucidation of James 2:14 will affect the great doctrines of salvation and sanctification. The manner in which God saves along with the resulting place of works in the life of a believer is the foundation of Christian theology. Both of these come into play as we contemplate the use of sozo in James. The Translations There is a difference in the way translators have rendered James 2:14. The more modern translations have opted for something like, “Can that kind of faith save him?” Or, “Can such a faith save him?” This translation opens the door to understanding James as teaching that there are at least two kinds of faith. One kind saves a man and another kind does not. However different translations like the King James and the New King James translate James 2:14 simply as, “Can faith save him?” The last clause of James 2:14 is awkward in English. It would read something like this: “not able the faith to save him?” To transform this into an English question the translators could leave out or retain the Greek article of the Greek text. Often time articles are left out in the translation of the Greek text into English. The King James translators elected to leave out the article and ended up translating “Can faith save him?” This is regrettable. We think the article should be translated into English. It could be rendered “Can the faith save him?” But the article (English ‘the’) often carries a demonstrative sense such as “this” or “that” and in context James seems to be saying, “Can this faith save him?” referring back to the person who says he has faith but has not works. There is a faith that has no works and James refers to this kind of faith by asking “Can this faith save him?” Or to smooth it out in English, “Can this kind of faith save him?” James expects the answer to be “no”. The Grace Evangelical Society (GES) has articulated their position very clearly and it is possible that they are representative of perhaps multitudes of Evangelicals in Baptist, Bible, Independent, and Fellowship churches around the world. GES also opts for the King James and Douay- Rheims translation of the Bible as well. They do so, not to favor the Roman Catholic idea that faith alone cannot save, but to eliminate the idea that James may be countenancing different kinds of faith with reference to salvation. GES refuses to translate the Greek article in James 2:14 because in their estimation too many theologians reason that James is arguing against a “spurious kind of faith” that cannot save eternally. If it is true that James has in mind two kinds of faith, and one saves, and the other does not then this eliminates the entire position of the GES. James would be saying that faith without works cannot save eternally! However GES does not believe that works are necessary for those they deem to be eternally saved. GES does not believe faith can be calculated as true or false by measuring whether good works flow from faith. It appears that the GES wishes to smother James 1:21 with precarious presumptions. These assumptions are not found in the text. They are put there by those convinced that James does not even take up eternal life in his warnings to his audience. Thus by GES standards people who at some point in their lives have claimed to believe in Christ will always be saved regardless of how they live or what they believe currently. This is heresy & is another Gospel (Galatians 1:6-9). See our playlist "Dealing with Predestination, Arminianism & Calvinism" with 78 videos at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA932903698A56780. See our playlist "End Times, Supernatural Prophecies, Tough Bible Questions" with 39 videos at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL141F261EEFCFD536.

• published: 05 Oct 2014
• views: 38