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James Used 'Faith ' in the Sense Genesis Used the Word
In fact, in the Hebrew Scriptures that describe Abraham's alleged justification by faith, Paul misunderstood even there the nature of faith. James understood it correctly.
In the Hebrew Scripture, /^///; and obedience were inextricably tied to one another. Abraham was not justified by faith without action. Paul was taking believed in (Gen. 15:6) out-of-context of the entire Hebrew Scripture. In (Deut. 9:23), we can see clearly that obedience and faith are inextricably intertwined.
When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God, and you didn't believe him, nor listen to his voice.
Hebrew Scripture thus was teaching that when you disobey God, it means you do not believe Him. You do not hear Him. Thus, by a corollary, when you obey God, it means you believe Him and you hear Him. They are inextricably intertwined.
As the Dictionary of Fundamental Theology explains, faith in the Hebrew Scriptures-what it calls the 'Old Testament'-had this dual nature:
The faith of the 0[ld] T[estament]...is both trust and surrender to God... it is obedience that assimilates the person.... 35
Abraham did not have faith in God that can exist apart from obeying God's voice. Mental belief apart from obedience is different from the Biblical-meaning of faith in the Hebrew Scripture. Works of obedience are never apart from faith, as if they are mere fruit of a tree. Rather, obedience has a synergy with mental belief. Together they form the core meaning of believing in Hebrew Scriptures. Abraham s believing was inextricably in tertwined with works of obedience. See Gen. 26:4-5 ("In your seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.")
Paul, however, wanted to read Abraham's story in a new way. Paul wanted to draw a line that you could be in disobedience to God's law (in fact abandon it) but still be able to be seen as just due to belief mentally in two statements. These two statements were: (1) Jesus is Lord and (2) Jesus was resurrected. See (Rom. 10:9).
- Langevin, Gilles. "Faith," Dictionary of Fundamental Theology. Ed. (Latourelle, Rene. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1994) at 309.
o arrive at this, however, Paul was taking Genesis out-of-context. He was applying the Greek meaning of pistis to understand the Hebrew word for believe in (Gen. 15:6). The Greek word pistis can mean a mental assent apart from obedience. However, in Genesis 15:6, the opposite meaning for faith was conveyed in the original Hebrew. The Hebrew concept of faith did not allow it to exist in the absence of obedience. There was no conceptual possibility that faith can be separated from obedience, as Paul saw it. Instead, faith in the sense of mental assent was inextricably dependent in Hebrew upon the necessity of a simultaneous turn toward obedience. (Deut. 9:23). This is precisely what James is explaining in James chapter two.
Thus, James' statement that "faith [i.e.,pistis in Greek] without works" does not save merely was explaining the original Hebrew. James was putting back what was missing in the Greek Septuagint translation. It lacked the nuance which Hebrew implied about faith in the life of Abraham. Paul by contrast was explaining a Hebrew word for believe by a misleadingly deficient word in Greek- pistis. This Greek word sometimes can mean merely mental assent. Paul is interpreting Hebrew by a deficient and different Greek word used to translate faith in the Septuagint. By contrast, James is putting Gen. 15:6 back in context of the original Hebrew.
Accordingly, James teaches the Bible's doctrine on salvation which was at total odds with Paul. James was bringing the discussion back to the lessons of the Hebrew Scriptures. James was aware of the Septuagint translation, but urged us to use the original Hebrew meanings. Paul had relied upon an erroneous translation in the Septuagint of (Gen. 15:6). James simply used the Hebrew meaning in the original passages to undermine Paul's doctrine. 36