Two Christians, both Jews, describe the same faith from different viewpoints. One, the Apostle Paul, sees faith as foundational; the other, the Apostle James, sees faith in what results from faith. Paul’s view is that heartfelt faith is imperative to our salvation. James’ view is that faith with evidence is proof of that salvation.
Heartfelt faith is Abram believing in God, who promised him that his descendants would be as many as the stars in the heavens. God credited his faith to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:5-6).
However, heartfelt faith needs to be evident in what it produces. That was so in the example of Abraham (the expansion of Abram’s name) laying his only son on the altar in obedience to God’s instruction (Genesis 22:9).
Martin Luther had a revelation of Genesis 15:6, which the Apostle Paul quotes in Romans 4:3 and other texts. Luther dismissed the Epistle of James’ as “straw”– as lightweight. He did so because his service as a priest had been works-based. The revelation of the righteousness of faith placed in his heart by God satisfied him in the way that works-based faith never had or ever could.
What a pity that Luther saw heart-based faith and works-based faith as mutually exclusive, when they were mutually inclusive. Abram’s righteousness was fulfilled in his heart-felt obedience to God’s instruction.
We know the LORD “when we follow on to know” the LORD. Not just in “the hour we first believe” but in the hour that we offer Him our cherished ‘Isaac’ – the sum of His promises to us in Jesus Christ.
What God promises, He delivers. Our satisfaction comes not from His faithfulness to a promise but from our willingness to give it back to Him sacrificially. Abram’s belief in God’s promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, plus his obedience in offering to God the one through whom those descendants would come, are two aspects of the same faith, which begins with heart-felt faith and concludes with works-based obedience. That was how Abram : “Exalted Father” became Abraham: “Father of many nations.”
Paul saw faith as God’s heavenly promise to Abram, and James saw that promise as fulfilled in Abraham’s obedience. The name change of Abram to Abraham tells the story. God might not expand your family name, but He will certainly expand you! And faith coupled with obedience is very likely how He will do it.