Hands-free narration of this study — good for the car.
Synopsis
Sequeira addresses the perennial tension between Paul's 'justified by faith apart from works' and James's 'faith without works is dead.' He resolves it by distinguishing the ground of salvation from the evidence of it, and by observing that Paul and James use 'justify' in different senses: Paul speaks of how a sinner is declared righteous before God, James of how genuine faith is vindicated before men. He also unmasks counterfeit faith — intellectual assent, emotional excitement, denominational loyalty — none of which unites the soul to Christ. Genuine faith is a total surrender of self-trust that inevitably produces obedience, because it is union with a living Person. Sequeira warns that many who fear legalism have overcorrected into presumption, and that many who fear presumption have quietly reinstated works. The chapter offers tests for genuine faith and clarifies the place of the will: we cannot generate righteousness, but we can choose to surrender, and that choice is the point at which grace becomes operative in experience.
Key points
- Paul and James answer different questions; both affirm faith alone as the ground.
- Saving faith is surrender and union, not assent or feeling.
- Works are the inevitable evidence, never the cause, of salvation.
- The human will chooses surrender; grace supplies everything else.
Key passages
- Ephesians 2:8-10
- James 2:14-26
- Galatians 5:6
- Romans 3:31
- Titus 2:11-14
Study questions12 total
- 1.Comprehension
How does Sequeira harmonise Paul and James? Restate his solution in your own words.
- 2.Scripture
Compare Romans 4:2-5 with James 2:21-24. Both cite Abraham — what is each writer proving?
- 3.Scripture
Ephesians 2:8-10 places works after salvation. What is the significance of the word 'workmanship' and the phrase 'prepared beforehand'?
- 4.Contrast
Contrast genuine saving faith with intellectual assent, emotional response, and religious conformity. Give a real-life example of each counterfeit.
- 5.Scripture
Galatians 5:6 speaks of 'faith working through love.' What does this add to the discussion?
- 6.Doctrinal Clarity
What role does the human will play in salvation, and what role does it not play?
- 7.Scripture
How does Romans 3:31 answer the accusation that grace makes the law void?
- 8.Doctrinal Clarity
Is it possible to have works without faith? What are the marks of such religion, and how did Jesus describe it?
- 9.Application
How can a church encourage obedience without slipping into legalism? Give three concrete practices.
- 10.Application
Examine your own faith by Sequeira's tests. What does the examination reveal?
- 11.Application
How should a pastor preach to a congregation that contains both the presumptuous and the legalistic?
- 12.Doctrinal Clarity
State in one sentence the relationship of faith to works that you would teach a new convert.