James 2:21

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Gen 22:16-18 : 16 and said,“‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ decrees the LORD,‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the strongholds of their enemies. 18 Because you have obeyed me, all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants.’”
  • Gen 22:9-9 : 9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter his son. 11 But the LORD’s angel called to him from heaven,“Abraham! Abraham!”“Here I am!” he answered. 12 “Do not harm the boy!” the angel said.“Do not do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
  • Josh 24:3 : 3 but I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and brought him into the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous; I gave him Isaac,
  • Ps 143:2 : 2 Do not sit in judgment on your servant, for no one alive is innocent before you.
  • Isa 51:2 : 2 Look at Abraham, your father, and Sarah, who gave you birth. When I summoned him, he was a lone individual, but I blessed him and gave him numerous descendants.
  • Matt 3:9 : 9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves,‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
  • Matt 12:37 : 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
  • Matt 25:31-40 : 31 The Judgment“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right,‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him,‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the king will answer them,‘I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’
  • Luke 1:73 : 73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham. This oath grants
  • Luke 16:24 : 24 So he called out,‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this fire.’
  • Luke 16:30 : 30 Then the rich man said,‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
  • John 8:39 : 39 They answered him,“Abraham is our father!” Jesus replied,“If you are Abraham’s children, you would be doing the deeds of Abraham.
  • John 8:53 : 53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are you? And the prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?”
  • Acts 7:2 : 2 So he replied,“Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our forefather Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,
  • Rom 3:20 : 20 For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
  • Rom 4:1 : 1 The Illustration of Justification What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, has discovered regarding this matter?
  • Rom 4:12 : 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised.
  • Rom 4:16 : 16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants– not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
  • Jas 2:18 : 18 But someone will say,“You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works.
  • Jas 2:24 : 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Jas 2:22-26
    5 verses
    82%

    22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works.

    23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says,“Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

    24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

    25 And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way?

    26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

  • Rom 4:1-6
    6 verses
    81%

    1 The Illustration of Justification What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, has discovered regarding this matter?

    2 For if Abraham was declared righteous by works, he has something to boast about– but not before God.

    3 For what does the scripture say?“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

    4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation.

    5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness.

    6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

  • Jas 2:20
    79%

    20 But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless?

  • Heb 11:17-18
    2 verses
    79%

    17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He had received the promises, yet he was ready to offer up his only son.

    18 God had told him,“Through Isaac descendants will carry on your name,”

  • Gal 3:6-7
    2 verses
    76%

    6 Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,

    7 so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham.

  • Gen 22:6-10
    5 verses
    74%

    6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, and the two of them walked on together.

    7 Isaac said to his father Abraham,“My father?”“What is it, my son?” he replied.“Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said,“but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

    8 “God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.

    9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.

    10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter his son.

  • Jas 2:17-18
    2 verses
    74%

    17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.

    18 But someone will say,“You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works.

  • Gen 22:1-2
    2 verses
    72%

    1 The Sacrifice of Isaac Some time after these things God tested Abraham. He said to him,“Abraham!”“Here I am!” Abraham replied.

    2 God said,“Take your son– your only son, whom you love, Isaac– and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you.”

  • Rom 4:9-10
    2 verses
    72%

    9 Is this blessedness then for the circumcision or also for the uncircumcision? For we say,“faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.”

    10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised!

  • Rom 4:22
    71%

    22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham as righteousness.

  • Rom 4:12
    71%

    12 And he is also the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised.

  • Rom 3:28
    71%

    28 For we consider that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law.

  • Rom 9:10
    71%

    10 Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our ancestor Isaac–

  • Gen 21:5
    71%

    5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.)

  • Jas 2:14
    70%

    14 Faith and Works Together What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him?

  • Gal 3:9
    70%

    9 So then those who believe are blessed along with Abraham the believer.

  • Gen 15:6
    70%

    6 Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD credited it as righteousness to him.

  • Rom 4:16-17
    2 verses
    70%

    16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants– not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

    17 (as it is written,“I have made you the father of many nations”). He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed– the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.

  • Gen 22:13
    69%

    13 Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

  • Gal 2:16
    69%

    16 yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

  • Heb 11:4
    69%

    4 By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith he still speaks, though he is dead.

  • Heb 11:8
    69%

    8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.

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