Friday, 27 April, 2018

Abraham Exemplifies Saving Faith

Posted on Wednesday, 11 February, 2015Sunday, 20 August, 2017 by Zheluo Cai

James 2: 20 – 24

What do we learn about saving faith from Abraham? Abraham’s obedience demonstrated that his faith was of a dynamic, active nature. It produced an obedience and a trust so great he was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen. 22). This action pointed back to and demonstrated the validity of God’s earlier statement that Abraham’s faith was accepted in place of righteousness (15:6). Thus by its very nature Abraham’s faith produced righteous works, so that works were an expression of his faith. In that sense Abraham was justified by works: God’s claim that he was righteous and any claim Abraham might have made to having faith were indicated by Abraham’s acts.

Thus the kind of faith that justifies a person before God is a faith that expresses itself in works. Any “faith” which is not accompanied by works is not a saving kind of faith.

Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible reader’s companion (electronic ed., p. 872). Wheaton: Victor Books.

NGC 7635: The Bubble Nebula.
Image Credit & Copyright: Larry Van Vleet. NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula, is being pushed out by the stellar wind of massive central star BD+602522. Next to it is a giant molecular cloud, visible to the right. The cloud is able to contain the expansion of the bubble gas but gets blasted by the hot radiation from the bubble's central star causing it to glow. The Bubble Nebula is part of a much larger complex of stars and shells. The Bubble Nebula is about ten light-years across towards the constellation of the Queen of Aethiopia (Cassiopeia).

The flag of Liechtenstein consists of two horizontal blue and red bands charged with a gold crown at the canton. Adopted in 1921 after being officially enshrined into the nation's constitution, it has been the flag of the Principality of Liechtenstein since that year. The crown was added to the flag in 1937. The blue represents the sky, while red alludes to the "evening fires" that are lit inside houses throughout the country. The crown epitomizes the "unity of the people and their prince."

Kyrgyzstan – Level 1: Tuesday, 24 April, 2018
Exercise normal precautions in the Kyrgyz Republic. Read the Safety and Security section on the country information page. If you decide to travel to the Kyrgyz Republic: Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency. Follow the Department of State on Facebook […]
Nicaragua – Level 3: Reconsider travel Monday, 23 April, 2018
Reconsider travel to Nicaragua due to crime and civil unrest. On April 23, 2018, the U.S. government ordered the departure of U.S. government family members and authorized the departure of U.S. government personnel. Political rallies and demonstrations are occurring daily, often with little notice or predictability. Some protests result in injuries and deaths. Demonstrations typically […]

Eugène Galien-Laloue (1854–1941) was a French artist of French-Italian parents and was born in Paris on December 11, 1854. He was a populariser of street scenes, usually painted in autumn or winter, of the early 1900s, accurately representing the era in which he lived: a happy, bustling Paris, la Belle Époque, with horse-drawn carriages, trolley cars and its first omnibuses. Galien-Laloue's works are valued not only for their contribution to 20th-century art but for the actual history, which they document. The Paris Arc de Triomphe was painted in 1941. His work can be seen at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Louvier; Musée des Beaux-Arts, La Rochelle; Mulhouse, France.

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