Tuesday, 16 October, 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.

The Guna, known as Kuna prior to an orthographic reform in 2010, and historically as Cuna, are an indigenous people of Panama and Colombia. In the Kuna language, they call themselves Dule or Tule, meaning "people," and the name of the language in Kuna is Dulegaya, literally "people-mouth." Most Gunas live on small islands off the coast of the comarca of Kuna Yala known as the San Blas Islands. Each community has its own political organization, led by a saila, who is traditionally both the political and religious leader of the community; he memorizes songs which relate the sacred history of the people and transmits them to the people. Traditionally, Guna families are matrilinear, with the groom moving to become part of the bride's family and taking the last name of the bride as well.

M16: In and Around the Eagle Nebula.
Image Credit & Copyright: Andrew Klinger. A closer look at the Eagle Nebula shows the bright region is a window into the centre of a larger dark shell of dust. A brightly-lit workshop appears where a whole open cluster of stars is being formed in the midst of tall pillars and round globules of dark dust and cold molecular gas. Already visible are several young bright blue stars whose light and winds are burning away and pushing back the remaining filaments and walls of gas and dust. The Eagle emission nebula, tagged M16, lies about 6500 light years away, spans about 20 light-years, toward the constellation of the Serpent (Serpens). This picture involved over 25 hours of imaging and combines three specific emitted colours emitted by sulfur (coloured as red), hydrogen (yellow), and oxygen (blue).

The flag of Mozambique was adopted on May 1, 1983. It includes the image of an AK-47 with a bayonet attached to the barrel. It is one of three national flags among UN member states that features a firearm, along with those of Guatemala and Haiti. Green stands for the riches of the land, the white fimbriations signify peace, black represents the African continent, yellow symbolises the country's minerals, and red represents the struggle for independence. The rifle stands for defence and vigilance, the open book symbolises the importance of education, the hoe represents the country's agriculture, and the star symbolises Marxism and internationalism.

The Elgin Marbles are a collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of Phidias and his assistants in c. 447 to 438 BC; originally part of the temple of the Parthenon. From 1801 to 1812, agents of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed about half of the surviving sculptures and transported them to Britain. The half not removed is now displayed in the Acropolis Museum. In Britain, the acquisition of the collection was not supported by some, and the Earl's actions was likened to vandalism. Following a public debate in Parliament and its subsequent exoneration of Elgin, he sold the Marbles to the British government in 1816. They were then passed to the British Museum, where they are now on display in the purpose-built Duveen Gallery.

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