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Scripture Analysis

James 2:21

This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.

Contradictions
2 entries

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WEB

Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?

World English Bible

Read James 2:21 in context

Examined in Scripture Analysis

Contradictions (2)

Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.

  • Is Salvation by faith alone?

    Paul stacks Romans 3:28, Romans 4:13, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 3:11-12, and Ephesians 2:8-9 to insist humans are justified by faith apart from works of the law. Then Matthew 19:17 ("keep the commandments"), Matthew 25:31-46 (sheep and goats judged on what they did), Romans 2:6 and 2:13 (Paul himself!), James 2:14-26 ("faith without works is dead"), and Revelation 20:12-13 (judged according to works) all push the opposite direction.

    Critical scholarship: Genuinely disputed among scholars.

    Theology

    More on this question

    The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.

  • Was Abraham justified by faith or works?

    Paul and James pick the same proof text — Genesis 15:6 — and push it in opposite directions. Romans 4:2 explicitly says Abraham was not justified by works.

    Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.

    Theology

    More on this question

    The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.

Explore Contradictions →

Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built

Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.

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One of these tensions involves a difference in wording across manuscripts or translations. Examine the original language on Lemma

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This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.

"James 2:21 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/james/2/21?version=WEB (retrieved 26 August 2026).