In article <Apr.21.03.26.51.1993.1379@geneva.rutgers.edu> lmvec@westminster.ac.uk (William Hargreaves) writes:  >	   I'm a commited Christian that is battling with a problem.  I know >that romans talks about how we are saved by our faith not our deeds, yet >hebrews and james say that faith without deeds is useless, saying' You fools, >do you still think that just believing is enough?'  Actually I don't think there is any conflict if we really understand what these passages say.  First, what is faith?  If you study the  meaning of the Greek and Hebrew words so translated I think you will come to the conclusion that the word means a *lot* more than mere  belief.  Faith means both trust and action.  If you do not put your  belief into action it simply cannot qualify as faith.  I think this  is what James means when he says that "faith without works is dead"  and, "I will show you my faith by my works."  Remember James was  writing to "the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad."  This  probably means he was writing to those who would hear the gospel much  later and wouldn't understand the meaning of the original Greek. (Indeed I suspect James was writing to us, today, among others he intended to reach.)  Paul, on the other hand wrote mostly to the people of the Roman empire who generally understood the meaning of the Greek.  Another key to why there is no conflict is to look at Paul's statements in their context.  I think you will find that when Paul contrasts faith and works it is in the context of comparing the gospel with the Law, meaning the Law of Moses.  This was the great burden of Paul's life.  As the apostle to the Gentiles he would go convert a bunch of people, then the "Judizers" would come along and try to convince them that they also had to obey the Law of Moses (cf Acts chapter 15).  In this context Paul condemns the idea of being saved by the works of the Law, saying that we are saved by the blood of Jesus and our faith in him.  I believe that a better translation for today would be that we are saved by *faithfulness*.  I think "faithfulness" today has a meaning closer to what the original writers intended.  >Now if someone is fully believing but there life is totally lead by themselves >and not by God, according to Romans that person is still saved by there faith.  I think you misunderstand Romans.  What Paul is really saying is that God prefers a faithful Gentile who does not "keep kosher" to a kosher Jew who fails to stay faithful in the more important matters of following the Lord and having charity toward his fellows.  >But then there is the bit which says that God preferes someone who is cold to >him (i.e. doesn't know him - condemned) so a lukewarm Christian someone who >knows and believes in God but doesn't make any attempt to live by the bible.  In the sense of faith described above, you cannot have real faith and  be lukewarm.  If you know God but are lukewarm (unfaithful), you are  worse off than the person who never heard of Him.  Remember, Jesus in the parable of the pearl of great price (Mat 13:45-46) and again in the one on the treasure hidden in the field (Mat 13:44) indicates that the price of the Kingdom of God is *all* we have.  [I agree with you in general, including the fact that "pistis" has some of the force of "faithful".  However if you take that too far, you can end up with something that Paul definitely would not have intended.  Being faithful means following God in all things.  To say that we are saved by being faithful is very close to saying that we are saved by commiting no sins.  I assume that's not what you meant.  I have almost given up on finding a specific verbal formula that completely captures this.  However I think Paul is describing what I'd call a basic orientation, including aspects such as trust and commitment.  Jesus speaks of it as rebirth, which implies a basic change.  We may still do things that are sinful, and may fail to show the new life in Christ in many situations where we should.  But in any Christian there had better be the basic change in orientation that Jesus calls being born again.