1) Paul, in Romans 4:1-3, tells us that Abraham was justified by faith in Genesis 15:6. But Hebrews 11:8 says, "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going." This is referring to Genesis 12:1-4, which happened before Genesis 15:6. If Abraham had faith and acted on it in Genesis 12, why did he have to wait until Genesis 15 to be justified? Doesn't the evidence seem to point to justification as a process rather than a one-time declaration?
2) Why was Abraham justified in Genesis 15:6? He didn't accept God or begin to believe anything new about Him. All he did was believe that God would give him many descendants. How can this event qualify as the moment of justification in Protestant theology?
3) In Numbers 25:7-8, Phinehas kills a dissenting Israelite man and a Midianite woman, and Psalm 106:30-31 says that this act was credited to him as righteousness, using the same phrase applied to Abraham in Genesis 15:6. How can this be reconciled with sola fide?
4) Why does Paul say that we will be judged by our works in Romans 2:6-8?
5) If James was not dealing with the same issue as Paul, then why did he use the same language? It would have been much clearer had he said that works prove our faith rather than say that works justify us. By saying, "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone," he put faith and works on the same level, implying that they justify us in the same way. Where in his epistle does he indicate that he's only saying that works accompany true faith rather than actually justify us?
