I think this shows pretty well what Jordan Peterson means when he talks about what "believing" in God actually means

Good stuff. Belief is more than mere mental assent, although mental assent is an element of belief.

Matthew 7:21-23 -

"Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' (Matthew 7:21-23, RSV-CE)

Matthew 25:31-46 - [too long to drop here]

Luke 6:46-49 -

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." (Luke 6:46-49, RSV-CE)

John 3:36
He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.

Here St. John summarizes it beautifully - It isn't an either/or thing...It's both...

Thaddeus73 said:

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John 3:36
He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.

Here St. John summarizes it beautifully - It isn't an either/or thing...It's both...

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I think that can be read to equate "belief" and "obey."

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

- Ephesians 2:8-10

Works of the law -- Circumcision, only eating kosher foods, don't touch the dead--are no longer valid in the New Covenant. Good Works - Almsgiving, helping the poor, visiting the sick, visiting the prisoners, giving food and water and clothes to the poor, etc.-- are a very necessary component of our faith in action. Matthew 25:31-46 and James 2 make that very clear.

Elmer Dobkins said:

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For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

- Ephesians 2:8-10

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Just to be clear, I think we can all agree with this, as long as we recognize that Paul's reference to works in verse 9 is a reference to adherence to the laws of Moses, not good works generally. This is substantiated by the contrast of his immediate reference to good works in verse 10.

When Jesus first called Andrew, Andrew didn't turn around and say, 'I believe in you!' and then went back to fishing.

Love God with all your heart……

Requires belief and results in obedience.

It is both. I believe whole-heartedly in sola fide, and I believe that saving faith manifests in obedience/good works. This is the heart of the issue from James 2.

Quote:

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James 2:1426
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believeand shudder!
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"and he was called a friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

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Works justify, or prove, that one's faith is genuine.

The following I wrote in seminary related to this topic, and maybe someone will find it helpful...

James 2:23 finds itself in a passage (2:14-26) where James is discussing the relationship between faith and works. He is answering his own questions given in verse 14, "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" James' primary concern in this section is not how one becomes righteous before God, but rather that faith, if it is a genuine, saving faith, will necessarily manifest itself in good works. To illustrate this point, James says, "If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?" The implied answer to this question is given in the next verse: "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." James argues that faith without works is dead, and therefore it is not a genuine, saving faith.

James continues with another illustration, this time from the story of Abraham, to further emphasize his point "that faith apart from works is useless" (2:20). In verse 21, he writes, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?" James clarifies in the following verse that Abraham's faith was active along with his works, and his faith was completed, or fulfilled, by his works. The verb used for "completed" in verse 22 is telos, which implies that the action was brought to its intended outcome or goal. This means that the intended outcome of saving faith is good works. This is what James means when he wrote in verse 21 that, "Abraham was justified by works…" Abraham's faith was not a mere intellectual assent, but rather one that actively obeyed God.

This then brings James to write in verse 23 that "the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"and he was called a friend of God." Abraham's works seen in Genesis 22 proved that his faith, expressed in Genesis 15, was genuine. Abraham's works verified the authenticity of, or "justified" (verse 21), his faith. Verse 23 is necessarily located at this point of the letter because it grounds the believer in the truth that one is counted righteous before God by faith alone, but that faith is always accompanied by obedience and good works. 2:23 is essential for this letter because it is surrounded by moral exhortations and imperatives which must be obeyed, but with the correct understanding of the relationship between faith and works. The one who does good works in faith will be considered a "friend of God" just as Abraham.

tacosalpastor said:

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It is both. I believe whole-heartedly in sola fide, and I believe that saving faith manifests in obedience/good works. This is the heart of the issue from James 2.

Quote:

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James 2:1426
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believeand shudder!
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"and he was called a friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

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Works justify, or prove, that one's faith is genuine.

The following I wrote in seminary related to this topic, and maybe someone will find it helpful...

James 2:23 finds itself in a passage (2:14-26) where James is discussing the relationship between faith and works. He is answering his own questions given in verse 14, "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" James' primary concern in this section is not how one becomes righteous before God, but rather that faith, if it is a genuine, saving faith, will necessarily manifest itself in good works. To illustrate this point, James says, "If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?" The implied answer to this question is given in the next verse: "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." James argues that faith without works is dead, and therefore it is not a genuine, saving faith.

James continues with another illustration, this time from the story of Abraham, to further emphasize his point "that faith apart from works is useless" (2:20). In verse 21, he writes, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?" James clarifies in the following verse that Abraham's faith was active along with his works, and his faith was completed, or fulfilled, by his works. The verb used for "completed" in verse 22 is telos, which implies that the action was brought to its intended outcome or goal. This means that the intended outcome of saving faith is good works. This is what James means when he wrote in verse 21 that, "Abraham was justified by works…" Abraham's faith was not a mere intellectual assent, but rather one that actively obeyed God.

This then brings James to write in verse 23 that "the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"and he was called a friend of God." Abraham's works seen in Genesis 22 proved that his faith, expressed in Genesis 15, was genuine. Abraham's works verified the authenticity of, or "justified" (verse 21), his faith. Verse 23 is necessarily located at this point of the letter because it grounds the believer in the truth that one is counted righteous before God by faith alone, but that faith is always accompanied by obedience and good works. 2:23 is essential for this letter because it is surrounded by moral exhortations and imperatives which must be obeyed, but with the correct understanding of the relationship between faith and works. The one who does good works in faith will be considered a "friend of God" just as Abraham.

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I know this is going nowhere but it just has to be stated: the simplest way to understand what James said is to simply accept what he says: it is not faith ALONE that justifies. Whatever else he says the one thing that is unambiguously clear is that James says faith alone does not justify. This is precisely what he says. This necessarily means one of two things: 1. Nothing justifies or 2. faith in addition to something else justifies. 1. is not an option if you want to believe that justification is possible.

So, this begs the question of what else in addition to faith does justify? Does James say anything about that?

Thaddeus73 said:

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Love is more important than faith, per St. Paul....1 Corinthians 13:13: "So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

In my dealings with evangelization, I have found that a lot of Christians lead with their head knowledge of the bible, rather than with love and with their heart. While head knowledge is good, leading with the heart, I think is always the best....

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Agree.

The word "that" in "can that faith save him" is not right. It is a theologically motivated translation. The word used there is an article, but is not demonstrative (ie it is not used to say this vs that). Accordingly it is very often simply omitted from the translations to English. The scripture simply says, can (the) faith save him? In other words, if you have faith but not works, can the faith save you? (No).