According to Paul Sadler the book of James teaches that both faith and works were required for salvation :

"According to James, Abraham served as a 'pattern' to the circumcision that faith and works were 'required' for salvation under their program" [emphasis added] (Sadler, "Studies in the Epistle of James", The Berean Searchlight, January, 2006, 10).

Pastor Sadler says that the program revealed in the book of James is based on a "performance system":

"We should add that the gospel of the circumcision and the gospel of the kingdom are inseparably bound together. Both are based upon a 'performance system.'It is this program and message that James was laboring under when he wrote his epistle" (Ibid., 8).

Despite these clear words of Pastor Sadler which assert that "works" were required for salvation according to the book of James he contradicts his own words when he says at another place that those who lived under the same program were saved when they believed and they could not lose that salvation:

"The Lord said to Nicodemus under this same program, 'That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life' (John 3:15,16). Those who believe in Him here are said to have eternal life. We know from the record that Nicodemus responded to the Master's words and received eternal life" [emphasis added] (Sadler, "The Life and Letters of the Apostle Peter", The Berean Searchlight, August, 2002, 10).

Surely Pastor Sadler's words here cannot be misunderstood. He is saying that those who "believe" in Him are said to have eternal life and Nicodemus received eternal life because he responded to the words spoken by the Lord Jesus. Pastor Sadler then says that this same method of obtaining eternal life is also true in regard to those who received the Epistle of James:

"When the Word of the Lord, in conjunction with the conviction of the Spirit, pierced through the darkness of Nicodemus' heart he responded in faith and was wonderfully saved! This was also true of those to whom James was writing, which in their case gave them the privilege of being called the 'first fruits of God's creation'" [emphasis added] (Sadler, "Studies in the Epistle of James", The Berean Searchlight, November, 2005, p.9).

Pastor Sadler says that Nicodemus was saved when he responded in faith and that is also true in regard to all those to whom James was writing in his epistle. Pastor Sadler makes it plain that they were saved by the Word of God, writing that "Not only were they saved by the Word of God, they were to make an application of it in their lives" [emphasis added] (Ibid., 10).

Pastor Sadler refers to those who received the Jewish epistles as "kingdom saints", and he says that once saved they could not lose their salvation:

"While there are those who believe the kingdom saints could lose their salvation, we are not of that number" (Sadler, "The Life and Letters of the Apostle Peter", The Berean Searchlight, August, 2002, 10).

If words have any meaning then we can understand that Pastor Sadler teaches that once the "kingdom saints" believed the Word of God then at that moment they were saved and they could not lose that salvation. That leaves no place for "works" of any kind contributing to their salvation in any way. That completely contradicts Pastor Sadler's assertion that "faith and works were required for salvation" in regard to the same kingdom saints.

The following words of the Lord Jesus were spoen to the Jews who lived under a so-called "performance system" in regard to salvation:

"Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life" (Jn.5:24; NIV).

J.C. O'Hair wrote, "The statement of our Lord Jesus Christ, recorded in John 5:24, should certainly give assurance to any one whose trust is in the Word of God...The believer has eternal life. The believer shall not come into judgment. The believer has passed out of death into life. Most certainly God wants believers to have a positive 'know so' salvation, the real assurance of salvation. Hear God's own Word:

"The Greek word, translated 'know', is 'iedo', and the other definition in the Greek dictionary is 'perceive' and 'to be sure'. Can you not see then that God wants you to know, 'to be sure', that you have eternal life; because you believe unto the salvation of your soul. You did not obtain your salvation by earning it or by laboring for it. Neither do you retain it because you are paying for it with your good works" (O'Hair, THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE; "Bible Study For Bereans"; March 1936).

These words of O'Hair should not be taken lightly, especially considering the following words which can be found on the Berean Bible Society Website: "Pastor O'Hair was, without a doubt, the one person who, more than any other, was used of God to establish among believers what Paul, by inspiration calls, 'the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery.' "

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