CIRA International refute Jesus; Justified by faith alone?

In answer to the video "Islamic Original Sin Dilemma: Introduction: Are Muslims Born Sinless?"

James2:20-25
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

As the Quran eloquently says

35:10"To Him do ascend the good words and the good deed lifts them up"

the righteous word and the righteous action are presented as inter-dependent. No action can be righteous merely on the basis of its external and apparent form unless it has a righteous creed behind it. And no righteous creed can be reliable unless it is supported and confirmed by a person's action

6:158"On the day when some of the signs of your Lord shall come, its faith shall not profit a soul which did not believe before, or earn good through its faith".

As for Genesis 15, it doesnt say Abraham's faith counted as righteousness in God's sight and nothing else. Nothing could be further from the truth, and it is ironic that the very one who distinguished himself by his deeds is actually being used by pauline christians to advance the hellenistic concept of justification by faith alone. A few verses down and again later in Gen26:5 it says it is Abraham's obedience to God's will that secured his divine favor meaning faith alone was not sufficient. In Ps106:30-31 it is Phinehas' deed that

"was credited to him as righteousness".

The exact same expression is used in both Gen15:6 and Ps106:30. David says in his prayer to God that his favors and rewards were directly due to his spiritual cleanness, righteousness and obedience to the divine commands 2Sam22:21-26. In his Psalms17:15 David states that it is righteousness that will bring him closer to God. Righteousness through obedience to God's laws as a means of salvation is a recurrent theme in David's psalms, see Ps18:21-25,19:12. This is a consistent idea, present also in

Prov11:5-6"The righteousness of the innocent will straighten his way, but the wicked will fall in his wickedness. The righteousness of the upright will save them.."

again in

Isa32:8"But the generous person plans generous deeds, and he, because of generous deeds, shall stand".

The importance given in the HB to deeds is only natural, given that the foundation of religion is based upon the fulfillement of God's decrees, a God whom is described in 1Sam2:3 as

"the Lord is a God of thoughts, And to Him are deeds counted".

As to

Isa64:5“and all our righteousness (are) as filthy rags.”

Its a long prayer of confession where Isaiah compares the righteousness of a SINFUL generation to filthy rags. It isnt speaking in general. The prayer continues by asking God to return to His servants and have mercy on the righteous sons of Jacob (63:17). As is clear, the passage doesnt dismiss all people's righteous deeds as useless, only those coming from insincere and sinful people. This isnt something strange, whether Jesus or the Quran would equally later denounce religious hypocrisy.

Just as taught in Islam, God's gracious reward in the hereafter is what the true follower of Jesus strives for in this world. This striving is done through the accomplishment of specific deeds, and not mere declaration of faith. A day will come where the people will be divided into groups; those that did the works that Jesus prescribed, will enter the heavenly abode while those that did not, will go to Hell Matt25. Jesus therefore warned

Matt5:17,19"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them..whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Throughout Matt7, Jesus revives the spiritual aspect of the law

"do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets"

Then he says that "by their fruit" (deeds) one can recognize evil. He explains that

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven"

Belief is not sufficient, one must act upon that belief in accordance with God's will. Those who merely professed faith, Jesus will rebuke them

"I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"

and he finishes with

"everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand".

The same connection is made in the HB, by the prophet Micah for instance, between a sinful life and a weak "home" that will ultimately collapse on its inhabitants Micah6:10, or in the Quran, of the one whose building collapses for having built it on weak (spiritual) foundations 9:110.
So how does one "put into practice" Jesus' words other than through obedience to the law which Jesus qualified as his "way"? How does one know whether he is truthful in his claim to be a believer when a moral crisis arises, or demonstrates that his house isnt "built on sand"? A simple declaration of faith isnt sufficient

James2:19"I remind you demons believe in God!"