S. Faith and Works
Faith and Works
There is perhaps no greater confusion among Roman Catholic Christians and Evangelical Protestant and Pentecostal Christians than the held over controversy of faith versus good works. This controversy best warrants the balance of scriptures necessary in reading the Word of God to understand what God means for us to know. The Bible is clear that faith holds a prominent role in the salvation of every person.
Hebrews 10:38 But my just one shall live by faith ...
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him (God) ... The Bible is equally clear on the role of good works in the lives of a believer.
Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that if they speak of you as evildoers, they may observe your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation.
Revelation 2:2 I know your works, your labor, and your endurance ...
Matthew 5:16 Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.
Then the king will say to those on his right, ’Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ The Bible makes it clear that there must be a balanced relationship between our faith and its expression in good works.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Indeed someone might say, "You have faith and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones.
James 2:20-22 Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.
1 Corinthians 3:8 The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor.
Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment of the inheritance. The Bible indicates that it is wrong to disturb the balance of works expressing a life of faith. Man is not saved by a dead faith.
James 2:24 See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. James 2:26 For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. Nor is man saved by works of the law.
Romans 9:31-32 Israel, who pursued the law of righteousness, did not attain to that law ... because they did it not by faith, but as if it could be done by works. Galatians 3:11 And that no one is justified before God by the law is clear, for "the one who is righteous by faith will live." The Bible declares that salvation is a gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.
Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance to maturity, without laying the foundation all over again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,
... how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
... the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy.
What occasion is there then for boasting? It is ruled out. On what principle, that of works? No, rather on the principle of faith. For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
(We) know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Mental Ascent and Saving Faith
Two phrases are worth introducing here: mental ascent and saving faith. Mental ascent is the mental acknowledgment of something’s existence. The demons acknowledge and believe that God exists. Saving faith is more than mental acknowledgment. It involves a trust in someone, a giving over of ourselves to them. This is the kind of faith that a Christian has in Christ. A Christian, therefore, has saving faith; that is, he has real faith and trust in Christ, not simply an acknowledgment that He lived on earth at one time. Another way to put this is that there are many people in the world who believed that Jesus lived and died: But they do not believe in Him as their personal Lord and Savior.
Mental ascent does not lead to works. Saving faith does. Mental ascent is not of the heart. Saving faith is.
What is James and Paul Saying?
James is simply saying that if you ‘say’ you are a Christian, then there will be some appropriate works manifested or your faith is false (dead). This sentiment is echoed in 1 John 2:4 which says, "If you say you have come to know Him, yet you do not keep His commandments, then the truth is not in you and you are a liar."
Apparently, there were people who were saying they were Christians, but were not manifesting any of the fruit of Christianity. Can this faith justify? Can the dead ‘faith’ that someone has which produces no change in a person and no good works before men and God be a faith that justifies? Absolutely not. It is not merely enough to say you believe in Jesus. You must actually believe and trust in Him. If you actually do, then you will demonstrate that faith by a changed and godly life. If not, then your profession is of no more value than the same profession of demons: "We believe Jesus lived."
Notice that James actually quotes the same verse that Paul uses to support the teaching of justification by faith in Romans 4:3. James 2:23 says, "and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’" If James was trying to teach a contradictory doctrine of faith and works than the other New Testament writers, then he would not have used Abraham as an example.
Therefore, we are justified by faith. That is, we are made righteous in the eyes of God by faith as is amply demonstrated by Romans. However, that faith, if it is true, will result in deeds appropriate to salvation. After all, didn’t God say in Ephesians 2:8-10, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…
Empty Profession
Richard P. Belcher stated, “If one were to suggest that the time would come when a group of evangelical Christians would be arguing for a salvation without repentance, without a change of behavior or lifestyle, without a real avowal of the lordship and authority of Christ, without perseverance, without discipleship, and a salvation which does not necessarily result in obedience and works, and with a regeneration which does not necessarily change one’s life, most believers of several decades ago would have felt such would be an absolute impossibility. But believe it or not, the hour has come.” A Final Word In modern day evangelism I think we have substituted repentance, faith, water baptism and discipleship for reciting a little prayer. The first command for all mankind is repentance toward God, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and water baptism (Acts 17:30; Acts 20:21; Acts 2:38). The apostles even included baptism in the call to faith (Acts 2:28; Mark 16:16). One can hardly read the New Testament without noticing the heavy stress the early church placed on baptism. They assumed that every genuine believer would embark on a life of obedience and discipleship. That was nonnegotiable. Therefore they viewed baptism as the turning point. Only those who were baptized were considered Christians. That is why the Ethiopian eunuch was so eager to be baptized (Acts 8:36-39).
Unfortunately, the church today takes baptism more casually. It is not unusual to meet people who have been professing Christians for years but have never been baptized. That was unheard of in the New Testament church. Unfortunately, we have lost the focus on initial obedience and a faith that works, that is, that expresses itself in actions.
Martin Luther’s statements about Saving Faith
Faith is something very powerful and active which at once renews a person and leads him altogether into a new manner and character of life. What does James mean when he says in his Epistle: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). That is, as the works do not follow, it is a sure sign that there is no faith there; but only an empty thought and dream, which they falsely call faith…Works naturally follow faith…it is impossible for faith not to do them…man should thereby prove and see the difference between false and true faith. The information in these notes were gleamed from the research of Paul Flanagan, Robert Schihl, Dr. John MaCarthur, Martian Luther and Richard P. Belcher.