One of the main divisive issues between different churches among those who are attempting to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ is the relationship between WORKS and SALVATION.

It is not an issue of whether good works are desirable, or whether the Lord wants us to practice them, for all agree that they are, and that He does.

The issue is "whether or not works play a part in a person being saved and going to Heaven when he dies." Or, as some put it, it is the issue of whether or not WORKS have a part in God's "Plan of Salvation."

The Christian way of salvation is basically this:

1. Outside of Christ, every individual is helplessly lost in sin--even the best of us! (Isa 64:6 KJV:) "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Gal 3:22:) "But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."

2. Because we were helplessly lost in sin, God gave His Son to die, and sinless Jesus willingly took our sins upon Himself and died in our place on Calvary's Cross. "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 3:16) "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." (1 Pet 2:24) "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Cor 5:21)

3. The only way we, then, can be saved is to trust in the atoning sacrifice that Jesus provided. (Acts 4:12:) "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Rom 3:23-26) "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

The important question then is this:

DO WORKS PLAY A PART IN A PERSON'S SALVATION?

Some say NO, and give Scripture: (Eph 2:8-9) "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: {9} Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Others say YES, and give Scripture: (Phil 2:12) "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

And thus this issue, and difference of opinion concerning it, has caused division among professed followers of Jesus down through many generations.

And many teachers have taken in hand to explain and resolve this issue, and have been unsuccessful because they have gone about it in the wrong way. By this I mean, one side takes his set of Scriptures to "prove" works have nothing to do with salvation, and ignores the Scriptures of the other side, while the other side takes his scriptures and ignores those of the first. The listener is left to conclude that you can make the Bible teach it either way, and thus we just decide which Scriptures we like best and ignore the others. But that's not what we are going to do today. We are not going to look just at "our" Scriptures, but we are going to look at those of both sides. Why? Because the Bible says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Tim 3:16)

Titus 3:4-7 says: "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Paul told Timothy, of God, "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began," (2 Tim 1:9).

But then on the other hand, we are told that God will judge us according to our works. (Mat 16:27) "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works."

Speaking of God, the Apostle Paul told the Romans, "For he will repay according to each one's deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality." (Rom 2:6-11 NRSV)

(1 Pet 1:17 KJV) "And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:"

(Rev 22:12) "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."

(Rev 20:12-13) "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."

QUESTION: If our works have nothing to do with being saved, then what's all this about God judging us according to our works?

In an effort to explain this, those who teach that works have nothing to do with salvation take a passage from First Corinthians 3 and say if we do evil works, it will take away from our reward in the hereafter, but will not cause us to be lost. If our works are not right, we may not be as richly rewarded--there may not be as many stars in our crown--we may have "just a little cabin in the corner of gloryland" rather than a mansion--but we won't be lost.

BUT THIS IS A GROSS MISREPRESENTATION OF FIRST CORINTHIANS 3. It might seem to be saying this at first glance, but if you look more closely, you'll see it's not saying this at all.

1 Cor 3:13-15 says: "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."

But what is the WORK being talked about here? It is NOT the life or the deeds of the Christian, but rather his CONVERTS! Look at it in context: (1 Cor 3:6-15 NRSV) "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (That is, converts to Christ, additions to the church.) So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building. (The converts are what's being built.) According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation (attempts to make converts) with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, (that is, if the convert remains faithful.) the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, (if the convert doesn't make it) the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire."

Being "judged by our works" means that if our works are not right we are not going to make it to Heaven! (Mat 7:21-23 KJV) "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

(Acts 10:34-35) "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him."

(Gal 5:19-21) "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." --It's not that they are just not going to get as great a reward: they're not going to inherit the kingdom of God!

(1 Cor 6:9-10) "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

BUT, WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN WHEN IT SAYS WE ARE NOT SAVED BY WORKS?

When the Bible says salvation is not of works, it simply means that we cannot buy it (1 Pet. 1:18,19); we cannot earn it; we cannot deserve it. It means salvation is not the product of our own recognizance, it does not come of human merit or achievement. Yes, that's what it means. Look: (Eph 2:8-10) "For by grace (unmerited favor) are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: {9} Not of works, lest any man should boast. {10} For we are his workmanship, (what He has made) created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Again: (Rom 3:23-28 NRSV) "Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law." Salvation is not a thing of self-achievement, therefore it is not something we could boast of.

(Rom 4:1-8 NRSV) "What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness. So also David speaks of the blessedness of those to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the one against whom the Lord will not reckon sin."" Thus the works we are not saved by are works of merit, works whereby salvation would be our "wages."

THE THOUGHT OF SALVATION BY WORKS CONTRASTS THE IDEA OF SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH. There are two kinds of works. One is the work of faith through which we ARE saved. The other is work of human achievement through which we can never be saved.

Concerning the work of faith, the Bible favors it. (Gal 5:6 KJV) "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." (Rom 1:5 KJV) "By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name." (Rom 16:26 KJV) "But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith." (Acts 6:7 KJV) "And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith."

(James 2:14-24 NRSV) "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone."

CONSIDER THE TWO TYPES OF WORKS:

(Gen 11:1-9 KJV) "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."

These people were trying to get to Heaven by works, but it was not the right kind of works. It was the works of human achievement, and not the works of faith!

ANOTHER EXAMPLE: (Josh 6:1-5 NRSV) "Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the Israelites; no one came out and no one went in. The LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers. You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. When they make a long blast with the ram's horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead."" (And as we read on, they did it, and it did.)

The city of Jerico was a "gift" to the children of Israel (Josh 6:2, KJV). They did not get it by human achievement. Yet their faith had to work to the extent that they would march around the city 13 times, blow the trumpet and shout before God would cause the walls to fall. This was a work of faith.

But suppose instead, that they had said, 'Get us some sledge hammers, battering rams and crowbars, and we'll help God take the walls down.' "Wait a minute!" you say. That would have meant that they did not fully trust God to get the job done. EXACTLY! One work was a work of faith. The other would have been a work in opposition to faith. That's the difference... and that's the way it is with our salvation!

After we have obeyed the gospel and lived the faithful Christian life, have we been saved by our own works? Not at all! Jesus said, (Luke 17:10 KJV) "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."

Joshua and his men could not have expected God to make the walls fall if they had not marched. And neither can we expect salvation if we do not obey God. (Heb 5:8,9 of Jesus:) "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." (2 Th 1:7-9 KJV) "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."

(Mark 16:15-16 KJV) "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." (Rev 2:10 KJV) "...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

Do you want to go to Heaven? Then don't trust in yourself... trust in Jesus. But you'll have to obey Him so that you can receive the gift of eternal life (Rom. 6:23).

(Acts 2:38-39 NRSV) "Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.""

 

-- Emerson Blythe