For centuries people have argued about whether good works or simple faith guarantees the soul's salvation.
Some people insist that faith in Jesus alone saves us, while others live as if their own works or good deeds will buy God's love and a place in heaven.
Does faith produce salvation, which then motivates us to do good? Or, conversely, do our good works move God to grant us grace, thus inspiring our faith? The answer depends on whether God's Word or man's logic is the source of our assurance.
Who do you believe? Before we attempt to decide whether we believers are justified to God through our faith or through our works or both, we need a clear understanding of both faith and works, and a look at God's Word on the balance between the two.
What is Faith? Does Hebrews 11:1 suggest that to have faith is to believe we will get anything we hope for if we ask God? No--faith is not a magic wand.
The entire chapter of Hebrews 11 does say that faith substantiates for us God's guarantee to keep all of His promises, even when we do not yet detect the fulfillment.
When we have faith, we don't worry about whether or when God will keep His promises.
Faith assures us that His promises are true; we know that we know that we know.
Faith tells us that though we may fall short, God cannot fail.
God's perfect faithfulness casts a shadow in each believer's heart.
The closer one moves toward Him, the larger the shadow--one's faith.
We must study God's Word to know His promises before we can assert faith in them.
The greater our knowledge of God's Word, the stronger a foundation we have for our faith.
If I don't know God's promises, my faith will be based on misapprehension or fantasy.
I will expect things from God that He will never deliver, and then I will find myself disappointed.
I may even become bitter against God--all because I did not bother to learn what I should expect from Him.
Lasting faith requires first learning God's promises and then believing those promises.
What are Works? Works (as used in this context) are simply good deeds, especially those performed in some form of service to God.
Jesus gave His life to redeem us, and expects us to do His work on earth (Titus 2:14, Ephesians 2:10).
Our works should glorify our Heavenly Father (Matthew 5:16), by expressing the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness that He has planted in us (Galatians 5:22).
No one could be saved eternally before Christ's death and resurrection, because all we had was the law and our works.
Try as we might, salvation through our efforts to live by the law was impossible (Romans 9:32).
Whether our good works mean little or much to our neighbors while we're on earth, our own efforts cannot carry the value of our works into eternity.
Jesus warns us in Matthew 23:5 not to do good in order to show off for men.
And in 2 Peter 3:10, we are notified that when Christ comes again and the world ends, the works of men will be gone forever.
But if we are saved before we die, we will receive rewards in heaven for what we have done for Christ's sake.
(Revelation 14:13) First-hand Answer I had faith when I accepted Christ in my heart.
I had faith when I let myself be baptized.
The missing thing that made me ask, after my baptism, "what now?" was a relationship with Christ, which can never be developed without Bible study and prayer.
I can no more have a genuine relationship with Jesus without interaction and time spent with Him, than I could claim to be the best friend of a neighbor down the street to whom I've barely introduced myself.
My works in honor of Christ also form a major part of our bond.
When I learned to hold the hand of a stranger and pray for that person, I knew Christ a tiny bit better.
When I used the strength of Jesus to visit a dying friend and smile instead of cry, I felt His presence.
Obeying the Holy Spirit when He told me to give away a brand-new, never-worn pair of hundred dollar high heels (more than I had ever spent on a pair of shoes), empowered me to laugh with my Savior like a friend.
It's not my small works in themselves that are significant, but the fact that these acts pay tribute to my Lord by following His example.
The acts I perform don't buy Jesus' love, but they help me connect to Him.
My motives matter more to God than my deeds.
Only faith in Him can motivate me to work for the advancement of God's glory, rather than for any other reason, however noble that reason may seem to man.
That's why Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
" (KJV) Human definitions of "good" mean nothing to God.
As Jesus declares in Mark 10:18 (and in Luke 18:19), only God is truly good.
No act of mine holds any water with the Lord except that I perform it for Him, through the direction of His Spirit.
The idea that God Almighty would reward my behavior on its merit, in the absence of faith, is so presumptuous it's beyond ridiculous.
How could a perfect God possibly be impressed with my character? His will is that I accept Him as my Savior, and then as my Lord and Master, so that transforming myself into His image becomes my reason for being.
What Does the Bible Say About Faith versus Works? We are saved by faith, James tells us, but we please our Creator by acting out our faith through our works.
Yes, He knows my mind and heart, but I cannot show Him my faith except through my works.
In fact, I can't claim to have faith without works, because that is not possible.
Where faith is planted and nourished, it grows and produces fruit.
That fruit is the body of work the faithful one performs in honor of God.
As our Lord tells us in Matthew 12:33, "the tree is known by his fruit.
" We who have faith in Him are His fruit.
Our fruit is itemized in Galatians 5:22, by the apostle Paul: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.
" And Paul further explains, in Ephesians 5:9, that "the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.
" Salvation begins by faith and not by works, but getting saved is just the beginning of life for a Christian.
With salvation comes responsibility.
Baptism is no more the destination of my Christian walk than a wedding ceremony is the finish line for a bride.
In either case, after the event comes a lifetime of exercising the will to love.
As a Christian, once I give in to faith and Jesus saves me, my response must be to spend the rest of my days running with Christ toward the goal of our eternity together.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
-- Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
-- What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled: notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble, but wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? --James 2:14-20, KJVJames 1:27, KJVJames 1:22, KJV Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
--NIV