THE PARADOX OF FAITH AND WORKS

Bible text: James 2:14-26

INTRODUCTION

A paradox is a seemingly contradictory statement that is still true. There are several of such in Christian theology. The argument over faith and works is much like the chicken and the egg paradox. Of course, we know that for there to be an egg, there must be a mother hen. Yet, a hen cannot exist without hatching from an egg. Just as this question was a great challenge and debate for ancient Greek philosophers, so, it is with the argument of faith versus works for many believers.

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO A BELIEVER, FAITH or WORKS?

THE BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF FAITH AND WORKS

What is faith?

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]”

  “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for has happened and an assurance about what we do not see.” Faith is that which assures us that our hope is reality, even though we cannot yet see it. If we have faith, we are convinced that what we believe is real, true, and reliable. The biblical object of faith or the foundation upon which our faith is built is the person and work of Jesus Christ. Heb.12:2a” 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,”

 

What are works?

Works are a person's actions or deeds. Work is that which we perform for some kind of reward. We work at our jobs and expect to receive a wage for it. Even working on a voluntary basis has its own reward—praise from others, a feeling of good will, etc. In the context of salvation, works refers to good deeds we do, especially religious or charitable acts or the observance of the Old Testament law. Acts 10:38 38”How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him” explains the kind of works Jesus did, which he also said we will do greater than in John 14:12 “12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”,

The Faith versus Works Debate

Faith versus works debate often comes up in discussions of salvation. For a person to become saved, he must have thought about it and believed, believing is then leads to faith in Jesus Christ to save him.

There are many who say that a person is saved based on some mixture of faith and works this is however this school of thought is unscriptural because the bible says The Bible teaches salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, apart from any works we do. In the faith versus works debate, the two sides maintain that either we are saved by faith (and faith alone), or we are saved by works (or, more commonly, works added to faith). Which side is correct? What is the biblical relationship between faith and works?

Are works required for salvation?

Scripture is clear that the work required for our salvation are Christ's, not ours. Jesus fulfilled the law Matthew 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” In fact, “the law (works) was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith”. Galatians 3:24” So that the Law served [a][to us Jews] as our trainer [our guardian, our guide to Christ, to lead us] until Christ [came], that we might be justified (declared righteous, put in right standing with God) by and through faith.” Jesus' sacrifice on the cross reconciled us to God (Romans 5:10), and as He died, Jesus proclaimed that the work was finished (John 19:30).

Hence, our works do nothing to earn or maintain salvation. It was the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ that justifies sinners, Romans 3:24 “[All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus”, “Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” Galatians 2:16 “Yet we know that a man is justified or reckoned righteous and in right standing with God not by works of the Law, but [only] through faith and [absolute] reliance on and adherence to and trust in Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). [Therefore] even we [ourselves] have believed on Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law [for we cannot be justified by any observance of the ritual of the Law given by Moses], because by keeping legal rituals and by works no human being can ever be justified (declared righteous and put in right standing with God)” We begin by faith, and we continue in faith: “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard and FAITH? WE RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT BY GRACE.

Eph.2:8-9AMPC “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

WOULD IT BE WISE?

After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” Galatians 3:2–3AMPC” Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying the Law and doing its works, or was it by hearing [the message of the Gospel] and believing [it]? [Was it from observing a law of rituals or from a message of faith?] Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh?”

If salvation is by grace, does it preclude works? Grace is, by definition, unearned, and Scripture makes it clear that God's grace in salvation destroys the argument for human effort:  “If by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” I SAY I WILL DASH YOU 1000USD, BUT YOU HAVE TO CLEAN MY HOUSE FOR 10 DAYS, WOULD IT STILL BE A DASH?

Romans 11:6 “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast”. If our works could save us, then Christ died for nothing Galatians 2:21.

What then is the argument of James about works?

Works are the product of faith. Those who have true faith in Jesus Christ will be “eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14). John the Baptist called for “bearing fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). Apostle James emphasizes the nature of true saving faith as that which results in good works: “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” and “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:17, 26 - ESV).

Grace through faith saves, and that faith is manifest in works. If someone claims to have faith yet exhibits no good works, his or her faith is “dead,” or non-existent.

THE QUALITY OF “WORKS” you do is a testament to the QUALITY/LEVEL OF FAITH you have, now let’s look at why this is so,

Why is faith without works dead?

James says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). Faith without works is a dead faith because the lack of works reveals an unchanged life or a spiritually dead heart that indicates UNBELIEF, remember that FAITH IS THE PRODUCT OF BELIEF, JUST AS WORKS ARE THE PRODUCT OF FAITH. If you don’t believe, you won’t have faith, if you don’t have faith, you can’t produce righteous works…. There are many verses that say that true saving faith will result in a transformed life, that faith is demonstrated by the works we do. How we live reveals what we believe and whether the faith we profess to have is a living faith.

UNSCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATION OF James 2:14–26 creates a works-based system of righteousness, but that is contrary to many other passages of scripture. James is not saying that our works make us righteous before God but that real saving faith is demonstrated by good works. We do it because we have faith, not because our salvation depends on it.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO HELP OUR STUDENTS/PEOPLE KNOW THAT works are not the cause of salvation; works are the evidence of salvation and salvation doesn’t depend on your works. However, works indicate if you have faith, which also indicates your spiritual state.  Faith in Christ always results in good works. The person who claims to be a Christian but lives in willful disobedience to Christ has a false or dead faith and is not saved. Paul basically says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality, Nor cheats (swindlers and thieves), nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.

James contrasts two different types of faith—true faith that saves and false faith that is dead. Many profess to be Christians, but their lives and priorities indicate otherwise. Jesus put it this way: “By their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:16).  Technically, this means by their works we shall know them, a very practical example of this is shown in Heb.11:4 “By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.” Saying we believe in Jesus does not save us, nor does religious service. What saves us is the Holy Spirit's regeneration of our hearts, and that regeneration will invariably be seen in a life of faith we live, with clear cut obedience to God.

 

Faith without works is dead because:

1. It reveals a heart that has not been transformed by God. The Unseen faith will becomes seen in our lives by the production of the fruit of the Spirit as stated in Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,”.

2. Faith results in a new creation, not a repetition of the same old patterns of sinful behaviour. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

CONCLUSION:

The faith versus works debate, then, is really no debate at all because both faith and works are integral parts of the Christian life. Biblically, faith is the cause of salvation, while works are the evidence of it. Those who pay lip service to faith but who do not possess the spirit will hear Christ Himself say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers” (Matthew 7:23), while those who want to constrain salvation to works and activities should pay close attention to Heb.11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

We should also note that the conversation stretches beyond just the instance of salvation. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus Christ was talking to believers: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” He was admonishing even believers to show their good works. There are many fantastic Christians in the Church, but their colleagues see them as being wicked. This is not because they shun unrighteousness, but they deny others their rights and lack kindness. Note Daniel 4:27 and John 12:3-8.

SALVATION IS A GIFT WE RECEIVE BY FAITH, WHILE OUR FAITH IN GOD IS PROVEN BY THE QUALITY OF RIGHTEOUS WORKS OUR LIVES PRODUCE.