FAITH AND WORKS

C.K.Hsieh

            'For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law.  For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved' (Rom 3:28; 10:10)

            "If you really fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture ... you do well.  What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works?  Can his faith save him?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead' (Jas 2:8,14,17,26)

These two statements, written by Paul and James respectively, seem to be blatant contradictions of one another.  Based upon these, how can one decide which is more important, faith or works?  In fact, they are both essential.  That is the reason why the Epistle to the Romans with its emphasis on faith and the Epistle of James with its emphasis on works are both included in the Bible.

I.       Works Must Follow Faith

Although faith and works are equally important, the former is the prerequisite for the latter.  Both are indispensable.  Let us now examine the relationship between the two.

            'What shall we say, then?  Those Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but that Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law did not succeed in fulfilling that low.  Why?  Because they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were, based on works.... ' (Rom 9:30-32)

Paul's statement here is neither a rejection of works nor an abolishment of the righteousness based on law.  Rather, he emphasizes that the pursuit of this righteousness must be based on faith as well as on works.  Is he not then, in effect, saying that works must follow faith?

            ”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 competed by works, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness and he was called the friend of God.  You see that a man is justified by work, and not by faith alone.” (Jas 2:21-24)

By emphasizing works in this statement, James does not mean to deny the importance of faith . Instead, he uses Abraham's works as evidence of his faith.  Therefore, he is stressing that faith is made perfect by works. Thus, isn't James also saying that works must follow faith?

II.    The Law is Not Abolished But Upheld by Faith

            “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith?  By no means!  On the contrary, we uphold the law.” (Rom 3:31)

Paul's statement that "A man is justified and saved by faith" (Rom 5:1; 1:17) does not abolish the law, but implies that works are made perfect by faith, serve as well to fulfill the law of righteousness, and are necessary unto salvation.  He also wrote, "So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (I Cor 13:13).  Paul desired a believer to acquire hope through faith and to subsequently manifest love.  The manifestation of love is the fulfillment of the righteousness of law.  The key is love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law (l Tim 1:5; Col 3:14; Rom 13:8).

            Lord Jesus said, "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matt 5:17).

Generally speaking, the law can be subdivided into ritual law and moral law.  The ritual law was fulfilled through Jesus' crucifixion.  According to the Bible, this law (related to sacrifices) deals only with food and drink and various ablutions, regulations for the body imposed until the end time of reformation (when Jesus fulfilled salvation) (Heb 9:10).  He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances (Eph 2:15).  On the cross He said, "It is finished" and bowed His head and gave up His spirit (John 19:30).  The clause "It is finished" represented a fulfillment of both salvation and the ritual law.

By relying on the Holy Spirit, we can fulfill the moral law through the manifestation of our love.  As Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with fill your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it, You "shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets" (Matt 22:37-40).  How then do we manifest love--the aim of moral law?  Paul said "...God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled  in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." He also said, "walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.  But if You are led by the Spirit you are not under the law" (Rom 8:3,4; Gal 5:16,18).  Therefore, man fulfills the righteousness of law through the power of the Holy Spirit, which comes only from a belief in Jesus. This is the reason why faith fortifies the law and fulfills the righteousness of the law. Thus, we can understand the justification by faith mentioned by Paul in Romans 9:30-32.

III. God Will Use the Book of Life and the Books of Works* to Judge the Men on Earth

As recorded in the Book of Revelation, "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened (The author believes that these books are the books of works, which record men's deeds).  Also another book was opened, which is the book of fife.  And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done ... and if any one's name was not found written in the book of fife, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Rev 20:12-15).  Therefore, on the Last Day, God will judge the world based on what is recorded in the Book of Life and the Books of Works.  The Books of Works (Dan 7:10; Mal 3:16) will serve as an important reference to decide if any names should be added to or deleted from the Book of Life (the final record of those who are saved) (Rev 20:15; 21:27; Luke 10:20; Dan 12:1).

In general, there are three types of people who can have their names recorded in the Book of Life:

1.       Those Who Are Destined by God Before the Foundation of the World

 a.      "...even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.  He destined us in love to be His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the Purpose of His will" (Eph 1:4,5).  "His sons" refers to those who can have a part in the HeavenlyKingdom, whose names are recorded in the Book of Life.

 b.      "God chose you from the beginning to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth" (2 Thess 2:13).

 c.      "All who dwell on earth will worship it [the beast rising out of the sea], every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of the Lamb that was slain" (Rev 13:8; 17:8).  Those who worship the beast cannot be saved.  How could their names possibly be recorded in the Book of Life?

2.       Those Who Believe in the Lord and Receive the Grace of Salvation

 a.      "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God..." (Eph 2:8).

 b.      "He who believes in the Son has eternal fife; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life..." (John 3:36).

 c.      "He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit" (Tit 3: 5).

 d.      "in Him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory" (Eph 1:13,14).

 e.      Those who believe in the Lord and have received water baptism as well as the baptism of the Holy Spirit have their names recorded in the Book of Life.  Their sins are redeemed and they have subsequently received the Holy Spirit as definitive evidence of their status as heirs to the HeavenlyKingdom.

3.       God Will Render to All Men According to Their Works

 a.      "For He renders to every man according to His works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, He "gives eternal life ... glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.  For God shows no partiality" (Rom 2:6-1 1).  This verse indicates that the Lord will "give eternal life" to those who do good, i.e. their names will be included in the Book of Life.

 b.      "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil according to what he has done in the body" (2 Cor 5:10).  The Lord can still remove any name from the Book of Life based on a poor or deficient account in the Books of Works.

 c.       The Lord said to Moses, "Who ever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book" (Exo 32:33).

 d.      David also writes, "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous" (Ps 69:28),

IV.  The Three Stages to Salvation                                

Paul said, "For by grace you have inheritance been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God… " (Eph 2:8).  To receive salvation from God one must first and foremost believe in Jesus.  There are ultimately three steps to salvation:

1.       The Preparatory Stage (Repent and Believe in Jesus):

As stated in the Scripture, "...Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1: 15).  The Gospel is the Good News, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).  Therefore those who wish for eternal salvation must repent and believe in Jesus.

2.       The Essential Stage (Receive Water Baptism and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit):

Jesus said, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).  Paul also wrote, "He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit" (Tit 3:5).  Being baptized by water and the Holy Spirit is the true salvation.  Water baptism has the power to wash away the sins of men, in order that they may be justified by God and become His children (Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Cor 6:11; Gal 4:5).  The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of inheritance of the HeavenlyKingdom (Gal 4:6; Eph 1: 13,14).  The TrueChurch has the Holy Spirit.  Thus, its water baptism redeems sins and its members can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit-the ultimate criterion of the children of God.

3.       The Accomplishment Stage (Pursue Holiness Through Spiritual Cultivation):

Having received the baptisms of water and the Holy Spirit, the next task for a believer on the road to salvation is the pursuit of holiness through spiritual cultivation with the aid of the Holy Spirit.  Without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14).  Spiritual cultivation includes daily Bible study and prayer as well as putting the teachings of the Word of God, i.e. love, into practice.

 a.      Sanctified in the Truth

Jesus Christ once prayed to the Father on behalf of the disciples, asking Him to sanctify them in the Truth which is His Word (John 17:17).  Therefore, through the Word of God (the Bible), believers should pursue sanctification.  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16,17). It is essential for a believer to let the Word of Christ dwell in him richly in order to accomplish the work of sanctification (Col 3:16).

 b.      Sanctified by the Holy Spirit

In addition to sanctification in the Truth, a believer must be sanctified by the Holy Spirit.  Sanctification in Truth comes from reading the Bible; sanctification by the Holy Spirit comes from constant prayer.  Paul stated many times that one must be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the Truth (2 Thess 2:13; Rom 15:16; 1 Cor 6:11; 1 Pet 1:2).

Jude also encourages the believer, "But, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal fife" (Jude 20-21).

If a believer can devote time and effort to spiritual cultivation (praying and reading the Bible), he will be sanctified and will have the capability to perform good works through which he may manifest love towards God and men.

V.     Conclusion

The above-mentioned three stages to salvation encompass the progression from faith to works. We should examine ourselves to determine at which stage we are, so that we may direct our efforts appropriately.  It is the author's personal opinion that most of our believers have not shown enough effort towards spiritual cultivation, but are instead complacent in the belief that through water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit all sins are redeemed and guarantee is received to enter the Heavenly Kingdom.  Let us remember the scripture, "without holiness, no one will see God" and so strive for spiritual cultivation through prayer and reading the Bible.

The believers of other denominations emphasize repentance and good works as the means to salvation; unfortunately, they have not received true salvation through the correct water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Since other denominations do not have the Holy Spirit their performance of the water baptism does not effect the remission of sins.  It is not surprising then that, unaware of this effect, many of them treat water baptism as a mere formality.

Many modern day atheists for the example of the Jews of the apostolic period in trying to use their works in pursuit of fulfillment of the law of righteousness.  They give the excuse that as long as a person does not go against his conscience in doing anything evil, it is not necessary to believe in any religion or believe in Jesus.  Some claim that they can be saved through asceticism alone.  It is the author's hope that everyone on earth will be able to understand the correct way to salvation (Prov 14:12).

*The term ‘Books of Works’ is not mentioned in the Bible per se, but was coined by the author based upon his own understanding of the Scriptures.