Faith or Works?

Faith or Works?

As I sat on the mower and mowed most of the property at my job today, I thought about faith and works, which our Christian community as a whole seems to struggle with.  Depending on who you talk to and what type of Christian faith they have been raised in, you will get a whole variety of answers about being saved in relation to faith and works.  Some say that faith alone without any other change in the person's life is all that is necessary to go to heaven.  Some say believing in Jesus is important but your works are what get you to heaven.  Some will say that being a good person is the only thing that matters.  You will even hear from time to time someone say that neither faith nor works matter because God is too loving to allow anyone to perish.


I am always perplexed by the shear magnitude of interpretations people can come up with utilizing the same Biblical text as their evidence.  In a world that is highly resistant to the idea of absolute truth, the world's contention is that each person is right to have and believe their own truth.  I personally believe the Bible wasn't created so we could all find our own separate truth and way to heaven.  I believe God created the Bible through men as a way for us to know the one way to eternity in Heaven.  Though many would disagree with this statement, I believe the Bible is perfectly created as a instruction manual on how to live life with God and for God allowing us to find complete joy and peace in God.


The main passages dealing with being justified in Christ through faith or works are as follows:  

• For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20
• For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Romans 3:28
• For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:3
• And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. Romans 4:5
• You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. James 2:24
• For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. James 2:26

These verses represent the battlegrounds for many Christians who argue for why they are right about their belief on either side of the faith or works argument.  The problem with this is that James in no way refutes what Paul says in Romans.  He just adds to Paul's argument about justification.  James is not arguing against being justified by faith.  He is only saying that in being truly saved your genuine faith will produce works.  This can be seen as James speaks about true faith and fake faith in the full passage of James 2:14-26.

As I was thinking about this concept, the Lord laid on my heart an example of what James is talking about in terms we can understand.  Say I told my wife I love her and yet did not show my love in anyway.  I refused to encourage her, want to get to know her, have any desire to hang out with her, or allow her to get close to me without being repulsed.  On top of all this, I spent time hanging out with other girls, hugging everyone else I met, giving people praise, and always jumping at an opportunity to hang out and get to know other people.  

Now on the other hand, I tell my wife I love her and spend the rest of my life trying to learn new ways to show her.  I love spending time with her and learning about each facet of who she is.  I am happy to take the time to craft a wonderful expression of my love.  I am more than willing to announce my love for my wife on the nearest mountain top or park bench.  When people look at us together they can see how passionately in love I am with her.  


Though I said I loved my wife in both scenarios, which one do you truly believe to be real love?  The works are not what makes my love true but are in fact evidence of my true love.  It is in my actions that the love within me is visible to others.  So what James was talking about at the end of chapter two is the difference between saying you have faith and living your faith.  The works do not save you but they are a natural out crying of the genuine faith you have.  When you have true faith just like when you have true love, you just can't keep from living out the implication of this glorious belief inside you.


So just as Paul says in Romans you are indeed justified by faith alone but as James expounded upon your true faith will indeed produce works in your life.  So I ask you today.  If you profess to be a follower of Jesus and have faith that Jesus indeed is the savior who came to this world lived, taught, died, and rose again, can you see natural culminations of works in your life as an outpouring of this faith and love you have towards Jesus?  If not, I hope you will take some serious time to examine whether you truly know or have faith in Jesus at all.  If you discover that your faith indeed is genuine, then never let the devil keep you from living your faith daily.  If you discover that you have never truly known Jesus, I hope you will take a true leap of faith today and allow the Holy Spirit to work a true change in your walk and heart.


Blessings,


Another good resource on this topic is Are we Justified by Faith (Romans) or Works (James)?.  In the article on Carm.org the author goes much deeper in explaining the issue than I can.  

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http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3437&url=roadtofreedomforproclaimingchrist