In the light of James 2:20 and Philippians 2:12
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Are we saved by the good
works that we do? The Bible gives an explicit answer to this
question,
“For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works so that no one can
boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do
good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
(Ephesians 2:8,9)
In this scripture we will
learn that: (1) without the initiative of God to save us through his grace
and without our faith in that initiative of His, we cannot be saved; once
we are saved only then can we (2) do the good works God prepared in
advance for us to do as an acknowledgment for that gift of salvation.
Despite the light of the
Scriptures many of today’s people argue that you must do this and do in
order to be saved, eat this and not that, observe this day and not that
day, be baptized and be discipled, or be part of the “true”
church to be saved. Do they know the consequence of this type of
mentality? Apostle Paul put it this way:
“Know
that a man is not justified by observing the Law, but by faith in Jesus
Christ. So we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be
justified by faith in Christ and not observing the Law, because by
observing the Law no one will be justified...I do not set aside the
grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the Law, Christ
died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:16-21).
That is:
Christ died for nothing, if
salvation is gain through the Law.
Christ died for nothing, if
salvation is gained through baptism.
Christ died for nothing, if
salvation can be gained by observing certain days.
Christ died for nothing, if
one can join an organization (or a church for that matter) in order to
be saved.
Yes, Christ died for nothing
if salvation can be attained through good works.
“If salvation is not gained through good works why do we do good
works in the first place?” James gave the answer:
“What
good is it my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?
Can such faith save him?... In the same way, faith by itself, if it is
not accompanied by action is dead”
It would appear that James is
contradicting the writing of Apostle Paul to the Ephesians. Here, James
said,
“faith
by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead.”
It seems contradictory until
we understand further. The answer is in verse 18,
“show
me your faith without deeds, and I will show my faith by what I do.”
We must remember that James
was writing to the scattered Jewish Christians.
He addressed his epistle to those already “ believers”
(not to those who would-be believers.) He wrote his epistle to
those who profess Christ in words but not in action. They failed to show
their faith in the commands of the Lord Jesus.
Philippians 2:12 will help me elaborate further:
“Therefore,
my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, and
now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with
fear and trembling.”
Now
you might say, “ I thought it would help me understand, but why does it
says, ‘work out your salvation with fear and trembling?’”
It seems like salvation is attained through good works; but as you
continue to read the following verse (v.13):
“for
it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good
purpose.”
That is, as Oswald Chambers
put it, “You did not do anything to achieve your salvation but you must
do something to exhibit it. You must ‘work out’ your salvation which
God has worked in you already.”
For example, let me ask you a question: “When did Abraham received the
promise of God, before or after circumcision?”
Didn’t he receive the promise first and then circumcision was
commanded by God to seal their covenant. “When did the Israelites
received their salvation from Egyptian bondage, before or after receiving
the Law from Sinai?”
They received the Law after God saved them from the hardened Pharaoh. In both examples, Law and circumcision alike are
the seals or signs that perpetuated or reminded them of their redemption.
So do the good works of the Christians of today--He gets born again (saved) first and then baptism symbolically seals the
union with what Christ did and then good works demonstrates that
salvation. Whenever a person receives
the Lord Jesus, he does not receive only His name but also he acknowledges
His
titles--Savior and Lord! We receive Him as the Savior because apart from
what He did, we can never be bought from the slavery of sin and darkness.
We receive Him as Lord because He is the Sovereign One in our life. What
He says counts more than any what other people say, His commands take
precedence over our emotions, prejudices, temperaments or belief.
Now dear friend are you saved
by being a member of your congregation or by regularly attending your
church? Are you saved by the good works that you do? If you answered “yes,” to any of the above questions, shame on you because you proclaim
that the Christ died for nothing. But if you said “no,” be assured
that:
“If
you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans
10:9-10).
You and I are saved by grace
through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, faith in what the Lord did for you, faith in His life,
death and resurrection.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus, our Lord” (Romans
6:23).
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