IF WE ARE BOTH studied and serious about our Christian faith, we know well that we can do nothing to earn our salvation. Just as in the first Adam there is no righteousness before God, so there is no effort of our unconverted spiritual nature that can produce a work worthy of attaining righteous stature before him. We may be fine and honorable people, compassionate and philanthropic towards others, and honoring God by the faithfulness of our obedience to his commandments, yet we will fall irreconcilably short of his standards since our nature and his exist at exponentially incomparable levels of difference. It is only in the second Adam—Jesus—that this difference in natures and difference in righteousness can be reconciled from God’s perspective, no matter what we may think or believe otherwise.
The attempt to reconcile justification by faith rather than works has long tormented the teachings of the church of Jesus Christ—by whatever flavor of denomination—through the various developments of the dogma of organized religion. It has also been a torment to the soul of sincere individuals trying to harmonize their quest for reconciliation to the God of their religion, as interpreted in the beginning of their pilgrimage, to the progressively revealed God of their spiritually maturing journey.
Both Apostles Paul and James deal with this same matter, and on the surface of their texts seem to offer opposing views. Paul, in a linchpin verse of evangelical Christianity, says “in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Rom. 1:17) James writes, seemingly in opposition, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:14, 17)
You and I, deeply and honestly pondering such matters in our own attempts at an authentic and sincere expression of faith, must somehow come to grips with not ‘just’ being reconciled to God, but reconciling a scripturally weighted balance between faith and works that is commensurate with clear biblical teaching. God, as Paul tells us, “is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.” (1 Cor. 14:33) And, we should indeed view these matters in a context beyond our own individual faith journey.
Our answer is found by separating, before uniting, the issues of righteousness that are found uniquely wedded each to salvation and to rewards. First, we clearly biblically understand that salvation is a unique transformation that is a ‘work’ of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and is from an exponentially different prototype, that of the realm of heaven and not of this earth. It is separated from any work of righteousness that our unconverted spiritual nature may perform. His atoning death on this earth is God’s acceptable sacrifice in heaven, and therefore becomes our only righteousness. In the Book of Acts—that is, the acts of the Holy Spirit—this is emphatically underscored: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Second, both James and Paul speak of the value of works, but from different, yet not competing perspectives. The value of works for James is the observable validation of our statement of faith—the salvation that is uniquely accomplished in, by, and through Jesus is attested to by our visible acts, or works. James points to Abraham’s offer of Isaac on the altar, and says “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” (James 2:22) In respect to our own works he concludes, “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” (James 2:24)
For James, as it should be for us, this is a hypocrisy check; however it is one best applied to ourselves and not to others. Applied to others, it may become legalism, and be seen as condemnation. Applied to ourselves, it is a reality check that weighs the perspective of our real against our ideal identity. This is the value of James’ perspective, and it does not emphasize the value of rewards in heaven.
Paul’s most cogent teaching on the value of works, in respect to both salvation and rewards, begins this way: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:10) He specifically conjoins both matters, saying “our work will be shown for what it is. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” (1 Cor. 3:13-15)
There is no need to reconcile Paul and James’ theologies—they are the same. The real need is to reconcile our own reality of faith, and in that to be assured of our reconciliation to our Father. Salvation remains what it has always been since the Father revealed the Covenant of Grace—a work of the Lord Jesus, received by us in faith. There are rewards in heaven, and our work on earth determines what those rewards are. The bible is not silent about the fact that there are rewards. It is silent about what those rewards will be. Paul speaks to this mystery, partially quoting Isaiah: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.” (1 Cor. 2:9-10)
Q. Do my works make my faith visible to others?
Leave a Reply