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Over 500 years ago, Martin Luther brought about the seminal Protestant
Reformation which overturned the Roman Catholic tradition regarding
justification by works. Luther taught that we are saved by grace
through faith alone, and not by works in accordance with Pauline
theology.
Ephesians
2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and
this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works,
so that no one can boast.
By this,
however, Paul did not mean to say that a person is not required to
do any good works at all as a saved believer in
Christ Jesus. The
impression given by many evangelists when they share the gospel to
the lost is that once a sinner prays the sinners’ prayer from
his heart, he is saved and is guaranteed a one-way ticket to heaven.
As along as the sinner has genuine “faith,” he is the recipient
of God’s grace for eternal life regardless of what he does or
does not do after that with his life. This is not true. Look what Paul
taught in the very next verse.
10 For
we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God has prepared good works for us to do
If we are really saved by grace through faith, we have been created
in Christ Jesus to do good works. We have been transformed to become
a new creature in him. And we will desire to do the good works which
God has graciously prepared in advance for us to do. If we do not do
these good works, then either we are not really saved and created in
Christ Jesus, or we simply fail for some reason to do these good works
which God has prepared for us to do. Either way, we have not made it
to the finish line.
Jesus
taught in the parable of the sower in Luke 8 that some people who
hear his word fail to mature and bear fruit
for him because they
are choked by life’s worries, riches and wealth. But those who
hear the word with a “noble and good heart” retain it,
persevere, and succeed in produce a crop for the Lord. It would appear
that only the latter finish the race. Works, which include producing
good fruit for the Lord, must accompany genuine salvation.
James
2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith
but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose
a brother or
sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to
him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but
does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same
way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Luther’s misplaced zeal
In his
zeal for what the Lord had revealed to him about God’s
grace, Martin Luther had no use for James’ epistle since it taught
the necessity of deeds and action for salvation. Luther even hoped
that James’ epistle would be removed from the Bible since it
contradicted what he taught. But by God’s grace it was not to
be. His Word stands. Faith without words is dead and cannot save us.
18 But
someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show
me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I
do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe
that—and shudder.
The outward evidence of saving faith is deeds. But faith without deeds
is useless for eternal life. Even demons believe there is one God but
obviously do not have good deeds.
20 You
foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered
righteous for
what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see
that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith
was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled
that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him
as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
The evidence of saving faith
What was
the evidence that Abraham really believed God and possessed true
saving faith? It was his obedience to God
in offering Isaac on
the altar. His obedience to God’s command made his faith complete.
It is this that makes Abraham the model of faith that New Testament
believers should follow. We must also prove that our faith is real
by obeying God’s commands with action and deeds.
24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith
alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous
for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off
in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without deeds is dead.
Rahab
was a prostitute, an outright sinner. But her sins were forgiven
because she believed and feared God. The proof
of her faith was in
providing lodging to the spies and saving them. In the same way, we
sinners are forgiven of our sins by faith in Christ Jesus. And we will
demonstrate our sincere faith by the action of obeying God’s
commandments.
Luke 10:25
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he
asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How
do you read it?”
27 He answered: ”‘Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all
your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do
this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And
who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem
to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him
of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A
priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the
man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came
to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan,
as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took
pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on
oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an
inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and
when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man
who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Faith
that brings eternal life will result in obeying God’s
commandments to love Him and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This
obedience involves visible action and sacrifice.
Obedience and the Great Commission
Matthew
28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely
I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Faith
that brings eternal life will also result in our obeying Christ’s
Great Commission to disciple all nations. When Jesus Christ comes in
his glory, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. At that time
he will separate the nations into two categories: the sheep for eternal
life, and the goats for eternal punishment. The basis on which he separates
them will be their works or lack thereof, and not whether or not they
go to church or call themselves Christians. Their good works will be
the outward evidence of their inward saving faith.
Matthew
25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his
glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in
heavenly glory. 32
All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the
people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come,
you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom
prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry
and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something
to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes
and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison
and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did
we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to
drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing
clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and
go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever
you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for
me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from
me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil
and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger
and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe
me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry
or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and
did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you
did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous
to eternal life.”
Conclusion
During these last days, the Church must repent of the teaching of
extreme grace which minimizes or even nullifies the importance of works
in salvation. The consequence of this teaching is a generation of Christians
which is faith-challenged, immature, carnal, and fruitless for Jesus
Christ. Obedience and holiness have taken on near-pariah status since
they have to do with works and thus appear to insult the spirit of
grace. Because of her sickly condition, the Church has failed to fulfill
the Great Commission even after 2,000 years.
We think
that by preaching extreme grace and God’s
unconditional love apart from our obedience, the crowds will flock
to our churches
and into the kingdom of God. Everyone wants a free lunch. But we have
been deceived. The extremely poor health of the Church around much
of the world is the evidence for it. The city of Houston, which boasts
perhaps the two largest churches in America, elected an openly
gay woman as its mayor in 2009. The Church has failed in its role as
the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). It is ultimately a failure
of
teaching
sound doctrine.
It is now time for the Church to repent and to prepare herself for
the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Her righteousness must be imputed
as well as practical and actual. She must be without spot or wrinkle
by faith as well as in practice and reality.
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