Are We Saved By Faith Alone? ...

"So we see that a person is justified  by works and not by faith alone."  James 2:24

First, faith is knowledge in action and must take root and grow to be a living, saving faith.  We are not saved by living a good life or achieving human success, in fact, works of the flesh or done apart from the Spirit count as filthy rags in God's sight (Isaiah 64:6), au contraire, we are saved on account of our faith.  Righteousness then is imputed from Christ as we are reckoned as just forensically in God's court but not made just or righteous till we reach glory in heaven and are wholly sanctified and separated from sin forever. 

And we are not saved by works, any Protestant would agree with that and that we are saved by faith.  It is also true that  we are "saved" by faith and works!  What is meant by "saved" is in question though.  We are justified in men's eyes by our fruits. The battle cry of the Reformation was that we are "saved by faith alone!" 

But Catholics say that the Bible never says that but that we are not saved by faith alone in James.  "We are not saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone" is the formula of the Reformers. That kind of faith, that stands without works, is dead faith and cannot save.  True faith manifests itself in works and proves itself.  Do you have anything to show for your faith?  Put it into practice! 

We are known by our fruits or works, not our faith; anyone can claim to have faith but we show it by our works as evidence.  James 2:18 says, "I will show you my faith by my works." Or "I will show you my faith by putting it into action."  God has therefore redeemed for Himself a people "zealous of good works," for which we are "foreordained" to do (cf. Eph. 2:10).  God has prepared certain works for us to do as obedience to His will. 

It appears to men that the faith we have is the faith we show! Remember, our eternal reward is not for our faith but in accordance with our works or deeds (Rom. 2:6; Matt. 16:27; Psalm 62:12; 2 Cor. 5:10). 

We are not therefore saved by works, but not without them either!  If we have no works to validate our faith, it is suspect and dubious or in question.  We must turn our creeds into deeds! Or our faith is spurious!   We must be examples of good works which "adorn" our doctrine. 

To be authentic, we must have a faith that is growing and living in good works.  "Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Col. 1:10). Our faith is not a "to-do list" either, we do not do them because we must or have to but because we want to (our nature has been transformed into new creatures).  True faith expresses itself! 

There are only four possibilities of salvation to consider: works equals justification (religion); faith plus works equals justification (legalism); faith without works as a byproduct equals justification  (antinomianism or libertinism leading to easy-believism ,cheap grace, or "no-lordship" salvation); and finally the correct one of the Reformers is that faith equals justification producing works as a byproduct or fruit. Thus the relationship between faith and works can be distinguished but not separated or divorced.  They go together hand in hand!  

Thus, in conclusion, works do play a role in our salvation, they prove it and make it complete and are not its substitute, and he who thinks he can live as he pleases simply because he has faith is in error and may not be saved at all. Soli Deo Gloria! 

Just And Justifer

"For the LORD is righteous, and he loves justice, / Those who do what is right will see his face" (Psalm 11:7, NLT). 
 "... Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne" (Psa. 97:2, NLT).
"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (cf. Gen. 18:25).

What qualifies God to be our judge?  Remember, God is our Judge; we are not His judge! He judges everyone according to what they've done; even the righteous according to their deeds, not their faith.  God is holy as His chief attribute that regulates all others and is without sin. Because He is just, He is obliged to judge all sin and evil.   Also, Jesus lived the sin-free life as what to expect of us, while the Ten Commandments delineated God's demands and expectations.  We know what to judge by as a measuring rod when we behold the perfect God-man, Jesus the righteous One.  God is a God of justice and sin and evil are incompatible with His nature just like matter and anti-matter cannot co-exist.  He wouldn't be holy if He let sin slide and let us get away with it.

But He did do something that allows a way out of exercising judgment on everyone.  By declaring all guilty of sin in Adam, He has the right to impute righteousness on those who are in Christ.  It's the principle of substitution and representation.  Adam was Christ's prototype and represents us, while Christ is the last example and our substitution that sets us free from Adam's sin.  God is just and must not compromise His perfect holiness and violate justice so He had to find a way to become both Just and Justifier.  He did this by sending His Son to be our replacement or substitute. His wrath is satisfied in Christ who died on our behalf.

God is not only offended by sin, But He's also angry at it and will take vengeance on it in due time.  God cannot even behold or look upon evil!  The only way to appease His wrath is by expiation or propitiation through the blood of Christ.  His demands were fully met and we can have this reconciliation on account of the blood of Jesus.  Note that God doesn't make us righteous but declares us righteous.  Just like God, we ought to be indignant at the evil in the world and for God to avenge in His time.

Now God is unjust to no one!  The exercise of grace and mercy are forms of non-justice but are not injustice.  The reconciled believer has been imputed with righteousness and is considered as if he'd never sinned in God's eyes--as righteous, not sinful.  But Paul says in Gal. 2:17 that the believer is, in reality, both sinner and righteous at the same time.  We never stop sinning but grow in our acknowledgment and holiness as we get to know our Lord.  The believer who thinks he can reach a point of maturity without sin is self-deceived!  This is where confession comes into play.  We must continually confess our known sin to remain in fellowship with God the Father and God the Son, as well as our believers in Christ ("forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us").

We must not reckon that justice delayed is justice denied, for God tarries to exercise His judgment on mankind and in His time the day of grace will cease.  It may appear that the sinner is getting away with cursing God and sin but his day will come and someday he'll give an account of himself.  God's goodness and delay are meant to give us time and space to repent and to bring us to realize our sin by conviction.

By definition, justice is rendering to someone their due desserts!  Giving them what they deserve, good or bad!  But Christians receive both mercy (not getting what we do deserve) and grace (getting what we don't deserve).  What we must realize is that God was not under any obligation of justice to be merciful to anyone--He could've condemned everyone all the same and remain holy and just.  However, to demonstrate His love, He found a way to be both just and justifier and to save some from the consequences of the coming wrath.

If God had to save anyone, it would be justice, not mercy and grace.  We can rejoice that God tempers His justice with mercy (cf. Hab. 3:2), knowing that He was under no obligation to save us, but loves us even while we were His enemies and still in our sin.  Rest assured that no one will ever be punished beyond that which strict justice demands they deserve, even in hell, if they are not covered by the blood of Jesus! 

Don't ask God for justice for your case, but mercy and grace!  Don't just say, "All I want is justice!"  Because you may get it and that is not what you want!  But note that vengeance belongs to the Lord and is not our prerogative or duty, we must have faith that God's will is for our best and He will determine what justice is and mete it out to His standards.  CAN WE BELIEVE IN JUSTICE WITHOUT A JUDGE?   In summation: We should become so convicted that we are great sinners and that God is a great Savior that we plead "guilty as charged":  "... God be merciful to me, the sinner!" (cf Luke 18:13, NASB). and concur with John Bunyan, in his book, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Are Christians Always Obedient?

God gives His Spirit to those who are obedient! (cf. Acts 5:32).    The point is that believers are obedient to the faith (cf. Acts 6:7, Romans 1:5; 16:26).   Nonbelievers are referred to by Paul as "sons of disobedience." The writer of Hebrews equates unbelief with disobedience in Heb. 3:18. John MacArthur says that faith is only manifested in obedience. Paul referred to the "obedience of faith." Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that only he who believes is obedient and only he who is obedient believes. But Uzziah disobeyed God by offering a sacrifice and God made him a leper. King David disobeyed God by committing adultery and conducting a census. Moses even disobeyed God and was kept from entering the promised land. And so all believers are disobedient in some sense.

But Luther said we are sinners at the same time justified. We obeyed the gospel and are considered obedient. Heb. 5:9 says that God gives eternal salvation to all who "obey" Him. Acts 2:39 says, "He gives the Holy Spirit to all who obey Him." And so, if we are Christians who have salvation and the Holy Spirit; consequently we have already "obeyed Him." We are forgiven of all our sins of omission and commission--if we were remiss God filled in the gap in our stead.

When Jesus says, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?" He is talking to unbelievers who didn't obey the gospel to repent and believe in it. There are no believers to whom Christ will say this--we don't just call Him Lord, but we have Him as our personal Lord and Savior. There are no such creatures as "carnal Christians" who have not accepted Christ as Lord; nevertheless, there are Christians who are in the flesh and living defeated lives.   CAVEAT:  CHRISTIANS ARE JUSTIFIED SINNERS (CF. GAL. 2:17).     Soli Deo Gloria!

Justified By Works?

Martin Luther almost didn't accept the book of James as part of the canon, because it seemed to teach justification by works instead of by faith as Rom. 1:17 says. "The just shall live by faith." (Cf.  Hab. 2:4; Heb. 10:38; Gal. 3:11) In fact, the cry of the reformation and rallying cry was sola fide or faith alone. R. C. Sproul points out 4 possibilities of mixing faith and works: (1) Works = Salvation (which is religion); (2) Works + Faith = Salvation (which is legalism); (3) Faith = Salvation - Works (which is antinomianism); and (4) Faith = Salvation + Works (which is correct evangelicalism).

Notice that works and faith all play a part in whether one realizes it or not. Everyone has some sort of faith and does some sort of work. We are not against works per se; just works done in the energy of the flesh instead of the Spirit. In Religion and Legalism works is a "have to" or an "in order to;" according to the gospel works is a "want to" or a "therefore." We see works as an honor and privilege, not a duty.

NB:  we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. Good works always follow genuine faith. Spurious faith doesn't produce genuine works. The gospel is different because of grace and the fact that you can know you are saved. In a works religion, you never know how much works is enough! But religion will always be with us because man is incurably addicted to doing something for his salvation. Jesus was asked what work to do to inherit the Kingdom, and He said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him ..." Faith is our "act", but it is the "work" of God--God doesn't exercise faith, He merely bestows it.

James is talking about a "profession of faith" and Paul is talking about "living faith." For sure, we are saved by faith alone, but not the kind of faith that is alone (without works). Paul is saying we are not saved by the works of the law, and James is saying we need to demonstrate and exhibit our faith. The book of James talks of the human viewpoint. The faith you have is the faith you show! You just can't say you have faith, or you just can't make the claim without proof. You must demonstrate your faith by works. Paul urges us to be rich in good deeds, James to be rich in faith. We are a people "zealous of good works" (cf.Titus 2:14)  Soli Deo Gloria!