KCU/04/The Gs
Topic 13: Saved by grace, faith, or works?
Question: Based on what you know from the Bible & other sources (including the Theology Matters reading), what roles do you think grace, faith, & works play respectively in Christian salvation? (Be sure to do more research into the issue. If the group cannot come to a consensus, feel free to have different group members each express their own opinions.)
For centuries,Christians have been having discussions about whether it is by faith, works or grace that we are saved.Different church demoninations and different authors in the Bible have varied views on how salvation can be attained. Paul and John say that people are saved as a result of believing in Jesus as the Son of God and in his resurrection. Some churches, like the Catholic church, say that church rituals, particularly baptism and confession, save. Others say that good works and a belief in Jesus' resurrection, Jesus as the Son of God, and Jesus as one's personal Savior and Lord or a combination of all is what saves.
The early Christians also had different views of salvation. The Jewish Christians believed that salvation was achieved by performing temple sacrifices and by following the rules of the Torah. The Gnostic Christians, on the other hand, believed that Jesus was sent by God to impart special knowledge to save humanity. With this knowledge, they believed that one could go to heaven. Another group of early Christians, the Pauline Christians or Roman Catholics, believe that we needed good works and baptism for salvation, forgiveness of sins, and heaven. Justin Martyr, a Catholic Christian Philosopher, reinforced the Catholic's belief by saying that "if men by their works show themselves worthy of His design, they're deemed worthy of reigning in company with Him."
Christians today are still trying to figure out what one must do to be saved. Fundamentalists and Evangelical Christians teach that only those who trust Jesus as Lord and Savior will be saved. They believe that one is justified through faith; the person's actions and his works have no impact on his salvation but show his faith. The Roman Catholics, unlike the Fundamentalists and Evangelical Christians, believe that infants are "justified when they're baptized into the Roman Catholic church." When the infant is mature to the point where he's accountable for his sins, he is no longer justified whenever he sins. They believe that church sacraments can restore them to salvation, and a person's actions and regular presence during sacraments determine if they go to heaven. The Catholics believe that only they can be saved. The Liberal Christians generally reject the idea of Hell as a place of eternal punishment for those who don't believe in Jesus. They tend to believe that everyone will go to heaven after death. Finally, the Mainline Christians teach beliefs that correspond with those of Evangelicals, Liberals, or which lie between these two extremes.
Although Christians from centuries ago and Christians today still argue on the subject, the question of how salvation is attained still remains unanswered. Is it by grace, faith, or works? “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.” “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Each one of these verses alone may lead people into believing that they can get to Heaven with either grace alone, faith alone, or works alone. However, upon more research and reading more verses, it is clear that the Bible is not "sliced bread." We cannot concentrate on one verse alone, take it out of context, and ignore the rest of the passage. It needs to be read as a whole in order to be understood. Therefore, when all the passages that talk about salvation are read as a whole, we find that grace, faith, and works are all essential for salvation.
Grace is defined by Webster as beneficence or generosity shown by God to man; divine favor unmerited by man; and a free gift of God to man for his regeneration or sanctification. Grace is a quality of God that is seen through his sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Grace is not earned but given freely as a gift to man from God. Although Paul makes it clear in Acts 20:32 that grace is the foundation of salvation, it is not sufficient for salvation. Because God does not force anyone to accept this gift, one must accept it and believe in it in order to gain salvation.
This act of believing in God's grace is called faith. Faith is defined by Mirriam Webster as a belief and trust in and loyalty to God; it is a belief in the traditional doctrines of religion; trust; and something that is believed especially with strong conviction. As Mark Black says, "Faith has an objective and subjective element. It is a belief that Jesus died for sins and was raised, and it is trust that our sins have been removed. In other words, faith is our recognition that we have nothing to offer God and that we have no hope outside that offered because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is also our complete confidence that God accepts us on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus." This quote from Black basically sumarizes what faith is and its role in salvation. When we accept the grace of God and the fact that he sent his Son to die on the cross, we are actually telling God that we are not enough to save ourselves. It is our realization that God's grace is a gift and our way of telling God thank you for it.
We have seen that grace is God's free gift to human kind and that faith is our acceptance of it. What then is the role that works play in salvation? In Isaiah 64:6 it says that "all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away", while in James 2:14, James ask the question, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?" These two verses, when taken out of context, seem to contradict themselves. The following passage from James 2:15-26 gives us a clear idea about the role that works play in salvation:
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,"
but does not do anything about his physical needs, what good is
it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied
by action is dead. 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. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even
the demons believe that--and shudder. You foolish people, do you
want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our
ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered
his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and actions were
working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 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.
You see that a person is justified by what he does; not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered right-
eous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them
off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without deeds is dead.
An interpretation of this passage would be that works is the spirit of salvation--what makes it alive. Works come after we have been saved, they are an answer to the gift of salvation, and they are a sign that we have been saved. When we do good works, in a way, it is like showing God that we are grateful for his gift and that we will do something good for him in return. Works also differentiate between faith that is dead and faith that is alive. If a person says that he is a Christian, and yet keeps on living a sinful life and does not do anything good for God, this person's faith is dead and he might as well be called a non-Christian. Works set us apart as God's people.They're proof that we are Chrirtians.Good works and good fruits will be evident in a person who has true faith. One can't be justifiesd by his works. Good works should be done with humility and gratefulness towards God for His goodness and for sending His Son to die. These are the types of deeds that God delights in. Again, these works begin with faith. God is faithful to us; therefore, we should also be faithful to Him by our works.
As we have seen, all three--grace, faith, and works--are important to salvation. We cannot have one without the other; they all need to work together.