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. Even Paul and James wrote on this subject to clarify the matter.
Salvation, 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 one cannot have one without the other. They are all essential for salvation.
Grace is defined by Webster as beneficence or generosity shown by God to man; divine favor unmerited by man; a free gift of God to man for his regeneration or sanctification. Grace is a quality of God that is seen through his sending of 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. Although grace is a completely free gift from God, it must be accepted. God does not force anyone to accept this gift.In order to gain salvation one must believe in God’s grace. When grace is accepted by a person the way they live changes. They understand what an amazing gift as been given to them and they start living a life worthy of God. They change things in their lives that displease God and start putting God first in their lives. By changing these things faith in the Lord is more evident.
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 ourselves are not enough to save ourselves. It is our realization that God's grace is a gift and our our way of telling God thankyou 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 they are 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 thanking God that 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 we might as well call him a non-Christian. Works set us apart as God's people. All three--grace, faith, and works--are important to salvation, but grace is the foudation of salvation.
In Acts 26:18 it says, "To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so that they may receive forgivenss of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." This verse is saying until one is saved, the works that they are doing are not for God. One can not do good works for God, yet still be under Satan's control.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace that 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." This verse is saying that one is saved by God's grace and one's faith and belief in God's promises. The way to tell if someone has true faith is by their works and good fruits that should be evident in their lives.
Proverbs 15:8 says, "The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him." This verse is referring to when one does good works but is not saved, then they are not putting thier whole heart in it and they are not doing it for God, which very much displeases him.
2 John 1:10-11 says, "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine receive him not into your house neither bid him Godspeed for he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds." John is saying that God does not accept men's good works when they choose to reject him as Lord and savior. In the same way, Christians should not go along with what the world promotes. However, Christians should set a good example for others to follow and hopefully one day lead them to Christ. In modern times there is an idea that is rapidly spreading. This idea is that everyone's beliefs are equal and we should be accepting of those beliefs. However, the Bible strongly contradicts this. Christians should stand up for what they know is right, according to the Bible, and refuse to let their brothers and sisters go down the path of destruction. Thank goodness our works are not the only thing that gets us to heaven. When looking at the Bible, Jesus was perfect, and God is completely sinless. Obviously, if good works lead us to salvation alone their standards would be set way too high for men and women who sin everyday. It would take an eternity in hell to pay the price that Jesus has already paid if people would only believe in him.
We all do works (good or bad) because we are humans and we are living everyday in relationship to other people just like us. We might appear to do good deeds, but if our hearts are not in the right place as we are doing them, it is pointless. For example, if you give alot of money to the church but you just do it for the glory and the recognition that will follow, obviously your heart is not in the right place and this is not a good work. However, if you do it secretly and don't make a big deal about it, you are being humble and it is a good work. Works that are done with a bad attitude and bad motivations are sin. Doing good deeds just to try to get into heaven will not get you any closer to heaven at all. You can't be justifiesd by your works. When you do good works, you should do it with a grateful attitude towards God and be thankful for how good he is to you and for sending his only Son to die for you so that you could have salvation. These are the type of deeds that God delights in. These works also begin with faith. God is faithful to us and we should also be faithful to Him by our works. I think that by doing good deeds you also show how much true faith in God you have.