What about works?

When you read something like this, what jumps out at you?

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb 10: 24-25)

If you are like many Christians, you might read that and see this:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb 10: 24-25)

What are we supposed to be doing along with “going to church”? We are to stir one another up to love and good works, or in some other translations: “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (NIV); “stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (NASB) and “to provoke unto love and to good works” (KJV). Just for fun, here it is in the Icelandic Bible: Gefum gætur hver að öðrum og hvetjum hver annan til kærleika og góðra verka. Look at the words the author of Hebrew is using: “spur”, “provoke”, “stir”. Those are strong words and unless the translation is faulty it certainly sounds like we ought to be at least encouraging one another to good works and love. Note that the audience is a Christian one, so in no way is the author of Hebrews suggesting that we are justified by these works. It is evidence that in our traditions we can read something and our eyes just skip over what we disagree with and go right to what we want to read.

There have been a number of postings lately reading the necessity of good works as a sign of the fruit of a Christian. There has been a perhaps understandable overreaction to works given that we are in the stream of Christianity that has rejected Rome and her heretical teachings on justification. That doesn’t give us leave to put blinders on and pretend the Bible doesn’t have anything to say about works, the Christian life, being a follower or disciple of Christ.

Now whenever you use the “W” word, you invariably get people running to the end of their chain and frothing at the mouth like a junkyard dog. Let me be clear: there is nothing salvific in works. You cannot save yourself, you cannot help save yourself. Your very best works are nothing more than filthy rags before God and reliance even in part on your own works for your justification is an affront to God and a slander against the cross.

Let me be equally clear. If you base your salvation on agreeing to a doctrinal statement, membership and regular attendance at “church” and the receipt of sacraments without the slightest evidence of a changed heart, you are not saved. A Christian, someone who is a new creation in Christ, cannot help but be changed and manifest that change in the way he lives. The idea that you can mechanically perform religious rituals on a scheduled basis as evidence of being born-again is culturally based nonsense.

Let us turn to the Bible and not take my word for it. First, the passage above in Hebrews 10 places a great deal of emphasis on provoking one another to good works, spurring one another to good deeds. We would look askance at a person who claimed to be a Christian but was forsaking the assembling of the saints. We should look the same way at someone who claims to be a Christian and assembles with the church but neither provokes nor exhibits a zeal for good works. Let’s consider Titus 211-14:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2: 11-14)

Renouncing ungodliness and worldly passions! Living godly lives! Not indifferent for good works, zealous! What are these good works we are called to? Contributing to the local church? Regular attendance at church? Partaking of the “sacraments”? Listening to a sermon? Reading your scriptures daily? That doesn’t appear to be the case. We read a lot about caring for the poor, orphans, widows. Attending church for a couple of hours a week is not living a godly life. It might be part of it but it is not sufficient in and of itself.

Some people might argue that we are not all “gifted” that way. Joe likes doing that sort of stuff so he is “gifted” for service. I am not so I have no obligation to serve anyone else. Baloney!

I am not minimizing the importance of justification by faith alone. Nor am I suggesting that evangelicals of all stripes do not practice good works or pray for sanctification. I am concerned that an overemphasis on Sola Fide to the exclusion of other important Biblical doctrines can lead to antinomianism on the one hand or a practical, if not doctrinal, hyper-Calvinism on the other. We don’t preach the Five Solas, we preach Christ and Him crucified. It is absolutely vital that we understand how a sinner is saved so that we don’t stray into a works-salvation or preach an external piety apart from a changed heart. It is also vital that within the church we don’t preach a dead religious faith that seeks an intellectual assent instead of a changed heart.

It strikes me that in the Pauline literature especially we see a couple of themes to Paul’s writings. One is justification for certain and doctrine in general. Paul spends a great deal of time reminding the early church plants of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, typically because someone was trying to twist it into something else. Paul also spent a lot of time on how the church should live as the church. The two go hand in hand, doctrine and practice. Often we find that we get the doctrine right and the practice dead wrong or vice versa. We cannot have one and not the other. Titus 2 is hardly the only places Paul calls us to good works or commends others for their good works:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph 2: 8-10)

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness….. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. (1 Tim 6: 11; 18-19)

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Phil 2: 12-13)

Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work. (1 Tim 5: 9-10)

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. (Titus 2: 7-8)

The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people…. And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. (Titus 3:8; 14)

Heck, we might be better off referring to Titus not as a “pastoral” epistle but a “good works” epistle! What about Peter?

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. (2 Peter 1: 3-15)

There is that stirring up again! Peter has no qualms about reminding us to “supplement your faith with virtue” because if we exhibit these qualities (again writing to a Christian audience), “they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. If we fail to make “every effort” we will find ourselves unfruitful. Boy if that doesn’t describe the church today, what does? We like to talk and talk and talk about calling and election but Peter says that we make our calling and election sure by the practice of godliness. What Peter appears to be saying here is that the surest sign of our election and calling is that we are engaged in good works as a result of and not a cause of our salvation.

Then of course there is James, that most difficult of books and one that Luther famously referred to as an “epistle of straw”. It hardly seems necessary to remind readers of what James said, but just for fun let’s take a look.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. (James 2: 14-26)

We accept James as a legitimate part of the canon of Scripture so we need to take heed to what James is saying. What if Abraham had said “I believe you Lord!” but refused to sacrifice his son Isaac? Would his mere profession have been enough? Or is it that his willingness to sacrifice Isaac was evidence of his faith? Lots of people have faith in lots of things, but their faith will not save them. It is only faith in Christ and total reliance on Him that saves us and that faith invariable produces fruit. I wholeheartedly affirm Sola Fide and God’s gracious election and calling. I also wholeheartedly affirm what James says “faith apart from works is dead” and that sort of empty, dead faith cannot save anyone.

Our good works, done as a result of our changed heart and done Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory!) are a witness to the world and a verification of us that we are in receipt of this blessed salvation. Don’t fear works, embrace them! Not to be saved but to bring glory to God because He saved us, that His name may be glorified, that we may be a light to this world.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5: 16)