email: cholt@gt.rr.com
BY GRACE . . . BY WORKS
By Charles W. Holt
Eph. 2:8-10
James 2:14-25
Faith works!
No, I really mean it. Faith works.
But, you may reply, every Christian knows that. My response: not necessarily.
My argument here is that too many have a one-dimensional view of faith. Let me illustrate. If I said "faith works," to those who propose that it is God’s will to heal ALL, that these are the days of miracles, signs and wonders, their instant response would be a resounding AMEN! It is the only way to obtain the miracle of healing, they would say. The person healed would agree, "faith certainly worked for me. I’m healed."
There is no denying that faith brings healing. It was so for the woman with an issue of blood. When she reached out and touched the hem of Christ’s garment, "Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour" (Mt. 9:22 KJV). In the same chapter, two blind men come to Jesus, "and Jesus said unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you" (vs. 28,29). That is one-dimensional faith.
If I said "faith works" to those who propose that it is God’s will that every Christian is to prosper, i.e., be rich, wealthy, "increased with goods and have need of nothing" their instant response would be a resounding AMEN! It is the only way to obtain the abundance of blessings that, they say, is bound in the words, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 1:1 KJV). There is no doubt that faith brings the supply of every need, "according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." And, "thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day" (Dt. 8:18 KJV). That is one-dimensional faith.
If I said "faith works" to anyone, who understands God’s plan of eternal redemption through the shed blood and resurrection of Jesus, confesses as much and is "born again" their instant response would be a resounding AMEN! It is the only way to obtain the forgiveness of sins and receive eternal life. They would be correct if they chose to recite a small part of the so-called "Roman Road" model from Romans 10:9,10, "that if thou shalt confess with they mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Or, Paul’s exhortation to the Philippian jailer saying, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." A sinner so saved could give a ringing testimony, "faith sure worked for me and changed my life." And, oh, yes, we must not forget the crown jewel of all texts in this case that declares, "For by grace are ye saved through faith . . . not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8,9 KJV). And that is one-dimensional faith.
What one thing can we say is the common denominator in all these examples? In each case, where is the focus? For the person who said, "faith worked for me when I got healed" the focus is upon "my healing." Yes, sir, faith works!
For the person who said, "faith worked for me and I have lots of money now," the focus is upon "how rich I am." Yes, sir, you better believe faith works.
For the person who said, "faith worked for me and I am now saved from my sins and if I died tonight I know I would go to heaven," the focus is upon "Jesus saved me." I know absolutely faith works.
In every case the emphasis is upon what each person has received. What I got. What happened to me. These are examples of one-dimensional faith.
The problem with one-dimensional faith is that, in fact, it does not always work. If I asked, "does faith work?" Your first response might be, "Absolutely!" But I am arguing, "absolutely not!" In the Scriptural meaning and application of faith, faith does not always work. If you say this is confusing and seemingly contradictory then I know I am doing a good job at what I have set out to do.
Speaking of contradictions . . .
Has anyone ever said something to this effect: I don’t read the Bible because, in the first place I don’t understand it, and one of the reasons I can’t understand it is because it contains so many contradictions. Does the Bible contradict itself? That’s a good question and deserving of some sort of answer. What answer do you give? I think one of the most honest answers to the question is yes, there are places in the Bible that seem to be contradictory or inconsistent with other portions of the Bible. I don’t have a problem with that. It has been my experience that when so-called contradictions arise (and disputes arise as a result of them) it is found in some fuzzy or otherwise confusing area of what I term as Biblical minutia a.k.a. trivial detail. I will listen to what people have to say, wonder to myself at the amazing deductions they can make (mountains from molehills?) from the proverbial "shred of evidence" without feeling the slightest need to enter into their morass of twisted illogic.
Without fear of contradiction, however, here is where I stand. The central theme and plan of the Bible is redemption. At the core of that theme and plan lies the indisputable fact that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." That "the wages of sin is death." And finally, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life." We have a slogan where I come from. It says, "Don’t Mess With Texas." (For the unlearned among us it is a slogan for an anti-litter campaign.) However, when it comes to the question of sin, sinners, salvation and a Savior: "Don’t Mess With the Plan (God’s plan)"—it is of highest priority.
I say dissect, scrutinize, analyze, and otherwise examine every dotted "i" and every crossed "t" with the skill of a spiritual Sherlock Holmes to point out the inconsistencies of Scripture. Be careful, however, that you don’t stumble over the "stone of stumbling and rock of offence" (1 Pt. 2:8 KJV) -- Jesus. Have as many ideas, notions, examples, etc., ad nauseam about any Bible subject you choose but you must have only one conclusion about who Jesus is, what He did, and your own personal relationship with Him. Miss that and you have missed everything that matters in time and for eternity.
Having said that let’s take one step closer to what the theme of this study is all about. There are plenty of people who are ready, able, and willing to confess that they believe in God, in Jesus, in heaven and hell, etc. That’s fairly easy. In fact, according to some polls taken recently, as many as 50% of Americans believe. Fantastic! According to the poll one half of all Americans are Christians. We are better off than anyone ever dreamed. America is indeed a Christian nation. Why, our churches are running over at the seams with all these "believers." Excuse me, but there seems to be more "professin’ and too little possessin’ going on" to suit me. Let me illustrate.
Once there was a good ole east Texas farmer who had a few acres up near the community of Bullard. He had three sons named Ron, Don and Little John. All of them had their names on the church roll down at the First Church of Bullard (non-denominational, quasi-charismatic) but none ever attended church or had time for God. Oh, yeah, they believed in God and said that they believed in Jesus else their names would never have gotten on the church roll. It so happened one day that a rattlesnake bit Don. The doctor was called and he did all he could to help Don, but the outlook for his recovery was very dim indeed. So the pastor was called and informed about the situation. The pastor arrived, and began to pray as follows: "O wise and righteous Father, we thank Thee that in Thine wisdom thou didst send this rattlesnake to bite Don. He hasn’t been inside the church in years and has shown little interest in You. We trust that this experience will be a valuable lesson to him and will lead to his genuine repentance. And now, O Father, wilt thou send another rattlesnake to bite Ron, and another to bite Little John, and another really big one to bite the old man. For years we have done everything we know to get them to get serious with Thee. Thank you God for rattlesnakes. Amen."
(Bible trivia: Once God used "fiery serpents" (Nu. 21:6) and another time he used "hornets" (Ex. 23:28) to get people lined up with His will. It’s just something to ponder.)
There are a lot of Rons, Dons, and Little Johns in the world whose faith is broke – it doesn’t work. For them, faith does not work. In fact, to be more serious, the Bible teaches that this faith isn’t merely broken it is dead!
Let’s bring in the other part of this "does faith work" equation by letting James direct a question. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? (James 2:14 KJV). James is saying, "your faith had better work or else you are no more than a Bible toten’, Scripture spoutin,’ Christian-in-name only that Jude describes as, "clouds without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots…wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever" (Jude 1:12,13 KJV).
Is it fair to make such a strident statement? Yes, if one believes the prophet Isaiah who, speaking for the Lord says, " Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:" (Isaiah 29:13 KJV). Jesus repeats it, saying, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me" (Mt.15:8 KJV).
Faith on the lips, faith from the mouth,
Needs a source that is further south. (Holt)
Our zeal to obtain xyz numbers of "professions of faith" that fatten the statistical bottom-line which spells success or failure in our churches has resulted in a harvest of souls who, for all intents and purposes, are stillborn. How do I know? Their faith doesn’t work. Never has and possibly never will. By what authority do I say it? By James, who has told us that "if your faith doesn’t work, it is dead."
The word "work" is a recurring one in this study. One may wonder if I am implying that "good works" will save a person. In other words, is salvation locked into a "faith plus works" plan in order to be justified from sin? Don’t dismiss this lightly. There are literally thousands who believe that their good works will, in the end, somehow cut a deal with God and they will not go to hell. Equally tragic are the thousands who affirm their belief in Jesus, who own Him as Savior apart from their good works but are just as unregenerate. Their faith doesn’t work. There is no evidence of a new birth. Their profession is earnest but their lifestyle does not reveal any fruit of a Christian. Is this criterion valid? Absolutely. Jesus clearly states: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Mt. 5:16 KJV). But you’ve got to have light first.
At the bottom of the "saved by grace through faith...not of works" text, Paul makes it clear that "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10 KJV). We should walk in what? Good works. We are created in Christ Jesus unto what? Good works. There is no valid argument on this subject of faith versus works for salvation. Salvation is by faith alone.
But . . .
The result of saving faith is good works. Saving faith issues in doing good works. Genuine faith is evidenced by fruit, a.k.a., good works. "Works" in the Ephesian passage above is translated from the Greek as work 152-times and is defined as "an act, deed (22 times it is translated deed), or a thing done." It carries the idea of "that which one undertakes to do, an enterprise, an undertaking." These are things we can see, give witness to. These are ways of giving evidence to the fact that one’s faith is genuine -- because it is working.
Faith works. It works in the sense I have described above and which we will now examine more closely. This is precisely what James is arguing for when he writes on this very controversial subject in chapter two of his letter addressed to, "the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad,..my brethren" (vs. 1,2 KJV). He is writing to Christians.
Paul said, "we are saved by grace, through faith, not of works." James makes an apparent contradiction when he states flatly, " Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (Ja. 2:24 KJV). Are Paul and James contradicting each other? If so, one of them is wrong. Is God the author of this seeming contradiction? We already know the answer to this question but it is necessary to work out some details to reconcile the two differing opinions.
This subject, and especially the verses in James dealing with the subject, is (always has been) one of the most hotly debated and seemingly contradictory in the New Testament. The great reformer Martin Luther didn’t want to touch it with a ten-foot pole. He would like to have it entirely removed. In fact, one theologian actually tore the pages out of his Bible.
The chief culprit to this controversy lies in the way the King James Version interprets the verses, e.g., "can faith save him?" (vs. 14) and, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (vs. 24).
When one looks closely at the text it is apparent that James is not contrasting faith and good works. He is not saying that the two are equals in the matter of justification and salvation of the believing person. What I think he is doing is contrasting true (i.e., genuine, living) faith with a faith that he later describes as "dead." A profession or confession of a religious belief is often mistaken for genuine, living faith. As I have said earlier, this is a one-dimensional faith. That kind of faith will not save a person. Let me once again illustrate what I mean here by asking you to recall my "famous" (infamous?) "World’s Shortest Sermon" I preached at Faith Temple one Sunday morning ages ago. Do you remember it? I don’t think anyone believed me when I said I would do it, and I think some didn’t believe what they thought they heard. Here, in a very brief form, is the essence of that sermon.
It is the parable of a place called "Duckland." As the story goes, it was a Sunday morning in Duckland, and all the ducks dutifully came to church waddling through the doors and down the aisle into their duck pews where they comfortably squatted in their traditional duck style. When all were well settled, a duck waddled to the front and sang, "I Won’t Have to Cross Jordan Alone." This was followed by the duck congregation singing, "Shall we Gather at the River." The Duck Pastor waddled to the pulpit, opened the Duck Bible and said: Brother and Sister Ducks, you have wings, and with wings you can fly like eagles. You can soar into the sky! Use your wings. It was a marvelous, elevating duck scripture, and all the ducks were so moved they quaked in unison a hearty AMEN. Then they plopped down from their duck pews and waddled back home.
What is the point of this parable? I believe it is an accurate description of many churchgoers who are suffering from fractured faith, i.e., there is a discrepancy between profession and action. The problem lies in the fact that all too often our actions betray our professed convictions. We may listen to rousing sermons that tell us that we can fly, and for some reason, after our hearty AMEN, we choose to "waddle" home.
Here is as clear-cut a distinction between what the Apostle Paul teaches on justification by faith alone as can be found anywhere. The major part of his teaching on this subject is found in the book of Romans, Galatians and Ephesians. In all he says, his purpose is to tell us how one becomes a Christian.
On the other hand, while Paul focuses on the nature of justification James is focused on the nature of faith. James does not tell us how one becomes a Christian, but he tells us what a genuine Christian looks like. In other words, we embrace what Paul teaches, that a person is saved by "faith alone," and James reminds us that we are saved by faith that is not alone. In a sentence, James is telling us that a faith that saves is a faith that serves. Faith works.
Let’s ask ourselves these questions:
1. What good is it if a man claims to have a faith but has no deeds?
2. Can such Faith save Him?
3. What good is that?
I will close this brief study by quoting from the Living Bible. The way the author’s have paraphrased the words of James are very straightforward, clear, and set the whole matter in perfect perspective.
Dear brothers, what’s the use of saying that you have faith and are Christians if you aren’t proving it by helping others? Will that kind of faith save anyone?
If you have a friend who is in need of food and clothing, and you say to him, "Well, good-bye and God bless you, stay warm and eat hearty," and then don’t give him clothes or food, what good does that do?
So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all--it is dead and useless.
But someone may well argue, "You say the way to God is by faith alone, plus nothing; well, I say that good works are important too, for without good works you can’t prove whether you have faith or not; but anyone can see that I have faith by the way I act."
Are there still some among you who hold that "only believing" is enough? Believing in one God? Well, remember that the devils believe this too--so strongly that they tremble in terror!
Dear foolish man! When will you ever learn that "believing" is useless without doing what God wants you to? Faith that does not result in good deeds is not real faith. (James 2:14-20).
In closing:
A young boy, on an errand for his mother, had just bought a dozen eggs. Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the sack. All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess. The boy tried not to cry. A few people gathered to see if he was okay and to tell him how sorry they were. In the midst of the words of pity, one man handed the boy a quarter. Then he turned to the group and said, "I care 25-cents worth. How much do the rest of you care?
FAITH works in obtaining eternal life through the atoning death of Jesus. "By grace through faith...not of works" for salvation.
Faith WORKS in dedicated service for the glory of God issuing from the new life received in Christ Jesus.
