Have you ever been asked if you believe we are saved by faith alone or by works? Did you ever feel confused by what the person meant by their words? You are not alone.
Are we saved by Faith or Works? The answer is both and more. Neither word really explains everything in our language. Here we will take some time to discover their meaning and how we can use them today with charity.
When we start a conversation with someone we may want to start by asking them what they mean by the words they are using. This is acting with respect and charity towards one another. If we start out jumping to conclusions, we could be wrong about what the other person means and the conversation likely will not be helpful.
So here are some simple definitions we will use in this article…
Simple Definitions
- Love : God is Love. We exist due to His Love.
- Grace: Spiritual assistance God gives us.
- Faith : Believing in God & Jesus
- Works : Actions of a person.
- Free-Will: We can freely choose to trust God or not
- Alone: By itself, not inclusive of everything else
- When we talk about ‘faith alone’ or ‘works’, we are almost always talking about beliefs as a Christian.
Is Faith Needed?
Let’s refer to Jesus and see what He says.
Faith of the Centurion – Matthew 8:8-13
8 The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.
9 For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.
Faith of Bartimaeus the Blind Man – Mark 10:46-52
50 He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
51 Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
52 Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.
Whoever believes in Jesus – John 6:47
47 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
- From this, we can already conclude that Faith (or belief) in Jesus is necessary.
Are Works Needed?
Again, Let’s refer to Jesus and see what He says.
Matthew 7:21
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Matthew 7:24
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”
Corporal Works of Mercy – Matthew 25:31-36, 40
33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
The Beatitudes – Matthew 5
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
- From these verses, it is clear that good works (good actions) are also needed, straight from Jesus.
From this, if someone was to say ‘we are saved by both faith and works’, it agrees with what Jesus is saying.
Are We Saved by Faith Alone?
While Faith is very important, it does not stand alone by itself, Jesus makes this clear when talking about Faith and Love…
Faith and Love – 1 Corinthians 13:1-2
1 If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
Jesus says Love is needed. He doesn’t say faith is bad but warns against relying on faith by itself.
- We have discovered that Faith, Works, and Love are needed.
God comes first
In our simple definitions, we said ‘ God is Love. We exist due to His Love.’ When we talk about what is needed for us to be saved we can’t forget this. The Trinity existed first. From the Love of God, He created us. We have the capability to choose good because God gives us grace. He was first. We benefit from His Love and goodness.
Grace is like the warm rays of the sun on a cold day. We can decide to stand in the sunlight and feel the warmth or stay inside and avoid it. The sun’s rays existed before we stepped outside, but help to warm us. Grace is similar in that God’s grace exists before us, and we have free will to benefit from it.
- At this point, we can say we are saved by God, Love, Grace, Faith, and Works.
- By God’s grace, everyone is invited to come to Him.
Is Faith a One Time Choice?
Is Faith ongoing or a one-time decision? Let’s go to Jesus again…
Parable of the Sower – Matthew 13:1-23
“A sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.
5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
6 and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots.
7 Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
8 But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
Jesus doesn’t say everyone who believes at the beginning will stay that way. Some will believe at first like a seed on rocky soil, or even for a while until difficulties arise like a seed among thorns.
And some produced fruit. It is true that some who believed in Jesus, once they made their initial decision, remained faithful to Him. It may be difficult to believe anyone could change their minds about Jesus, but Jesus Himself says it happens.
Free-Will
Our Free Will remains with us our entire lives. In any moment of any day, we can choose to trust in God or in ourselves. Jesus does not force someone to follow Him against their will. It is possible for Christians to move away from God (sin). Repentance is needed.
- Even Martin Luther, the promoter of ‘faith alone’ understood repentance is needed.
At this point, we can say we are saved by God, Love, Grace, Faith, Works, and Repentance.
Stay Vigilant
Jesus does not talk as if we are converted once and that is the end. He talks about using our talents, not becoming lazy, and having to practice forgiveness.
Parable of the Talents – Matthew 25:14-30
21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’
For the ones that did nothing with their talents, Jesus gives them words of warning…
26 His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!
Jesus goes onto explain that in our lives we need to stay vigilant, not like the 5 careless Virgins…
Parable of the Virgins
Matthew 25:1-13
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
3 The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them,
10 While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked.
13 Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour. “
- We are saved by God, Love, Grace, Free Will Faith, Works, and Repentance, with ongoing vigilance.
Jesus Teaches
In addition to our profession of faith in Jesus, here a variety of passages where Jesus calls us to act with appropriate actions.
The Beatitudes
Blesses are those who are persecuted for my sake… We need to take action.
Forgive others
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others… We need to forgive.
Corporal Works of Mercy
When I was hungry you gave me something to eat… We need to take action.
Physical Signs
Many Miracles… attributing faith to the healed.
The Last Supper
Do This in memory of me… Requires an ongoing action
10 Commandments
Jesus did not come to take away the Commandments; they are still in effect. We need to try and avoid sin.
Fruits & Gifts of the Spirit
There is more than faith and works…
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Forgiveness, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Suffering, humility, faith, modesty, temperance, Prudence, Chastity, Hope, Fortitude, Knowledge, Wisdom, Awe.
Good deeds – Matthew 6:16
16 Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
All These requests of Jesus are a call to continually improve ourselves ‘be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect’. His requests require faith and works on the journey.
‘Faith Alone’ Means all that
At this point someone might say ‘faith alone’ means all that, that once we believe in Jesus we will do everything else and all the good works. I understand… sometimes we say ‘our faith’ to mean everything.
However, we don’t use the word ‘alone’ in that context. ‘Alone’ can cause misunderstandings because it means excluding everything else. Jesus said Faith without Love is a noisy gong so using the term ‘Faith Alone’ is too restrictive.
- We are saved by God, Love, Grace, Faith, Good Works, Repentance, forgiveness, ongoing vigilance, mercy, following the Commandments, with many fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s teachings – The Bad Works
Now that we have a broader view of what we need to be saved, we can head into Paul’s writings.
One area that many people easily get confused with is when Paul talks about being saved by faith, apart from works (of the law). If we had jumped right into Paul we might conclude that we are saved by faith without any works. That is not the case.
Some background –
Jewish-Christians want to keep all the old laws
Paul was preaching to Jews and to non-Jewish Gentiles. It caused some early disagreements. Many of the Jewish-Christians still followed all the Jewish laws from the Old Testament. These Jewish Christians wanted the Gentiles to follow all their laws as well.
Paul differed with their opinion. He said that the laws were a result of sin and local customs. Now that they had Jesus to restore them and a universal Church, there was no need for all the laws. He called these ‘The Works of the law’
Faith apart from Works of the Law – Romans 3:26
28 For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
29 Does God belong to Jews alone? Does he not belong to Gentiles, too? Yes, also to Gentiles
Paul continually wrote to defend the Gentiles against Jewish laws. Paul was not against the Commandments or any of the good works that Jesus spoke about in the Gospels. He was not trying to abolish all works, just the excessive laws that were no longer needed now that their Savior Jesus was risen and had a perfected way.
Romans 4:13
13 It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes from faith.
- Paul spoke out against Jewish Works of the Law
- Paul was not opposing the good works that Jesus mentions.
- We can say we are saved by Grace, Faith, and good works (but not works of the Jewish law).
James
If we now read James in context of all these other passages, James makes more sense and we don’t have contradictions.
James says several times and in several ways that faith alone is not good, even saying faith without works is dead. James is agreeing with Jesus in 1 Corinthians 13 (about Love and Faith) and with the Corporal Works of Mercy, that faith is not alone and needs to be accompanied by something else to be genuine.
Faith and Works – James 2:15-26
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?
17 So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
19 You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble.
20 Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works.
23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.”
24 See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route?
26 For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
James and Paul are not in contradiction. Paul was only speaking out against Jewish laws and practices that were no longer needed. Paul was in favor of the good works Jesus taught and so is James. We would expect letters of the New Testament to agree and they do.
Hebrews 10:22-24
22 let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
23 Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.
24 We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works.
Conclusion
By using Scripture in a broad manner we can see that Faith and Works go hand in hand. They aren’t a one-time choice, but an ongoing journey in our lives. Jesus gives us a rich faith and many opportunities to practice it in our own time and place. Our actions matter and our faith matters. We need both.
In addition to faith and works, we found many other things that we need…
We need Jesus, Love, Grace, Faith, Good works, Forgiveness, Repentance, Joy, Peace, Patience, Forgiveness, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Suffering, humility, faith, modesty, temperance, Prudence, Chastity, Hope, Fortitude, Knowledge, Wisdom, Awe, and there is more.
Next time we have a conversation about how we are saved, instead of trying to limit the conversation to one word alone, which can easily be misunderstood, we can open the conversation to the entire richness of the Christian faith, where charity and Love prevail.
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Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.