A common cry among Christians is a quote by Paul where he says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:".
I will summarize this entire blog post in one paragraph and then go on to explain it. Here is the summary statement:
Jesus saves. Jesus requires faith. Faith (generally) requires works. The degree to which we bring forth good works will play a role in the degree of joy that we will have in this life and in the next.
On to the explanation:
Some Christians interpret being saved by faith to have no requirement to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Assuming that not only are faith and works not connected but that "Faith" is easier than "works".
I would argue that "faith" is actually more challenging than "works"-- because faith, by definition can include both an internal belief and an outward action, whereas "works" is only an action and does not require belief.
Here are two quotes showing how among even different belief systems, faith is understood as to include "doing"
"To know and not to do, is not yet to know"
--Siddhartha Guatama
"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead..."
--James 2:17
But many Christians cry out an isolated scripture taken out of context:
"9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
And they say: "See! I am saved when I say with my mouth that I have faith and that Jesus does not require me to follow his teachings!"
But they fail to read the next verse which defines the meaning of the prior where it says:
"10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Righteousness is obedience. Obedience is following the teachings of Jesus Christ. If you actually believe, you will believe unto righteousness-- otherwise if profits you nothing.
"14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. [are the devils "saved"?]
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"
--James
I propose to you that any scripture that you have ever read which you have interpreted to mean that Christ has not required of you to follow His teachings and to repent of your sins-- has not been understood and has not been taken in context to the rest of the scriptures. In this way you have wrested (twisted and distorted) the scriptures to your own condemnation.
Such a thing also happened in the days of the Apostle Peter when he also spoke in reference to the epistles of Paul (which can be easily misunderstood) when he said:
"16 As also in all his [Pauls] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest [twist or distort], as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction."
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
--Paul, Romans 10
If you do not obey the gospel, then have you believed their report? I would argue, no.
QUESTION: So then I ask, are works required for salvation or not?
ANSWER: Jesus is required for Salvation. Jesus requires faith. Faith requires works or it is "dead faith" (the kind of faith that the devils have; the kind of faith that profits you nothing, the kind of faith that does not "save").
I am not going to pretend that I am in any place to judge anyone, that is Gods job, not mine. But this much I will say: God was directly asked by someone how to gain eternal life and Jesus gave a very direct answer. For some reason, the answer which Jesus gave is overlooked and instead other scriptures are quoted out of context (as I displayed above). Here is the scripture. Read and discern:
"16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."
I want to make a final comment here about this "treasure in Heaven" spoken of by the Savior.
Many preachers contradict the Savior and His apostles and say that God does not reward mankind according to his actions. --God "will repay each person according to what they have done." -- Romans 2:6.
This "reward" is not a physical treasure or some kind of earthy possession. It is Gods blessings (a state of blessedness and Joy). There are degrees of blessedness and Joy in Heaven. The degree to which you do good will determine the degree of joy you will have in the next life.
Here is a parable that illustrates this:
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Christ likened this to bearing fruit and divided it up into 4 degrees.
No fruit (verses 19-22) Not in heaven
30 fruit (verse 23) In heaven
60 fruit (verse 23) In heaven
100 fruit (verse 23) In heaven
All of the last 3 degrees are in heaven, but the differ in the amount of "fruit". When we follow the teachings of Jesus Christ it bears unto us the fruit of joy. The more that we do good, the more joy we will have in this life and in the next. If we have done bad things, we can repent, and because of Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven of our sins and be permitted to escape "hell" (Hell = the condition of a guilty conscience in the presence of God which is often likened to "fire" because we will gain a full awareness of all of the consequences of all of the bad things that we have done and this will cause us intense remorse of conscience if we do not repent).
In conclusion: Jesus saves. Jesus requires faith. Faith requires works. The degree to which we bring forth good works will play a role in the degree of joy that we will have in this life and in the next.
