The Role of Works After Salvation
Recently someone pointed out that we rightly stress that works (the things we do or refrain from doing) have no part in salvation. Salvation is by grace through faith and not by works. Stressing this is important since many have been misled by poor teaching over the years and need to realize the freedom that Jesus provided for them.
At the same time, it is obvious that the New Testament talks about our behavior. One need not read far in the writings of the Apostles to find passages urging good behavior.
Perhaps no passage is more commonly referenced than James 2:14–26 (NASB 2020)
14 What use is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
17 In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
20 But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless?
21 Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called a friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
I and others have taught about this passage, but in general the focus has been on James’s statement in verse 24 that “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” This appears to fly in the face of everything taught by the other Apostles, particularly it appears to be in direct conflict with Paul’s statement in Ephesians 2:8–9 (NASB 2020) “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Fortunately, Paul did not stop there. He went on in verse 10 to say, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Let’s gather the statements James makes about works and examine them. He says:
“if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?”
I agree with The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Kittle et.al., Eerdman’s 1964-) which says, “It is true that [James] 2:14ff. attacks a misunderstood Paul, yet not in the name of the Law nor even with reference to the Law, but in the name of the practical expression of faith in works, in acts of love, 2:16.”
It is this idea of the practical expression of faith in acts (works) of love that I believe is key in understanding the role of works in the lives of those who are in Christ. Indeed, James expounds on this challenging statement in the verses that follow. He writes, “faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”
“show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
“faith without works is useless”
I think that like many in the Church today, James is concerned that with the law out of the way people will simply run amok. I think he is working to clarify that if Holy Spirit is living in a person, changes in that person’s behavior are bound to happen.
We must tread very lightly here, however. Behavior and identity must not be confused, nor are works of any kind to be used as a litmus test of anyone’s spiritual condition. Paul was clear about this in First Corinthians. An individual in that church was behaving badly and bragging about it. He was unwilling to listen to correction, and Paul told them to expel the man so that the consequences of his actions could be fully felt, and he could ultimately be restored. This is the same Paul who, when asked if all things were permissible indicated that they may well be, but not all things are good for us.
James goes on with his reasoning about works in two examples from the Torah. He asks
“Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac?” and continues, saying that “faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected.” He then concludes that, “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” To bolster the assertion, he provides the second example, saying, “In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”
We can see that Abraham and Rahab had faith. We are assured of it because they acted in faith. Neither Abraham nor Rahab knew empirically that the outcome of those actions would be positive, yet they moved forward, showing that they trusted in God. James puts it this way, “just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
If I were teaching those examples, I might phrase it differently because my audience is different. For those believers coming out of institutional Christianity and into a revelation of the truth about the grace of God, I would frame this in terms of what might be the expected result of walking by faith.
Paul chose a similar approach when he wrote in Titus 2:7–8 (NASB 2020) “7 in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified,
8 sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”
At the outset, this might seem like an imperative command to behave yourself. It is certainly instruction to Titus in this regard, but Paul goes on to qualify his intent in Titus 2:11–14 (NASB 2020).
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people,
12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds.
The grace of God that appeared and brought salvation was both the message about God’s rescue plan, and the messenger who Himself was that rescue plan—Jesus Christ. Here, and in many other places in the epistles we see that grace, Jesus, Holy Spirit teaches us to live godly lives, guides us into all truth, and produces fruit in us. We read in Philippians 2:13 that it is God who works in us to desire and do good things.
There is most definitely a place for works after salvation. God has prepared good works for us in advance so we could walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10) That means that He set things up so that our everyday lives would bring Him glory. As Dr. Andrew Farley would say, “He rigged it” so that without striving to do so, we would love others. That, as Paul put it so well in Romans 13:8–13 (NASB 2020)
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law.
9 For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed.
12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let’s rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13 Let’s behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy.
It is okay for us to care about our behavior. It is okay for us to determine to improve our attitudes. It is okay for us to want to act in ways that glorify God. All of these things are good.
None of these things is required for us to be made acceptable to God. None of these things is necessary to make Father happier with us. None of these things has any effect on the size of our eternal dwelling or the amount of bling we get to wear in heaven.
We do not need to worry about these things, but we can certainly work on them. We can be nice to people who are not being nice to us. We can love unlovely folks. We can give to the needy, help widows and orphans, comfort those who grieve, encourage the crestfallen, and build up those who are brought low.
In this way, the Life of Jesus shines through more clearly to those in desperate need of the freedom and peace He offers. That’s the role of works after salvation.
