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Works Salvation
Arminians have always been accused of believing in salvation by works, because they believe that man has his part in coming to Christ and receiving salvation by his own choice. Although there are many people who will take things to an extreme and teach such, the majority of Arminians do not believe this at all. Our works do have a part in our salvation, but they certainly cannot save us! But it makes sense to say that the same conditions that are required to receive salvation must be present in order to maintain salvation. Is this works? Only if you consider a continuous reliance on the grace and mercy of God received through the atonement of Christ a “work”. The Bible calls this faith. The works that are involved with this faith is what causes action in order to act out our faith in an effective manner. These works are the part of faith, that without such, faith would be dead. Works make our faith active as we seek truth, build our relationship with Christ, and reach out to others in obedience to His call. But just as faith without works is dead, so also works without faith would be dead as well. Neither one by itself can save a man. When we put our faith in Christ to save us, we also said a prayer of repentance. The active “work” of repentance, put together with faith led us to grace, by which we are saved. It is this same active working of these three together that saves man; and the same that keeps him from falling. Many people have confused the works spoken of in Ephesians 2:8,9 by Paul, saying that “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast”; and then by James in James 2:17-20 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 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. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” There is no contradiction here at all. Paul was speaking of works of the law, whereby men might boast in their own accomplishments, and James was speaking of works of righteousness and obedience to Christ, and putting action to our faith so that faith is not just vain profession. Through these kind of works of righteousness men will not boast at all; knowing that Christ is the source of their salvation. Simply saying we have faith is not enough without living out such faith through good works. As James mentioned, the devils believe also, but we know that their faith can avail nothing! True faith is total reliance upon God, not reliance upon our selves; which is works salvation. Therefore true faith, which is followed by works, will be done with the utmost humility, and thereby no man will boast. As Christians, we must not only make the decision to repent of our sins, but also to live our lives for Christ every day, by forsaking sin. The Bible is very clear, that we cannot be “made righteous” by our works. If that were the case then we could boast of our works before men. But we have nothing at all that we can boast about, because without Gods grace our works would all be vain. Although works cannot save us, they are a necessary part of salvation. Our works are only the result of experiencing God’s grace. They are the reaction of our gratitude for his saving us, and the fulfilling of His will, accomplished by the presence of His Holy Spirit within us. In every way these works give all glory to God. But when we might begin to think that we have accomplished salvation by our works we do err. Colossians 1:29 “Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”
Galatians 2:20-21 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Although the Apostle Paul recognized Gods working in him, he also realized that it was not his own goodness. Grace has its greatest part in saving the lost! If we can say as Paul did, that it is no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me, then how can we justify sinning? If Christ lives in us, and we no longer live, then the desires of the flesh are dead and we can no longer sin. This does not eliminate the possibility of temptation, but it does teach entire sanctification as a must for every Christian. It is when we will make the choice to repent, as we have been commanded to do, that we can be saved. We are called by the grace of God, through what Christ did for all mankind on the cross, but we still must choose right from wrong, doing the “work” of repentance. This work is nothing to boast in, but is rather an act of humility. If it is not then I would question whether or not repentance was true. Here are a few scriptures that show that we must do certain works as a part of receiving and maintaining our salvation. Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” 1 John 1:9 “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Forgiveness of sins is contingent upon the work of repentance. True repentance and salvation will then show forth more works. These works are not to mans own credit, but to the glory of God. When we can testify of our deliverance from sins, it is not to boast of ourselves, but to give Him glory for His marvelous work in us. Acts 19:18-19 “And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.”
Philippians 2:12 “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Every day is full of choices we must make. Our salvation is “worked out” through the works of righteousness and to holiness, which God has called every Christian to. We must work out our salvation by choosing not to sin, walking in faith, trusting Christ as our sources of everything, and not our own abilities. If we trust in our works, then that is “works” salvation. But if we do the “work” of faith, by trusting Jesus, then we will overcome, be blessed, and work out our salvation without difficulty. To work out your salvation is not to find your own strength or wisdom to overcome and become fruitful. The Bible says in Zechariah 4:6 “…Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” We cannot overcome or be fruitful without Jesus! That is why salvation is by grace, through faith. It is a work of God, through our faith in His abilities, and not our own. Any time our works are in trusting ourselves, or if we think we can gain favor with God through them; then this is “works” salvation, which is not possible. Calvinists accuse all Arminians of this type of doctrine, but they misunderstand what is being taught through the scriptures concerning works. Works are certainly our part in receiving and maintaining salvation, but these works can only be done through faith in Jesus, and not of our selves. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” If we can boast in our works, then they are not works that maintain salvation. Works that will maintain our salvation are works such as faith, love, joy, peace, holiness, etc. Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” This fruit is something that will be acted out through our everyday lives. They have been giving to us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but they are not automatic. We must work them out through a walk of faith in Jesus, through praying always, and seeking God as our only source of hope and strength. When we are filled with Him, we are filled with this fruit, and this fruit will show for others to see. But if we neglect our spiritual responsibilities, do not obey God’s instructions to seek Him, pray, be holy, and do the works of righteousness, then we can lose it all and fall.
Revelation 2:5 “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
This Church is warned to turn back to their first works of repentance and Godly living. They are in a backslidden state and in danger of losing everything they ever had in Christ, if they do not do this. There must be such works in the life of every Christian, in order to be saved. Faith without these works is useless! Chapter 2 of the book of James explains this clearly. James 2:18 “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.” James 2:20 “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Salvation cannot possibly be received through our works, but faith is made active and valid through our works. Faith is dead without the works of a man to act out his faith. We act out our faith through our obedience to Gods commands, seeking him first, and loving others as he commanded. We must fulfill the greatest commandments in our lives, given by Jesus in Mark 12:30-31 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” These two commandments are a sum of the Ten Commandments given in Exodus 20. If we keep these commandments, then we will have done the works that give life to our faith, through which we may obtain grace. Jesus said in John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” It is not enough to just say we love Jesus! He wants us to prove that we love Him by living in obedience to His commands. These are works that are demanded by Jesus Himself as proof of our love for Him, and our faith in Him. John 15:10 “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love;” As Mentioned already earlier, that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Romans 8, the condition is placed upon our continuing to keep His commandments. He will never stop loving us, but if we do not keep His commandments we should not expect to continue in the blessings of God and as a child of God. The works that are required of man are the obedience to His commandments, as we continue in His love. So to accuse Arminians of a “works” salvation doctrine is not accurate at all, in most cases. But for the Calvinist to assume that salvation is by “grace alone”, and that works are vain, is also not accurate. They deceive themselves to believe or teach such doctrine.
James 1:21-24 “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” James instructs man to do the work of repentance, then to receive the Word and do the work of obedience. If we do the first work of repentance, but neglect to do the work of obedience, then we will deceive ourselves to believe that we are saved. Many will claim that they are under God’s grace, so there is no reason to be concerned about their salvation; it is a done deal! Calvinist are wrong to assume that salvation is a done deal; but Arminians could also be wrong if they were to teach that works save men; but most do not teach such. Although works has its place in salvation, everything always comes back to “grace”. We must always thank God for what He has done, keeping our eyes on the only one who can save us, lest our works be in vain.
The third type of work we are called to is the spreading of the gospel. Jesus commanded all His disciples, which includes anyone who calls him or herself a Christian, to take this gospel message into this lost and dying world, so that others may also be saved. Mark 16:16-18 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” The first work that must be done in order to fulfill the great commission is to “go”. It is the call of every Christian to tell someone about Jesus, to share their own testimony, to involve themselves in the ministry of a local Church, and to find what it is that God would have them to do for Him. When a Christian will truly put his or her faith in Christ, it will be evident by their works. There will be signs that will follow every true born again believer in Christ. It may be a change of heart, a change of lifestyle, or a number of things that will show forth as evidence of their true salvation. These are the works that every Christian must have in their lives as evidence of true salvation, fruit of the Spirit, and forsaking the ways of the world. It is after having this kind of experience that many people have fallen, as the Bible clearly states. Works must be done out of a pure heart. If pride, selfishness, etc. are involved, then those works even bring destruction or will burn up on the Day of Judgment. If we keep from those attitudes and trust in Jesus, we will boast in Him and not in ourselves; because we will know that it was only possible through His grace! Concerning works, I know that in my life as a Christian and as a minister that without the Holy Spirits help I would certainly fail. It is when I seek Him through prayer that I feel strong; but when I do not I feel weak. When I worship Him in every way I know to worship Him, I am strong, because His presence gives me strength. Without Him I am nothing, I can do nothing of any real effect for His kingdom, and I would certainly fall. But because of His grace I can find the strength I need to continue in Him, I can be effective for Him, and I know I will not fall. He will always be faithful to keep His people from falling, but we must continue in Him, who is our only hope and strength. In all that I could do for Him, in all the fruit I may bear, and in all that I would do in order to maintain my salvation, I know that I can never boast. Any true Christian will have this same understanding! He is our only hope of salvation, not our works. But any Christian who has Christ as their hope will also have works as an evidence of their faith in Him. And just as our works show our faith in Him, the lack of works show our lack of faith, or the abandonment of faith shows our abandonment of Christ. If grace is obtained through faith, and faith is dead, then how can we have grace? And if true faith is evident through works, then how can we say that we have faith that saves, if we do not have works?
"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good to the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation" John 5:28-29. Jesus said that men will be judged for both good and evil works. It is because their works show whether or not they have saving faith. If we have saving faith then good works will be present, or we will otherwise be judged for evil works. Paul wrote in Romans 2:6,7 that God "…will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory, and honor, and immortality; eternal life." Works! Then continuing in Romans 2:8-11 “But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.”
These scriptures are speaking of eternal judgment, not rewards! “For there is no respect of persons with God” means that God will treat all men equally! Whether sinner or saint, every man will give account for their works, whether they are good or evil. The wages of sin is death for all who choose to live in sin. The only hope for all men is to live a faithful life for Christ, apart from sin, under His grace. Being a good person certainly is not enough to save a man, unless they have faith in Christ. I don’t think I can say it too many times, so that we are sure to understand, that these works are only possible by His grace through faith. They are not of ourselves, and we will never be able to boast of true Godly and pure works. They are the evidence of true faith from God that has obtained His grace. A true Christian will not only have works that will show his or her faith in Christ, but they will also be humble enough to understand that they are nothing without Christ, with no place to boast in themselves. And if they cannot see this, the Holy Spirit will eventually reveal it to them. Some proclaiming Christians are not saved at all and never have been. They are hypocrites! But there are also those who are hypocrites that were saved at one time. Then there are those who are truly saved, put their trust in Christ alone, not their works, but will yet remain faithful to their call. We must examine ourselves and see which we are! There is only one work that can save men. That one work is the finished work of Christ on the cross. It is when we put our faith in His finished work that we are saved. Our faith in His work will cause our works to follow as evidence of our faith in Him.
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Calvinism