LDS Defender

ARE WE SAVED BY FAITH or by works?^[1]

By Marcel Kahne

Translated by Gerald D. Woodard

(Original French text at www.idumea.org)

A pamphlet entitled "The Only Door" states that "All those who acknowledge that the punishment for sin was paid on the death of Jesus Christ on the cross will receive life eternal SOLELY THROUGH THEIR FAITH (...). The Bible speaks of those who are only born once, "without Christ" having no hope and without God in the world" and such will be their eternal state if they do not accept Christ as their Saviour. Many are they who do not know him^[2] and who rely on their own efforts to earn the favour of God and entrance to heaven [. . .] The Book of Job teaches us the great lesson that man has no merit in himself. However, in the eyes of God, all merit is in his Son, Jesus Christ, and we have access to it through the cross."

This is the fundamental doctrine of Protestantism, justification by faith WITHOUT works.

Certain passages in the Bible would, in effect, seem to portray this message, such as 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.", Acts 2:47, "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." and, finally, 1 Corinthians 1:18, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."

There are other passages of Scripture, however, that clearly indicate the need for works. Given their significant number, they cannot be ignored.

1. Teachings of Christ:

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven," (Matthew 5:16).

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine [the Sermon on the Mount], and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock." (Matthew 7:24)

"And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him [. . .] if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments [. . .] go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." (Matthew 19:16-17, 21)

"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." (Luke 12:48)

"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me." (John 14:21)

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21; also see Luke 6:46, 8:21, 11:28, John 15:14).

What is the Father's will? What must we do to enter into the kingdom of Heaven? Matthew 25:31-46, an evocation of the final judgement by the Saviour himself, answers this question in the clearest possible way. In these verses, Christ is dividing the sheep (the righteous) from the goats (the wicked). To the former, he states: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." To the others, he states: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." What are the selection criteria? "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me [. . .] Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." (Matthew 16:27)

"But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." (John 3:21).

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do [. . .]" (John 14:12).

"Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." (John 15:2).

2. Teachings of the Apostles:

"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? [. . .] 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 [. . .] But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? [. . .] Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only [. . .] For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James 2:14, 17-26).[3]

"God [. . .] will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life." (Romans 2:6-7).^[4]

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10).

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10).

"That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

"This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men." (Tite 3:8).

"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (1 John 2:3-4).

"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." (Revelation 14:13).

"[. . .] and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." (Revelation 20:12).

Some denominations add to the idea of faith without works the idea that we are saved outright, and it is true that some passages, such as Acts 2:47 and 1 Corinthians 1:18, cited earlier, suggest this. Once again, however, other passages of Scripture that suggest otherwise cannot be ignored:

1. Teachings of Christ:

"[. . .] But he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matthew 10:22; also see 16:27, 24:13, Mark 13:13, James 1:25, Revelation 2:10 and others).

2. Teachings of the Apostles:

Paul:

"[. . .] work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12).

"For we are saved by hope." (Romans 8:24)

"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but [. . .] I press toward the mark for the prize." (Philippians 3:12, 14).

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness [. . .]" (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Peter:

"And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (1 Peter 4:18).

John:

"[. . .] be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Revelation 2:10)

What are we to conclude from all this? Are we saved outright or only in the end? Does faith alone save are works needed as well, or are works useless? Are the scriptures contradictory? Certainly not. As the theory of justification by faith alone is based on the writings of Paul, we must better understand him in order to see clearly. When he presented his defence to King Agrippa, he stated: "after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee" (Acts 26:5). To the people of Jerusalem he stated: "[. . .] I am [. . .] brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers" (Acts 22:3). Paul belonged to that group of which Christ said: "For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders" (Matthew 23:4), thus referring to the 613 requirements (248 obligations and 365 prohibitions) implemented by the doctors of the law since the time of Ezra, to build "a fence around the law" and legislate on all possible situations so that it would be impossible to transgress the law. Salvation was therefore only accessible to those who had "learned" (John 7:15). Yet, how could one ever be sure of not having forgotten one of the innumerable requirements?

His encounter with Christ changed all that for Paul. He learned that Christ had atoned for all mankind on the cross. He learned he no longer needed to be perfect here on Earth (which is impossible) in order to be saved. He learned that by faith in Christ ("I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" John 14:6), repentance and conversion, he could receive forgiveness ("Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out", Acts 3:19). He suddenly felt delivered, and it was that deliverance that he would proclaim to the Jews in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossus and Thessalonica. They also needed to know that the observances of the law of Moses had been replaced.

Once we understand Paul's background, we realize that he is not comparing faith and good works, but faith and "the law of works" (Romains 3:27) or "the deeds of the law [of Moses, revised and expanded by the doctors]": "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." (Romans 3:28). "[. . .] a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ [. . .] that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." (Galatians 2:16; 3:2, 5, 10). This last verse is particularly eloquent: "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." As indicated earlier, the law condemns, as no one can put it fully into practice.

When we understand that Paul interpreted the word "works" differently (sometimes "requirements of the law of Moses", other times "good works"[5]), we then realize that passages that seem as contradictory as Ephesians 2:8-10, "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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them", are not incompatible. It is very clear that, in the first statement, Paul, as a former Pharisee, is referring to the works/requirements of the law, which were so associated with glory by his former colleagues, as in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, in which the first brags: "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are [. . .] I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess [. . .]" (Luke 18:11-12). In the second statement, the "good works" are those referred to by Christ in Matthew 25:31-46, without which we cannot be saved.

Another apparent contradiction that is cleared up when we consider this is the one between Romans 4:2-11 and James 2:21-24.

"For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness [. . .] for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision." (Romans 4:2-5, 9-11)

"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." (James 2:21-24)

When speaking of works in Romans, Paul was thinking of circumcision. In James, works are the natural expression of one's faith. Abraham was not blessed because he was circumcised, but because he had faith. And what proves his faith? The fact that he was prepared to carry out any work that the Lord commanded.

According to some denominations, we are saved outright, without having to do anything but have faith in Christ. In the verses above, we have seen that the Bible states that we cannot consider ourselves saved until we have proven ourselves. It is true that faith in Jesus Christ is indispensable; it is inseparable from Christian actions, which are how it is expressed.

All of this raises one question: How can the Protestants, for example, not understand this evidence? It may be because, in the beginning, Protestantism reacted to a situation similar to that of Paul. The Catholic Church at the time also proposed a type of salvation through observances. It taught that Christ and the saints had accomplished more than was needed to enter Paradise. There was therefore extra merit that could be distributed to those who were not quite able to enter Paradise. This treasure was managed by the Catholic Church as a type of compensation fund to allow those who wished to obtain indulgences, i.e. a reduction of their sentence to Purgatory. So many paternosters and Ave Marias, so many less days. A pilgrimage on the Way of St. James, a few less days. A generous donation to the Church, a few less days. At the time of the Reform, with the Church short of funds, a monk named Tetzel was in charge of selling indulgences for large sums of money. The Protestant doctrine was in part developed in reaction to this practice, which explains why the words "law", "works" and "merit" raise such strong reactions among Protestants. This also explains why they always return to the idea that Christ has all the merit and mankind has none and does not need any.

But when we compare them to something else, truth and common sense are often not seen clearly. The truth is this: the Saviour, having taken upon himself the sins of mankind, and having atoned on their behalf, became the master of salvation. There is one thing that He gives to all men, with no need for them to do anything: resurrection. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). However, he sets conditions regarding the quality of life that we will experience in the eternities, He is the only door: "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" (John 10:9). Can we "enter" without doing anything? Surely not: "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). And what does the Saviour ask us to do? "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:34, 35). And what must we do to have love one for another? We must apply the Golden Rule: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" (Matthew 7:12). Which brings us back to the responsibilities given by Christ in Matthew 25:31, 46 with this warning: to be condemned, one need not do evil; one need only not do good.

Finally, the perfect explanation of salvation can be found in the Book of Mormon: "it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23). After all, if, as the Protestants claim, mankind has no merit and Christ has all merit, mankind cannot even claim to have faith. They are saved by grace and grace alone. And what is Grace? It is the fact that Christ has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He resurrects us, purifies us before God and allows us to enter into his presence. As the Bible also says:

"But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved" (Acts 15:11).

"For by grace are ye saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8). 

It is up to us to demonstrate, through our works, that we are thankful to the Lord for what he has done for us.