9. The Relationship Between Faith and Works In Salvation

Paul was led by the Spirit of God to Ephesus to preach the Gospel to the people there. Paul explained why salvation is a gift from God to humanity. Paul wrote, “For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

While works are important, they are not sufficient for salvation. Today many people are convinced that they are good and in good standing before God and will go to heaven when they die, but they have not known Christ. In fact, some heard about Christ, but did not think Jesus was important enough to do their research or seek after Him.

Some people have heard of the Bible, but never took the time to actually read it and understand it. Others simply prefer not to believe in God, the teachings of Christ or the Bible. In fact, it is a sad thing to have a conversation with them, especially high school or college students, because their views of Christianity has been distorted by the demonic forces, those who refuse to acknowledge the works of Christ, those who have been led to believe the sciences of self-reliance and nonbiblical theories.

Christians are called to do good works to bring glory to God on earth, such as; helping the poor and needy, spreading the gospel, and living a morally upright life. However, no amount of good works can earn salvation. It only serves as a way for Christians to express their gratitude to God for forgiving them of their sins. They chose to follow the teachings of Jesus by faith that manifests into reality through blessings, and miraculous evidences.  

Faith in Christ is the key to salvation. Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross for their sins and rose from the dead, providing a way for sinners to be reconciled with God. This salvation is obtained through faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus, not by works.

But rejecting Christ Jesus has serious consequences, both spiritual and practical. Those who reject Christ are rejecting the only way to salvation and eternal life with God. This means they will face eternal separation from God after their physical death. The prophesies that God gave to John in the book of Revelations, are visions of 1) the final coming of the Messiah, 2) the spiritual battle that we will face as a human race, and 3) our final destinations as a result of our choices and the condition of our hearts.

“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelations 21:8

Living our lives without God, without moral accountability, and the teachings of Jesus to help us know the truth of our spiritual condition, will only ensure our destiny to hell for all eternity. Some of us feel like we are living in hell now on earth as we see the decline in human behavior. With a decaying prideful society of self-absorbed, selfish ambitious, evil and perverted individuals who desire to be someone other than who God created them to be. The Bible states, “In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” Jude 1:7

If we look around, we can see how immorality is promoted on television, movies, on advertisements, and even our laws are changed to promote evil conduct. Christians are being persecuted and the pulpits are disgraced with liars and false doctrines, immorality, and perverted sensuality. Children are being influenced by the forces of spiritual darkness. Parents groom their children to live according to their absurd persuasions, and they concede to popular secular agendas. Children are encouraged to express their perversions publicly. When confronted by the truth, many offer excuses for their unrighteous behavior or refuse to acknowledge their faulty thinking.

The Bible warns us how we will know that the end times are approaching. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eyes, and pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, so that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.” 1 John 2:15-20

Paul disclosed to his young protégé, Timothy, that although he would face challenging individuals during his pastoral duties that what future generations would exhibit will be far worse than they could imagine. Paul warned Timothy about these type of people and not to associate himself with those who enjoy evil. He said, “Know this: In the last days perilous times will come. Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, slanderers, unrestrained, fierce, despisers of those who are good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Turn away from such people.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Additionally, life without eternal hope leads to an empty, meaningless, and indifferent lifestyle. In general, people who lack purpose often turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as; addiction, materialism, seeking validation from others, chasing after every new shiny object, and embracing false teachings and religions. Instead of filling the void in their hearts, mind, and spirit with God’s Spirit, they tend to fill it with worldly things and pleasures. God created us with a soul that would serve as His temple where His Spirit would dwell within us. To fill that space with anything other than God equals rejecting God and His way.

Timothy seemed to experience what Paul warned him about concerning these stubborn people when he journaled, “The time is coming when people won’t listen to good teaching. Instead, they will look for teachers who will please them by telling them only what they are itching to hear.” 2 Timothy 4:3

That is why we cannot be saved by our works. Any of our works done on earth usually are assigned with prideful thoughts because of our sinful nature. Therefore, we cannot do any good work that can merit our salvation. As Paul indicated, we naturally would boast in our hearts or mind of our ability to be good, or better than others if we achieved salvation by our works.

However, God expects us to do the works He assigns to us in order for us to be blessed, fruitful, and impactful to the world of unbelievers so that they too may turn to Him for their salvation. So any works on our part excludes salvation. Our works done in faith in the name of Jesus are simply a show of our gratitude towards Jesus for saving us. In turn, God empowers us to achieve victories in the name of Jesus for our obedience, humility, and faithfulness towards Him.