The Relationship Between Faith and Works

The Relationship Between Faith and Works

Speaker: Doug Humphrey Senior PastorSpeaker: Doug Humphrey Senior Pastor

14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead. 20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on he altar?22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.

23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

The Relationship Between Faith and Works

The Relationship Between Faith and Works

Speaker: Doug Humphrey Senior PastorSpeaker: Doug Humphrey Senior Pastor

Is salvation a free gift, dispensed on the basis of faith in Christ alone, or is salvation awarded at least partially on the basis of a life of good deeds?

Ephesians 2

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Galatians 2:16

16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

James 2:14

24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

James 2:24

28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

Romans 3:28

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

James Paul

Three Views

I. An evaluation of what is sometimes called “the Arminian view.”

“If a person claims to be a Christian but gives no evidence of true faith by the way he lives, he may never have been saved, or he may no longer be saved.”

The Arminian View

Assumption #1: Saving faith is accompanied by a life of good works.

Assumption #2: Where there are no good works, there is no saving faith.

Assumption #3: Saving faith can degenerate into nonproductive faith.

Assumption #4: Nonproductive faith leads to a loss of salvation.

John 6

37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.

John 6

40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

John 10

28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.30 “I and the Father are one.”

Three Views

II. An evaluation of what is sometimes called “the Reformed view.”

“If a person claims to be a Christian, but gives no evidence of true faith by the way he lives, he was never a true Christian to begin with.”

The Reformed View

Assumption #1: Genuine (saving) faith inevitably produces a life of good works.

Assumption #2: Where there are no good works, there never was genuine faith.

Assumption #3: Salvation, once possessed, cannot be forfeited.

Spiritual growth is not portrayed in the Bible as being “automatic” or even

“inevitable.”

1 Corinthians

1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready, 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?

The Reformed View

Assumption #2: Where there are no good works, there never was genuine faith.

1 Corinthians 5

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.

2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?

1 Corinthians 5

3 And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this...

4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,

5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

Serious consequences await the Christian who lives in blatant violation of Biblical teaching.

The absence of a godly life did not lead the great Apostle Paul to automatically assume the absence of genuine faith.

Three Views

III. A Mediating View

“If a person claims to be a Christian, but gives no evidence of true faith by the way he lives, there are two possibilities. He may not be saved, or he may be saved but not living by faith. He is not being a “doer” of the Word.”

A Mediating View

Assumption #1: Although genuine faith normally produces a life of good works, there is no inevitable connection between faith and works.

Assumption #2: Where there are no good works, there is no vital living faith.

Assumption #3: Faith which was once vital, can degenerate and become nonproductive.

Assumption #4: Nonproductive faith leads to divine discipline and loss of reward in the kingdom of God, but not to a loss of salvation.

Application/Challenge

1. Prayerfully Read James 1:1 through 2:26.

2. Reread James 2:14-26 with each of the three views studied today in mind.

3. Jot down your thoughts about the relative strengths and weaknesses of each view.

Application/Challenge

4. Be here next week as we continue our study of this important N.T. passage.