Faith and Deeds 2

After my last post on faith and deeds I have been thinking about what I should think about the relationship between faith, works and salvation.

Here is where I think we get unstuck in the reformed tradition becase we are so afraid of saying that we are saved by works that we say nothing of works and never address teir importance (if indeed they are important).

Let me begin by saying that it is made excessively clear in scripture that we are saved by grace alone.  There is nothing that I can do to earn my salvation.  I am incapable of good works and as such I cannot earn a place in glory.  On the final day when I am declared to be one of God's covenant people and it is shown that my name is in the book of life and that there is a place reserved for me in heaven, it will be only because I am clothed in the righteousness of Christ and washed in his blood.  Works will play no part in my declaration of inclusion in God's Kingdom (thank goodness).

So then the question is: Do works play a role in this area?  I think that the answer is yes.  Although works play no part in the inclusion in the covenant, they are an essential part of the life of the person who is included in the covenant.  Here I think that Matthew 25 is very helpful.

Jesus says:
 ³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
 ³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
 ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
 ⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
 ⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
 ⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
 ⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
 ⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Here we are not seeing someone included in the covenant people because of their actions, but we are, I think, seeing someone judged as to whether or not they ever were one of the covenant people by their actions.  

Matthew 7 adds more to this idea for us:
¹⁵"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
 ²¹"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' ²³Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Here we see that the people who are included in the covenant have shown that they are included by the way that they behave.  I don't think that this is an earning salvation type of thing, but rather it is a case of those who are saved by Christ begin to be transformed by Christ in this life and they inevitably show that in the way that they behave toward others.

Too often we hear of the man on the cross beside Jesus who had faith but o works.  I think that this is rubbish.  Although his hands and feet were suspended on the cross so that he couldn't go anywhere, he demonstrated his regenerate heart by what he spoke.  Here was a criminal, a selfish man, condemned by society who demonstrated compassion and empathy to his Lord whom he saw suffering.  What is amazing about the thef on the cross is ot that he was saved without any deeds, but that the deeds that came about as a result of his salvation came so quickly.  It is amazing that his capacityto love and show compassion came about so quickly as the man beside him demonstrated his capacity only to hate and revile.

Works are important.  They are essential.  Not in order to to attain something, but for the Christian they are something that will become necessary just because of who they are becoming and what is happening as they become regenerate servants of Christ Jesus.

Faith without deeds is dead.