Works Are a Condition of Salvation
Mar 8, 2008
The importance of works in religion is a topic that not everyone agrees on. The question is, can I be saved by faith alone or do I also need works? One side would say that works are necessary for salvation because the Bible says we need to have them. The other side would say that works cannot be necessary because if they were, then we would be earning our salvation and we don’t earn our salvation. We are saved by the grace of God. The Bible does say that we are saved by grace and not by works (Ephesians 2:8+9). But it also says that we need works (James 2:24). While works are necessary, they do not earn salvation for us. They are a condition that we must meet before God will save us by His grace.
The Bible says that we are saved by God’s grace and not our own works (Ephesians 2:8+9, 2nd Timothy 1:8+9). Our sins can be forgiven, not because we worked them off, but because Jesus made atonement for them (1st Peter 2:21-24). The reason we can be saved is not that we earn it, but that God gives it (Romans 6:23).
The Bible also says that works are required. Without them, faith is dead and no one could be justified (James 2:24). As recorded in Luke 19:11-27, Jesus spoke a parable about a nobleman who gave money to ten of his servants. They were each expected to use the money to do business and make a profit for him. When the nobleman returned to the servants, he rewarded those who had used the money to make him a profit. The servant who did nothing was punished. God gives us abilities just like that nobleman gave his servants money. Just like the nobleman expected his servants to use the money to do his will, God expects us to use our abilities to do his will. Taking action is a requirement. Saying we love God is not enough; we have to show it with our deeds (1st John 3:18, Mark 7:6+7).
Works are necessary, but they don’t earn our salvation. There is a difference between earning something and meeting a condition for something. If my car broke down and my neighbor said, “stop over tomorrow and I’ll give you a ride to work.” I wouldn’t be earning a ride to work by walking from my driveway to his driveway. I would be meeting a condition. Suppose I had a rich uncle in Florida who said, “I have an old car I don’t need anymore. Fly down here and you can drive it back and keep it.” My going to Florida would not be earning that car. It would be meeting a condition for it. There are plenty of examples of this in the Bible. God told Moses to lift his rod over the Red Sea to divide it (Exodus 14:15+16). When Moses lifted his rod, he didn’t earn that miracle. He met a condition for it. Naaman was told to wash in the Jordan River to have his leprosy healed (2nd Kings 5:9-14). By simply dipping himself in a river, he was not earning his healing. He was meeting a condition for it.
The Bible says that works are necessary. We are not earning our salvation. There is nothing we could do to earn something that great. We are simply meeting a condition that God requires before He will save us. So let’s do as the Bible says and meet that condition.
The Bible says that we are saved by God’s grace and not our own works (Ephesians 2:8+9, 2nd Timothy 1:8+9). Our sins can be forgiven, not because we worked them off, but because Jesus made atonement for them (1st Peter 2:21-24). The reason we can be saved is not that we earn it, but that God gives it (Romans 6:23).
The Bible also says that works are required. Without them, faith is dead and no one could be justified (James 2:24). As recorded in Luke 19:11-27, Jesus spoke a parable about a nobleman who gave money to ten of his servants. They were each expected to use the money to do business and make a profit for him. When the nobleman returned to the servants, he rewarded those who had used the money to make him a profit. The servant who did nothing was punished. God gives us abilities just like that nobleman gave his servants money. Just like the nobleman expected his servants to use the money to do his will, God expects us to use our abilities to do his will. Taking action is a requirement. Saying we love God is not enough; we have to show it with our deeds (1st John 3:18, Mark 7:6+7).
Works are necessary, but they don’t earn our salvation. There is a difference between earning something and meeting a condition for something. If my car broke down and my neighbor said, “stop over tomorrow and I’ll give you a ride to work.” I wouldn’t be earning a ride to work by walking from my driveway to his driveway. I would be meeting a condition. Suppose I had a rich uncle in Florida who said, “I have an old car I don’t need anymore. Fly down here and you can drive it back and keep it.” My going to Florida would not be earning that car. It would be meeting a condition for it. There are plenty of examples of this in the Bible. God told Moses to lift his rod over the Red Sea to divide it (Exodus 14:15+16). When Moses lifted his rod, he didn’t earn that miracle. He met a condition for it. Naaman was told to wash in the Jordan River to have his leprosy healed (2nd Kings 5:9-14). By simply dipping himself in a river, he was not earning his healing. He was meeting a condition for it.
The Bible says that works are necessary. We are not earning our salvation. There is nothing we could do to earn something that great. We are simply meeting a condition that God requires before He will save us. So let’s do as the Bible says and meet that condition.