Faith and Works: How They Relate to Salvation

Since the days of the early church, there has existed the debate on how faith and works relate to our salvation. The term “faith” refers to one’s possession of a saving belief in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. The term “works,” that is, as it relates to our discussion, can carry two similar, but different, meanings depending on the context used. First, when used in contexts such as “good works” (sometimes translated “good deeds”), “work of the Lord,” or “work of faith,” it refer to a person’s righteous acts, or, more simply, their good deeds. Second, when used in contexts such as “works of the law”, or simply “works,” it refers to the observance of the law. The “law” refers to the Old Testament laws, or “laws of Moses,” set forth in the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. To say that one properly observes the law would be to say that they lived a good and “godly” life. In our discussion, we will be encompassing both meanings of “works” noted above. In general, there are two primary beliefs concerning the relationship of faith and works to salvation. On one side of the debate there are those who believe that we are saved through faith alone, apart from our works, and that once saved our “works” are not a basis by which we keep our salvation. On the other side, we have those who believe that salvation comes through, and is retained by, both faith and works, that is, we must both have faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and also, to varying degrees, have works. In this Bible study, we will study what the Bible tells us regarding the relationship of faith and works to salvation. The Basis of Salvation One of the foundational Christian doctrines is that our salvation is based on the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross where He died for all our sins (cf. I John 1:7, 2:2, Revelation 1:5). In the book of John, we read about the final words of Jesus on the Cross, “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” (NKJ: John 19:30) The Greek word translated “It is finished” is “tetelestai,” which literally means “paid in full.” To more fully understand the significance of Jesus’ statement on the Cross, we need to understand the usage of this term during that period of time. In the days of Jesus, when a person was convicted of committing a crime, a contract was written up stating the crime committed and the related required jail time (note: this is from where we get the term “debt to society”). Once the full jail time was served, the person was released from jail and was given back the written document. Upon the document would have been written the same Greek word used by Jesus Christ on the Cross, “ tetelestai,” that is to say, the crime for which they committed was now fully paid, and they could never again be punished for that specific occurrence of that crime, or as we might say in today’s legal system, “no double-jeopardy.” When Jesus Christ uttered His final words on the Cross, “It is finished,” or, literally, “paid in full,” He was saying that His sacrifice of His life on the Cross was payment in full for all our sins--past, present, and future. Therefore, based on the words of Jesus Christ on the Cross, all of the “work” required has been completed by Him on the Cross. But does that mean that there is absolutely no “work” for us to do to receive salvation? Well, this very question was posed to Jesus by some of his disciples when they asked Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (NKJ: John 6:28) Jesus, in reply to their question, told them, and us, what “work” was required of a person to receive salvation, “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’” (NKJ: John 6:29) The answer from Jesus to their question regarding the work that is required of a person to receive salvation was simple and to the point. His sacrifice on the Cross had the power and was all sufficient to take away all of our sins. Through His shed blood on the Cross, we who receive Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior can stand before God justified and righteous, with all our sins having been washed away: - “…in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (NKJ: Colossians 1:14) - “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood,…” (NKJ: Romans 3:22-25) - “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (NKJ: Romans 5:9) - “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins…” (NKJ: Ephesians 1:7) - “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (NKJ: Colossians 1:19-20) Based on the words of Jesus Christ, all that is required of us to receive the gift of salvation is to believe in Him as the Lord and Savior of our lives—no more, no less. Salvation Through Faith Alone For many of us, it is extremely difficult to comprehend and accept the biblical message of salvation being a free gift from God whereupon a person only has to accept this free gift, through faith, to receive it. We live in a world that constantly tells us and shows us that “nothing is for free.” Yet, just because we cannot fully understand certain biblical concepts, for example the Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ being all God and all man at the same time, does not mean that we cannot accept them and/or that they are not true. We are finite beings trying to understand an infinite God, and as we read in the Scriptures: - “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (NKJ: Isaiah 55:8-9) - “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their own craftiness’; and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’” (NKJ: I Corinthians 3:19-20) This means that there will be certain biblical truths that we will not be able to fully comprehend until we pass from this life into eternity. One of the strongest, if not the strongest, passages in the Bible that supports the biblical doctrine of salvation through faith alone is found in Paul’s epistle to the church of Ephesus. In this epistle Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (NKJ: Ephesians 2:8-9) In this passage, Paul twice states that salvation comes through faith alone apart from works. In the first verse of the passage, Paul states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves.” The word “grace” means unmerited or unearned favor, and the phrase “this not from yourselves” points to the fact that His favor or love has nothing to do with who we are or what we do. In this first verse, we are told that our salvation comes through our faith in Jesus Christ, and has nothing to do with us, but everything to do with God. Then, in the next verse, Paul states the same thought again, but even in a simpler manner, just in case we did not understand the first verse, “it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” In this second verse, we are told that salvation is a gift from God to us, and again has nothing to do with our works. The final phrase, “lest anyone should boast,” let’s us know that when we stand before God, and He asks why we think we should get into heaven, then we will simply point to His Son and say, “because I accepted your Son as my Lord and Savior, and His blood has washed away all of my sins.” In that day, there will be no one saying “and in addition to the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, look what I also did” There shall be no boasting from anyone, for our Lord and Savior will have done all the work. Salvation through faith alone, apart from works, is a clear message given to us throughout the Bible. The following is a selection of such passages: - “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (NKJ: I John 5:11-12) - “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (NKJ: John 3:14-16) - “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (NKJ: Romans 3:21-26) - “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. “ (NKJ: Romans 3:27-28) - “What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,…” (NKJ: Romans 4:1-5) - “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (NKJ: Romans 5:1-2) - “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.” (NKJ: Romans 5:15) - “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (NKJ: Romans 6:14) - “but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.” (NKJ: Romans 9:31-32) - “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.” (NKJ: Romans 6:6) - “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,…” (NKJ: II Timothy 1:8-10) The above verses clearly show us that we are saved through our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, apart from any human works. To believe that our works are a contributing factor to our salvation would be to say that the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross was not sufficient, and that we must add our works to His work to make His suffering on the Cross be of any value—harsh words, but sorely true. The work required for our eternal salvation has already been completed by Jesus Christ on the Cross. It is only for us to reach out and accept this gift through our faith in Him as our personal Lord and Savior. From another perspective, it can be viewed that for one to believe that their works in some manner contribute to their salvation is to say that God owes or is in debt to that person. That is, they view that through their works they have earned and deserve salvation. Therefore, if they believe that their works have earned them salvation, then that puts God in the role of a debtor in that He owes a person salvation based on the works they have performed. An outrageous thought, to be sure, when we view “works” from a perspective of making God a debtor to us. But God is a debtor to no one. We read in the book of Romans, “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.’” (NKJ: Romans 4:4-8) In this passage, the phrase “to him who does not work,” refers to one who is not looking to their own works, but, as we further read in the passage is relying solely on faith. It is to this person, who comes before God solely based on faith in His Son, that God imputes righteousness, that is, this person can stand in the presence of God having been fully forgiven of all their sin. Let us not lose sight of the biblical fact that we are all sinners (cf. Romans 3:23), and will be sinners until the day we die. And there is no amount of personal works that can atone for that sin. Only, and solely, through the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross can we achieve righteous standing before God and the gift of eternal salvation. The Relationship of Works to Salvation Based on the discussion in the previous section, we can be confident that our eternal salvation is obtained and secure through the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, apart from our works. So then what relation, if any, do our “works” have to our salvation? Well, “works” actually have a lot to do in regards to the life of a Christian, for though works have nothing to do with the obtaining and security of our salvation, they have everything to do with how we live our lives as Christians. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and receive the gift of salvation, we are spiritually, from the inside, born again (cf. John 3:3), and God makes us into a new creation, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (NKJ: II Corinthians 5:17) God literally remakes us on the inside, and gives us a new spiritual heart. In addition, God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, takes up permanent residence inside of us, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (NKJ: I Corinthians 6:19) His Spirit now guides us in our daily lives. This new creation that God makes of each of us who receives His Son as Lord and Savior, we are told, is actually designed by God to do good works, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (NKJ: Ephesians 2:10) It is in God’s rewiring of us to produce good works for the Lord, and they are a natural part of the Christian life once we have received salvation. Good Works in the Life of a Christian are Directed by the Holy Spirit Indwelling Inside of Them In Paul’s epistle to the church in Philippi, he writes to them, “12Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (NKJ: Philippians 2:12-13) Some misinterpret this passage as meaning that we must work for our salvation. This is very much incorrect, and contradictory to many other verses in the Bible. In this passage, Paul is exhorting the Philippians, based on the transformation that has already occurred within them through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to follow the directing of the Holy Spirit in their lives to produce good works. This is made clear in this passage when in verse 12, the Philippians are told to “work out your own salvation,”, but then this is followed by verse 13 where Paul clarifies the true source of these good works when he says, “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Not only does the Spirit of God within the Christian cause them to do good works, but also provides the “will” to do them. In other words, God’s Spirit inspires in us the desire and joy to perform good works. True Christian good works spring forth out of love and desire, and not grudgingly. The internal working of the Holy Spirit in a Christian to enable them to produce good works is also made clear in the following verses: - “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (NKJ: I Corinthians 15:9-10) - “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” (NKJ: Colossians 1:28-29) The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the well-spring within each Christian from which the inspiration of good works arises. True Good Works in a Christian Only Occur When We Are “Abiding” in the Lord The motivation and source of good works in our lives comes through the prompting and directing of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In the book of John, Jesus tells His disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (NKJ: John 15:5) To “abide” in the Lord is to have an intimate relationship with the Lord—to cling to Him. Without the Lord, no true good work can be accomplished, but conversely, through the Lord we can be very fruitful in our good works, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (NKJ: Philippians 4:13) True good works have eternal value through their witness to the world, and their results in furthering the work of the gospel. False works only appear to have eternal value, but really have only earthly value for those performing the works. In the book of Isaiah, we read regarding works outside of the will of God, “…And we need to be saved. But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;” (NKJ: Isaiah 64:5-6) To fully comprehend the magnitude of this verse, it is important to note that the literal translation of “filthy rags” is “used menstrual cloths.” Apologies for the graphic visual, but I am only quoting God’s Word as He wrote it. When we attempt to work apart from God, the result is not good deeds, but worthless and repulsive acts in the eyes of the Lord. It is an abomination to God when we look at the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, and then turn to Him and say, “but look what I also did,” for nothing can add to or improve the work that was completed on the Cross by Jesus Christ because of His infinite love for us. For those things done through the will of God possess eternal value, but those things done based on our own will only serve us and are of only temporal value. In Jesus’ teachings, He addressed those who would call themselves Christians, but would not really belong to Him, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (NKJ: Matthew 7:21-23) It is interesting here to note that these people will perform what would appear to be wonderful works in the name of the Lord. Outwardly, to us as onlookers, the motivation for these works will appear to be from a love of the Lord and for the furtherance of the gospel message. But the Lord will see their hearts, and know the true selfish motivations contained therein. Though they may get away with their charade while they are here on earth, when they stand before the Lord on the day of judgment, then their true motivations will be laid bare, and the Lord will cast them from His presence. True Saving Faith Will Produce Good Works—A “Faith” Without Works is Not a True Saving Faith Here is where much of the controversy and confusion lies in the relationship of faith and works to salvation. We have already established that works have nothing to do with obtaining salvation. In addition, the Bible is very clear regarding the security of our salvation, that is, once we are saved, we cannot then lose our salvation (See the Bible study on “Security of our Salvation” for a detailed discussion regarding the security of our salvation and how once received it can never be lost); therefore, works also has no relationship to retaining our salvation. However, as we have discussed, the Bible is also very clear that good works should naturally flow out of Christians. In fact, we read in the book of James, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (NKJ: James 2:17) If a person says they have faith, but their life does not bear witness to their faith through their works, then there faith is very likely a dead faith, that is, knowledge without true belief. That is, they do not have a true saving faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, as their personal Lord and Savior, instead, they have based their faith on something else. For example, James writes two verses later, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (NKJ: James 2:19) James is saying in this verse that one can have belief that there is a God in heaven, one can have belief that there is a heaven and hell, one can have belief that God will decide who goes where, and one can believe that one must have faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior to be saved; however, mere intellectual knowledge and belief in these biblical truths is not a true saving faith, for as James points out, if one has such an intellectual belief, then they share that exact same belief with the demons, for the demons know and fully comprehend all that is God. But, the person with such an intellectual belief, just like the demons themselves, is not saved because though they have belief (that is, the belief that these things are true) and knowledge about God, they have not accepted His Son as their personal Lord and Savior. Thus, though they have a belief that these heavenly things are true, it is not the one true faith by which we are saved, and, as James states, the deadness of their faith is witnessed by the lack of good works in their lives. In his epistle, James stresses the importance of good works in the life of a Christian. Some scholars have pointed to James’ writings as being a contradiction to the writings of Paul who stresses salvation through faith alone. But, in actuality, these two writers are in complete harmony with each other. The apostle Paul wrote thirteen books, disputably fourteen (the book of Hebrews is disputably written by Paul) of the New Testament from Romans through Hebrews. From Paul’s writings, it is clear that we are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ. In his teachings, he was fighting against the works-based salvation heresy in which some degree of human works must be added to Jesus’ work on the Cross for one to be saved. In contrast, James, in his teachings, in the book of James, was fighting against the other extreme, that being an any-belief salvation heresy in which one can just have any sort of belief in God and be saved. James argues that one must have a saving belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to be saved, and that such a belief should be evidenced by good works in accordance with the will of God, and furthering the gospel message. However, though good works are generally evidenced in the life of one who possesses a true saving belief in Jesus Christ, we also learn from the Scriptures that there will be those who though having a saving belief in Jesus Christ will not have good works evidenced in their lives. Paul comments on this fact in his first letter to the church in Corinth, “each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on [it] endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” (NKJ: I Corinthians 3:13-15) In this verse we learn that there is a, so to speak, heavenly bonfire in heaven. As Christians, after we pass from this life into our eternity in heaven, the deeds done in our lives will be thrown into this heavenly bonfire. Those deeds that were of benefit to the kingdom of God will survive through the fire, and we will receive some form of heavenly “reward” for such deeds. Those deeds that were of no value to God’s kingdom will burn away, leaving nothing. As this passage states, there will be some people to where their life’s work is thrown into the fire, and it will all be burned up indicating that their life was absent of works that had value in relation to God’s kingdom. However, though their life was absent of good works, we see that due to their faith in Jesus Christ they still will be saved, that is, will receive the gift of salvation and eternal life in heaven with our Lord. This then brings us back to the biblical fact that our salvation is solely based on having a saving faith in Jesus Christ, and has no basis on our works. James, in his epistle, stresses the significance and importance of good works in the life of a Christian. His basic premise is that the presence of good works in a Christian’s life is evidence of their saving faith, and, the antithesis, that a lack of good works in a professed Christian’s life is strong evidence that they may have not truly accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. To more fully understand his teachings on this subject, let us review one of the related passages in his epistle: “14What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (NKJ: James 2:14-26) James is speaking here of the difference between a true saving faith that will naturally produce good works verses a false faith that will be absent of good works. A biblical truth taught throughout the Bible is that our true nature, in particular, being saved or not saved, is revealed by what we do, which was exemplified by the words of Jesus when he said to his disciples, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by [its] fruit….A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” (NKJ: Matthew 12:33,35). The genuineness of one’s relationship to the Lord, and the trueness of their transformed heart, is evidenced much more by what they do than what they say. As the saying goes, “talk is cheap.” It is very easy for one who is not saved to say that they are a Christian, it is an extremely more difficult thing to have their actions profess that they are Christians. In verse 14 of the above passage, James is stating that the person “says they have faith,” but does not say that they have a true belief. He is offering up a test to see if they have a saving faith, or a non-saving faith. In verse 17, James speaks of a “faith” just based on knowledge in that one can truly believe there is a God of this universe. But James then sarcastically tells the reader that this is obviously not enough to save one, because even the demons have that belief. Mere intellectual knowledge of God and Jesus Christ does not save a person. One must have a saving faith in Jesus Christ in that they have repented of their sins, and have accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of their lives. Further in the above passage we have, in verses 21, 24, and 25, James stating that individuals were “justified” by their works. The Greek word translated “justified” has two meanings. The first meaning pertains to salvation, and being made righteous, in particular, righteous before God. The second meaning is vindication or proof of righteousness, that is, proof of righteousness before men. James is teaching on how one can ascertain that a person has a true saving belief verses a non-saving belief. Consistent with this teaching is the fact that proof of one’s righteous standing before God cannot be made merely on one’s profession of their faith, but should be additionally evidenced by good works. This evidence is not for God’s sake, since He already knows the true heart of everyone; therefore, it would make no sense to have good works to prove to God that one has a true saving belief. But the justification being spoken of here by James is referring to a person being justified before the world, that is, proving one’s salvation and relationship to the Lord through their actions. For example, the reference to Abraham, in verses 21 thru 23, being justified by his works is pointing to an outward proof of his inward righteousness. This is evident due to the fact that God had declared Abraham righteous by his faith in chapter 15 of Genesis, “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” (NKJ: Genesis 15:6) Many years later, chronicled in chapter 22 of Genesis, we have Abraham showing evidence of his righteousness and trust in the Lord when he obeys God and offers up his son Isaac as a sacrifice. Abrahams’ actions were a witness to the world that his faith in the Lord was real, and not just a superficial, in word-only, faith that could be shaken the moment trials hit. His righteous act of willingness to sacrifice his son was not justification before God, for God already knew his heart, but was justification before the world. Therefore, it should be clear from our discussion regarding the teachings from the book of James that James is not speaking of a works-based salvation where a person must work to obtain and/or retain their eternal salvation, but, rather, he is speaking of a primary characteristic that should be evident in the life of every Christian, that being the presence of good works in their life. Good Works are a Witness to the World of God’s Glory As a final note, we must understand that, as Christians, we are all missionaries to the world, and should be reaching out to the lost with the Gospel message. Our good works are a witness to the world of God’s work in our lives. Regarding our good works, Jesus spoke the following in His teachings, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (NKJ: Matthew 5:14-16) The purpose and motivation behind true good works is not to bring attention and accolades to ourselves, but is to bring glory to God because of the wonderful transformation He has made in us. Our actions should always be done in a way that points attention away from ourselves, and towards our Lord and Savior, and our heavenly Father. Conclusion Based on our study of Scriptures, we should be able to lay the following foundational biblical building blocks: 1) We are saved through our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, apart from our works. 2) Though works have no part in the obtaining or retaining of a person’s salvation, they should be a natural part of the life of a Christian, and a witness to the world of one’s internal faith. It is hard for us to comprehend that such an awesome and infinitely valuable thing as eternal salvation should be given to us as a gift, free and unmerited, and requiring nothing on our part except to believe and receive. But it is very true nonetheless. And to those who still have an urge to cling to a works-based salvation, let me leave you with a verse from the book of James, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet