The majority of evangelicals, by use of their proof text methodology, misquote and abuse the various verses that say "apart from works." This is where their erroneous Sola Fide—faith alone—doctrine is derived. First of all, they willfully leave off the fact that, if they bothered to finish quoting such verses in their entirety, they either say or allude to "works of the Law." It is a specific type of works. Second, they miss the fact that "apart from works" applies only to our deliverance from slavery to sin.
Yahweh transforms us by forgiving our sins and giving us the Holy Spirit to make us new creatures, created in Christ Jesus to do good deeds. Yahweh does all of this apart from works (Eph. 2:8-10). None of this, however, has any effect upon the judgment of Yahweh's mercy. His judgment was already fair, and He was already merciful.
I have written several times on the fact that the majority of evangelicals misinterpret Romans 7:14-25. They keep attempting to interpret it experientially rather than exegetically. They interpret it based upon tradition rather than upon Scripture. In order to understand what is going on in Romans 7:13-25, you need to understand verses 7-12. When you understand these verses, Paul's statements in verses 15 and 19 are not difficult to comprehend.
Romans 7 is the Law of Sin and Death. Any Bible teacher worth his salt understands this. Romans 7 informs us that sin in our flesh prevents us from living righteously. The chapter ends with a cry for deliverance from the sin that dwells in our wretched body. We commit sin and it leads to death because of the judgment according to works. Our sins cause us to perish at the Judgment Seat. Yahweh's judgment has never changed. Hundreds of passages of Scripture acknowledge that Yahweh has always been merciful, so His mercy has never changed. So what needed to change?
"But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has done and keeps all My statutes and does justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his transgressions which he has done will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has done, he will live. Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares Lord Yahweh, “is it not that he should turn from his ways and live?" Ezekiel 18:21-23
Please pay close attention to this passage. If people repent, Yahweh will forget all their wickedness and they will live because of the righteous deeds they perform after their repentance. This is a very merciful and fair judgment, would you not agree? Again, what needed to change?
Our ability to repent and live righteously (holy) needed to change.
Yahweh also put in place the Law of the Spirit of Life (Rom. 8:2). Romans 8 is the natural life of the Christian. Because Jesus became a man and obeyed unto death, all who believe in Him become righteous. We become obeyers (Rom. 16:26). Romans 8:3-4 informs us that "what the Law could not do, ... God did by sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin ... so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled by us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." This all happens "apart from works."
Our works cannot deliver us from our Romans 7 state. That is the point, which many evangelicals miss. Apart from works and by faith in the working of Yahweh, He delivers us from the flesh by putting it to death. He crucifies us with Jesus (Gal. 2:20), buries us with Jesus (Rom. 6:3), raises us from the dead by giving us the life of Jesus (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:3-11), gives us the Spirit of faith, and baptizes us for the remission of sins without requiring any works of us (Acts 2:38). This is how we are born again, made new creatures who were created to do good deeds (Eph. 2:10). Problem solved!
Through faith in Jesus, we are transformed into obeyers. We have been delivered from our past sins. We are now the people Ezekiel 18:21-23 described. This transformation is so great that Peter says we become "partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust" (2 Pet. 1:3-4). Romans 8:12-13 concludes with this simple fact: "So then, brothers, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die, but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the practices of the body, you will live."
Paul verified this when he said, "I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27). That word, "disqualified," is the exact same word as used in 2 Corinthians 13:5 where Paul instructs his audience to test and examine themselves as to whether they are truly in the faith.
Christians live in John 1:7. We live holy lives obedient to Yahweh. When we fall into sin, we repent and mourn and weep. This is how we end up blameless at the Judgment Seat of Jesus (Jude 24-25). This is righteousness by faith apart from works combined with judgment by works. This is how Paul could say we are justified by faith and James could say we are justified by works (living faith; faith in action).
The early Christians understood that obedience was a key element of salvation. The majority of evangelicals today believe that all you need is faith, without any obedience. These people would do well to re-read the words of Jesus. Though maybe they believe He was merely making a suggestion...