Are you ready to tear down one of Evangelicalism's sacred cows? Let us get to it then.
The Epistle to Diognetus says,
"...having made it manifest that in ourselves we were unable to enter into the Kingdom of God, we might through the power of God be made able."
This is the simple key to understanding faith and works biblically, instead of trying to deny the multitude of passages that speak to works and instead impose the Reformation's Easy Believism as "faith." Evangelicals are falsely taught that works have nothing to do with our faith and that we do not have to even do them. This is choosing your particular theological dogma over and above Yahweh's Scriptures; believing your "Christian" theology rather than believing Jesus. The Bible says quite the opposite. Are you ready to finally hear the truth?
Read these passages carefully:
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35
"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." John 17:20-23
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16
"You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come." 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith." Galatians 6:7-10
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"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:43-48
"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." Luke 6:27-36
"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,' says the Lord. 'BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:9-21
If Christians are going to make a difference in this world and turn it upside down as the first three centuries of Christians did, then it is time we started obeying our King's commands and living as He commanded us to live. The only way the world will know that we have been with Jesus and that we are His disciples—Christians—is by the love we have for each other (regardless of our personal theological beliefs) and for our enemies.
The greatest of our good deeds is to love one another, as well as loving our enemies. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. But there are several other good deeds mentioned in Scripture that we are to be rich in.
Yahweh took 14 verses to complain about the disobedience of Israel through Isaiah (1:2-25), but when telling them what to obey, His list was short:
Learn to do good. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed / Rebuke the oppressor. Defend the orphan. Plead for the widow. (1:17)
When Jesus described the final judgment, He focused on a narrow category of works: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, taking in strangers, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and imprisoned (Matt. 25:31-46). The Sermon on the Mount is a great source for good deeds we should be engaged in. James identified pure undefiled religion as consisting of visiting the fatherless and widows in their afflictions, as well as keeping one's self unstained by the world (which covers all the commands we are given). These works are what we will eventually be judged for—not our theological dogmas. You do not believe me?
"[God] WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life." Romans 2:6-7
The formula here is this:
- Pursue glory, honour, and immortality by persevering in doing good deeds throughout your life.
- God will repay us for our works.
- We receive eternal life.
As born again children of God who are no longer slaves to sin, the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, and the fellowship of the saints all enable us to do good deeds. The new birth, plus the resources from Heaven, enable us to do good. Whether you want to hear it or not, or are willing to admit it or not, even Christians will be judged by their works, both good and bad (Matt. 25:31-46; John 5:28-29; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Pet. 1:17). You can try to explain this fact away all you want, but you will continue to be haunted by it.
The epistles were written to believers. If Jesus' death eliminated judgment according to works, then why will the bad things we did come up at the judgment (2 Cor. 5:10)? Why will a believer who lives in the flesh reap corruption (Gal. 6:7), die (Rom. 8:12), and be unable to inherit the Kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:5)? Why will believers who "escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" be worse off than before they were saved if they "are again entangled in them and are overcome" (2 Pet. 2:20)? Why will only the undefiled members of the congregation in Sardis walk with Jesus in white (Rev. 3:4-5)?
What needed to change? Was it God? Or was it us? Obviously Jesus did not die in order to eliminate or change the judgment; the judgment was already just. God did not need to change; He was already merciful. We needed to change. Jesus died to liberate us from slavery to sin! Please note carefully what Paul says in Romans 5:9-10. We are not saved from God's wrath; we will be saved from God's wrath "by His life." If you do not know what this means, then please go read Galatians 2:20.
Jesus did die to save us from God's wrath, but not in the way Evangelicals typically teach. Jesus did not change God's judgment. God was already merciful, granting forgiveness long before Jesus arrived on the scene. What needed to change was us. If you want to know more about that, read Apart From Works.
"But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:22-23
Verse 22 is clear: God freed us from sin; giving ourselves to His service yielded the fruit of sanctification, and the result of sanctification is eternal life. We often get confused because of the horrible translation of verse 23. In Romans 2:6-7, Paul told us that eternal life is a reward or repayment. The Greek verb used in Romans 2:6 is used "esp. of wages, debts, oaths, etc." In other words, the gift of eternal life in Romans 2:6 is not "free," but a repayment for patiently doing good. In Romans 6:23, there is no word for "free" in the Greek. The word for "gift" is charisma. Any Lexicon will have the words "grace" and "favour" suggested as translations of charisma. Probably because the Greek word for "grace" is charis. The gift is given out of a favourable attitude toward the recipient of the gift. A better translation here would be: "eternal life is a favour bestowed by God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
"Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due." Romans 4:4
"But if it is by [favor], it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise [favor] is no longer [favor]. [But if it is of works, it is no longer [favor]; otherwise work is no longer work.]" Romans 11:6
If I hire you at $20 per hour and you work 40 hours in a week, I am not doing you a favour by paying you $800. I am giving you something I owe you. If you receive something as a favour, it was not wages; if you receive wages in return for work, it was not a favour.
According to Romans 2:6-7, God only rewards eternal life to those who patiently continue to do good. While it is called a "repayment," it is not considered a wage (something earned) but a favour (something given). No matter how much good we do, we cannot earn eternal life. It is not something we deserve, but something God gives to those in His favour. Sin earns you death. Good deeds do not earn you eternal life. John Chrysostom once wrote this concerning Romans 6:23:
"After speaking of the wages of sin, in the case of the blessings, he has not kept to the same order: for he does not say, "the wages of good deeds,' but "the gift of God"; to show, that it was not of themselves that they were freed, nor was it a due they received, neither yet a return, nor a recompense of labors, but by grace all these things came about."
All Christians used to understand that being freed from sin and called to holiness was a great gift of favour to be rejoiced over and treasured, even being rewarded with eternal life. Observe Chrysostom's commentary on verse 22:
"For to prevent your saying everything lies in hope [that is, the future], he points out that you have already reaped fruits, first the being freed from wickedness...; second, the being made a servant unto righteousness; a third, the enjoying of holiness; a fourth, the obtaining of life, and life too not for a season, but everlasting."
Eternal life cannot be a wage earned for our good works because our good works are already a gift of grace, a "favour bestowed." The worst fruit that the Reformation has produced is the idea that good deeds are a heavy burden. Chrysostom continued in his commentary on verse 23:
"And so there was a superiority for this cause also, in that He did not free them only, or change their condition for a better, but that He did it without any labor or trouble upon their part: and that He not only freed them, but also gave them much more than before, and that through His Son."
A book called The Shepherd of Hermas consists of three books: one of visions, one of commandments, and one of similes. The book of commandments contains twelve commandments, which at the end Hermas says:
"Sir, these commandments are great, and good, and glorious, and fitted to gladden the heart of the man who can perform them. But I do not know if these commandments can be kept by man, because they are exceeding hard."
An "Angel of Repentance" replies by telling him, "If you lay it down as certain that they can be kept, then you will easily keep them, and they will not be hard." This agrees with Paul's use of the word "reckon." If you lay it down as certain that you have died to sin and are indeed dead to sin, then it will not be hard for you to live a holy life separated from sin. If God created the world for the sake of man, subjected all creation to him, and gave him power to rule over everything under the heavens, then is not man able to be Lord also over his members and resist subjecting them to sin? According to Scripture, the answer here is a resounding, "Yes!"
If you have not grasped it yet, the whole of Scripture, including the first three centuries of Christians, is opposed to the Reformation's, and by extension Evangelicalism's, false teachings concerning good deeds. You can read more about The Biblical View of Works here.