Faith and works

It seems like people often swing back and forth between extremes in many areas of life. I believe this is true in the area of faith and works.

I am currently in the middle of watching a documentary about the life of Martin Luther. What I have watched so far has shown what led him to write his Ninety-Five Theses. (If you’re not familiar with what I am talking about, I recommend taking a few minutes to look into this. It’s one of the most significant events in the history of the Church). One of the biggest catalysts was his realization that our salvation is not based on our works, but on faith in Christ.

We have to realize that Luther came to this conclusion after years of serving in a church setting where everything was about doing enough works to deserve salvation. He was coming from one extreme of the spectrum.

Unfortunately, some have taken the ideas Luther espoused to the other end of the spectrum and would argue that our works have little or nothing to do with our salvation. They would say that all you need is belief.

The reality – as is often true – is actually found in the middle. While our works do not earn our salvation, they are certainly an essential part of our walk. Without them, we are dead. We are not dead because we didn’t do enough. Rather, we are dead because the fruit we bear (or don’t bear) reveals our attitude and the depth of our faith.

I like to say it this way: We don’t do works to be saved. Rather, we do works because we are saved.

If we have truly encountered God and seek a relationship with him, our lives should reflect the character and nature of God. Our works should naturally flow from within as the Spirit fills us and pours out into our lives.

We should not think of the Christian faith as a list of rules to follow. That is selling things way too short. But at the same time, the Christian faith is not simply agreeing to some idea so we can have the promise of eternal life.

The Christian faith is a life-long pursuit of God in which our lives should continue to bear more and more fruit of the Kingdom of God as we are transformed. Our works are not the ticket to eternal life. They are the evidence that we are living lives according the Kingdom that will reign forever.

shine!
Jason