Faith and Works

An old religious argument revolves around faith versus works. Are individuals saved by grace or does it take some works also?

First, we are absolutely saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. With out his sacrifice in the Garden of Gesemene and on the cross, change and salvation would be impossible. He gave his life that all may live. Many believers feel that confessing Jesus Christ as they Savior is enough. That's the end. Some have gone so far as to say that after this admission, they can do anything they want and they will still be saved. But is merely confessing Christ enough?

I will refer to a couple of scriptures to make the point. The first is the story of the rich young man found in Matthew 19:16-22 (KJV):

 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Of course, we do not know if this was a parable or an event, but the point is clear. The young man was a good person who did many positive things. He believed. But the kingdom of God required more. The rich young man was required to sell all he had and give it to the poor. That is more than just the confession of Christ. There was work to do. While the selling of all we have is not required of all followers of Christ, the point is that some actions are required.

Let us go the the last supper when Christ is with his disciples shortly before he is betrayed and arrested. Jesus gives them a new commandment. In John 13:34-35 we read words that Jesus spoke:

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

If Christ only wanted his followers to believe, there would have been no commandments, no parables no instructions. The word love here is a verb. Love as a verb indicates action. Christ was not looking for mere belief, he was looking for his followers to change because of their belief and to do many things. The gospel of Christ is the gospel of doing, of serving. Belief and faith are not ends in themselves, but spiritual evens that motivate people to change and to give  good works. The Bible is full of such examples.