Faith vs Works (Part 3): Warnings for those who rely on the Law and their deeds for salvation.

Faith vs Works (Part 3): Warnings for those who rely on the Law and their deeds for salvation.

As we saw in part two of this four-part series, the Scriptures teach that we are saved by grace through faith . . . apart from deeds or works of the Law! There is nothing we can add to that miracle of salvation that God alone hasn’t already provided for all those who trust in Him. Our sin was already paid for and nailed to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14) Christ did not say from the cross that it had just begun, He declared from that cross that “It is finished!” (John 19:30)

But what about those who ignore the clear doctrine of justification by faith and think a gift is actually something you earn? What about those who choose to hold to their view that they have something of value and worth to offer God that His Son did not or could not pay for? What about those who put their eternal destiny in their own hands, believing that they can accomplish by deeds and the Law what the Scriptures say they cannot?

I fear for those who think they could possibly add to the greatest sacrifice ever offered because the Bible has warnings for those who still put their faith in the Law and strive to be justified by it. Take heed, for it is written:

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:4)

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly. (Galatians 2:21)

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us . . . (Galatians 3:13)

But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:23-24)

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. (James 2:10)

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. (Romans 6:14)

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment. (Isaiah 64:6)

Those who believe that it’s works that saves them or even faith and works that saves them are relying on the very thing that God said cannot and will not save you. Furthermore, you are rejecting the sacrifice of Jesus by virtue of your belief that the shedding of God’s own blood (Acts 20:28) was an insufficient payment for sin, necessitating that you need to add something to it by good deeds or observance of the Law.

Where people get tripped up is in the book of James. James only leaves us two options: either he contradicts the rest of Scripture (and if so, then the entire Bible cannot be trusted), or James is making the point that works will always follow a true and living faith whereas the absence of works will always follow a false and dead faith. In context—reading the entire letter of James—one can see that his purpose was to differentiate between true and false professors of the Faith.

The “fruit” we produce isn’t good until after we become regenerated (born again) believers in Christ, not before. And those “fruits” don’t contribute to our salvation, they are a product of our salvation.

Therefore my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. Romans 7:4

Let me ask a question of those who still rely on themselves for their own salvation. What exactly are the good works in your life that you think (by themselves or along with faith) are good enough for God? There is no one who does good, not even one! (Psalm 53:3) and what you consider to be good works are nothing but filthy garments (Isaiah 64:6). It’s not a matter of what we think is a fine and acceptable sacrifice, it’s what the one receiving this offering considers acceptable. Remember, Cain believed that what he brought before God was good in His sight. Sadly many today ignore what Scripture says is required and they replace it with what they think He requires.

Those who choose to focus on a few verses of James at the exclusion of the complete text of that letter and the entirety of the Bible, fail to realize that each sentence of the Scriptures needs to be translated in light of each paragraph. And each paragraph in light of each chapter. And each chapter in light of each book. And each book in light of the collection of the 66 books of the Bible. To ignore all the clear teachings that the Law and good works saves NO ONE is irresponsible at best, and self-deceptive at worst.

You have been warned that those who rely on the Law for justification have fallen from grace and are severed from Christ! (Galatians 5:4). The Law produces a curse, and Christ paid for that, having become a curse for us. (Galatians 3:13). If you choose to trust in that Law for salvation, whether solely or partly, you have put the curse of the Law upon yourself and you better have never stumbled in just one area or you’re guilty of all the Law (James 2:10). Those are frightening words.

PART THREE