Works

At this time of year, we often think of others in need.  We help strangers carry their packages, feed the Salvation Army pots, help out in soup kitchens, or deliver meals.  These are all good things we should do. 

Good works are an important feature in the Christian life as well.  But, the question is do we help others to gain favor with God, or do we help others because we’ve already gained favor with Him?  Let’s look at what the Bible says:

James 2:14-17 (ESV)
¹⁴  What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?  ¹⁵  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,  ¹⁶  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  ¹⁷  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

James seems to say we need works, doesn’t he.  But, when we look a little closer, we see James says if you claim to have faith, but that faith doesn’t produce work, yours is a dead faith.  He’s saying those who have a faith which doesn’t cause them to want to reach out to a lost world and help others should reexamine what they believe.

He’s also saying that other people can’t see our changed hearts as God can.  It’s our good works that show others our faith in Christ.  Like Him, we want to help the poor, heal the hurting, and feed the hungry.  It’s Christ in us that causes this.  A few verses later, James repeats his theme of justification by works using Abraham as an example:

James 2:21 (ESV)
²¹  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

In Romans, Paul says he was not justified before God by his works:

Romans 4:2-5 (ESV)
 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.  ³  For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”  ⁴  Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.  ⁵  And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

These two passages don’t contradict one another though it might appear so.  James says we are justified by men through our works just as Abraham was.  Men saw him climb the mountain with Isaac to sacrifice him to God.  They could see his devotion to God in no other way.  But, God saw Abraham’s heart before he even climbed the mountain, and he was justified before God by his faith.

So, we shouldn’t help others by carrying packages, feeding the homeless, or feeding the Salvation Army pot to gain favor.  As Christians, we’ve already received His favor.  God’s Spirit now resides in us.  It is He who prompts us to reach out to all people, people for whom Christ died.