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Many of the writings from Harmless As Doves Ministries focus on the teachings of Jesus, but must Christians follow these teachings? To answer this question, the larger issue of salvation must be examined. Over the centuries, the church has been greatly divided over the issue of salvation, with the two predominant, opposing theories being “salvation through faith” and “salvation through works.” “Salvation through faith” advocates argue that to obtain salvation, one must simply believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. According to such arguments, actually following Jesus’ teachings is not necessary for salvation. On the other hand, the “salvation through works” theology holds that one earns their way into heaven through good works.
Sadly, this debate tears apart the holy scriptures. Each side of the debate refers to Biblical passages which support their position, and ignore the rest of the Bible. With their divine inspiration in mind, we condemn such narrow-minded division of the scriptures. This study intends to view the Bible as a whole, illustrating two equally valid points: 1) man cannot save himself through his own deeds, but must rely on God’s grace and forgiveness; and 2) true faith manifests itself through obedient actions.
Salvation through Faith
The first point mentioned above (that salvation is gained through faith in God’s grace) is easily demonstrated with the mention of just a couple of verses:
Ephesians 2:8-10: For by grace you have been saved through faith… it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
The above verses obviously declare that once someone “believes” in Jesus, that person has obtained salvation. We do not wish to challenge this notion. As mentioned above, we believe that man cannot save himself through his own deeds, but must rely on God’s grace and forgiveness. On the other hand, while we do not wish to dispute this issue, we must acknowledge that the scriptural description of salvation does not end here.
Salvation through Faith and Works?
While we agree that faith is required for salvation, is there no more to the issue than simple belief? If so, how are we to understand the following:
Salvation for all who obey him? Interesting…
As stated above, we believe that true faith manifests itself through obedient actions. Throughout the course of this article we will examine the teachings of Jesus recorded in the Gospels as well as the writings of John and Paul. To begin with, however, we must take a quick look at the book of James. Found within this book is one of the finest, most straight-forward pieces of advice that can be found within the scriptures:
James further elaborated on the interconnectedness between faith and works in the following chapter, passionately condemning the notion that faith is the only requirement for salvation. Faith without works, according to James, is “dead.”
As James points out, simple faith alone cannot be the only requirement for salvation, because even the demons believe! As we have said before in this article, true faith manifests itself through obedient actions. To repeat what James wrote, “I will show you my faith by what I do.”
Jesus on Faith, Works, and Obedience to His Teachings
When one reads Jesus’ teachings on salvation, this link between faith and obedient actions becomes clear:
Luke 6:46: Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?
Matthew 19:17: …If you want to enter life, obey my teachings.
John 8:51: I tell you the truth, if anyone follows my teachings, he will never see death.
Just because we believe in Jesus, just because we call him “Lord,” our salvation is not guaranteed. We see from the above passages that we can only enter the kingdom of heaven if we call him “Lord” and do what he says. In fact, obedience to his teachings is the very heart of Jesus’ message. At the end of the book of Matthew, after his resurrection, Jesus gave his followers instructions – what is known as the “Great Commission.”
Contrary to what modern Christianity teaches, Jesus did not instruct his followers to go out and make believers, but to make “disciples” who “obey everything I have commanded you.”
John on Faith, Works, and Obedience to Jesus’ Teachings
The books of first and second John equate the belief in Jesus, even the love of Jesus, with obedience to his teachings:
1 John 3:24: Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them…
1 John 5:3: This is love for God: to obey his commands...
2 John 1:9: Anyone who transgresses and does not continue in the teachings of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teachings has both the Father and the Son.
We have stated throughout this article that true faith manifests itself through obedient actions. The above verses confirm this notion. 1 John 2:3-5 shows us that we only truly “know” Jesus “if we obey his commands.” Only “liars” claim to know Jesus while ignoring his teachings. Furthermore, 1 John 5:3 defines “love for God” in general as obedience to his commands. What about the Christian who doesn’t follow Jesus’ teachings? 2 John 1:9 answers this question frankly: that individual “does not have God.”
Paul on Faith, Works, and Obedience to Jesus’ Teachings
Those who argue that simple belief is all one needs for salvation often rely on the writings of the Apostle Paul, and for good reason. Paul wrote a lot about the importance of faith.
Romans 10:9: If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
As a former Pharisee and persecutor of the Christian church, Paul was well schooled in the culture of his day – a culture which strongly believed that one could earn salvation through good works. Paul strongly opposed this notion, and instead wrote about the grace of God and belief in Jesus.
The culture of Paul’s day held that works alone could bring salvation – and Paul believed they were wrong. To the opposite extreme, the current Christian culture holds that salvation is obtained through belief alone. Paul’s writings also condemn this notion. As written in the introduction of this article, it doesn’t matter whether you hold that salvation is obtained through works alone or faith alone – both options ignore the other half of the Bible. A further look at Paul’s writings confirms our conclusion: that true faith manifests itself through obedient actions. Actually, Paul’s words are similar to our own:
1 Corinthians 13:2: …if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
Simple faith, according to Paul, is not what counts, but “faith expressing itself through love.” Faith alone, Paul declared, does not matter – even enough faith to move mountains! Paul is “nothing” unless he has faith and love. Above we saw from the book of James that “faith without works is dead.” Here, Paul seems to have been saying that faith without love is dead. Paul continued this theme in his other writings:
As demonstrated above in 1 John 2:4, those who claim to believe in Jesus while ignoring his teachings are called “liars.” In the above verse, Paul refers to them as “detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good.” In fact, Paul wrote much more about the interconnectedness of faith and works:
1 Colossians 1:11: And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work…
Titus 2:13-14: Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
1 Timothy 4:16: Take heed to your life and to the teachings. Follow them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
According to Paul, those who say they believe in Jesus should “devote themselves to good works,” bear “fruit in every good work,” and be “eager to do what is good.” Paul takes this thought to the furthest conclusion in the verse directly above, stating that if you follow the teachings of Jesus “you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
Faith, Works, Salvation, and Judgment
Lastly, we turn our attention to the depictions of the day of judgment found in the scriptures. Over and over again we learn that the judgment is not concerning belief or disbelief, but a judgment of our actions. The book of Revelation is clear on this subject:
Revelation 22:14: Blessed are those who follow his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
The Apostle Paul also characterizes the day of judgment in such a manner:
Romans 2:5-6: But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God "will give to each person according to what he has done."
2 Corinthians 5:10: We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
The book of Revelation informs us that the dead will be “judged according to what they had done,” and “blessed are those who follow his commandments.” The issue of belief is not even mentioned! Likewise, Paul wrote that it is not simply the unbelievers who will receive punishment, but “those who do not know God and do not obey the teachings of our Lord Jesus.”
In Matthew chapter 25 Jesus gave a very detailed description of the day of judgment. With the righteous to his right, and the unrighteous to his left, he will address both groups. To the righteous he will say:
According to the text itself, those on Jesus’ right are righteous not because they simply believe, but because they fed the hungry, clothed those in need, looked after the sick, showed kindness to strangers, and visited prisoners. Jesus will then turn to his left and address this group:
Similar to the group on Jesus’ right, those on his left are unrighteous not because they do not believe, but because they did not feed the hungry, cloth those in need, look after the sick, show kindness to strangers, or visit prisoners. For both groups, judgment will not concern a simple examination of faith versus lack of faith. Jesus’ judgment will examine what Paul called “faith expressing itself through love.”
Conclusion
In the introduction to this article we stated that it was our desire to view the scriptures as a whole, illustrating two equally valid points: 1) man cannot save himself through his own deeds, but must rely on God’s grace and forgiveness; and 2) true faith manifests itself through obedient actions. We truly believe the scriptures support both propositions.
The original question this article intended to address was, “Must Christians follow the teachings of Jesus?” Consequently, we thought it would be fitting to conclude with a reiteration of Jesus’ comments on the issue.
Luke 6:46: Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?
Matthew 19:17: …If you want to enter life, obey my teachings.
John 8:51: I tell you the truth, if anyone follows my teachings, he will never see death.
Matthew 28:19-20: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Written by Matthew J. Truitt, Harmless As Doves Ministries
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