The following two passages have been the cause of much controversy concerning salvation in Christianity:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” — Ephesians 2:8–9 (KJV)
This passage perfectly sums up salvation. However, the following words from James seem to have added fuel to the fire that is the misconception:
“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” — James 2:18 (KJV)
I’m sure you’ve run across this dilemma in your church or community, and the LORD has put it on my heart to explain it thoroughly, once and for all.
Holy Spirit, please guide my words in all truth. For your glory, Father, through your Son, Jesus Christ.
The world has developed the following equation to explain salvation, either through a misunderstanding of the Word or a lack of wisdom that can only be granted by the Holy Spirit:
Faith + Works = Salvation
This essentially means that faith alone isn’t sufficient, and it’s completely false. The understanding here is that if an individual doesn’t perform works of their own—such as going to church, tithing, or giving to the poor—they won’t see the gates of Heaven. The root problem can be found in the words “if the individual doesn’t do,” because this puts the spotlight on the person instead of Jesus.
The works “we do” are carried out through our physical bodies, but they were ordained beforehand and graciously appointed to us:
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” — Ephesians 2:10 (KJV)
“Them” here refers to the good works. They were “before ordained,” or prepared for us by the Father, through His Son, Jesus Christ, to be carried out through the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
Anything outside the Son is without the Holy Spirit and therefore out of step with the plans the Father has prepared for us. These plans were designed by a perfect Creator who, with the same wisdom that created the Heavens, also fashioned a fulfilling life for you in Jesus Christ.
I want to stop here and make a substitution.
I think there’s more than enough evidence in the Word pointing to good works as an expression of the “fruit of the Spirit.” I believe this is the direction we should take when explaining this topic in our communities and churches. Let us be a people who distinguish between what Christ has done for our salvation and the fruit that follows, allowing both to glorify the Father.
When referring to the things we physically do, such as tithing or giving to the poor, let’s speak of these as expressions of the fruit of the Spirit.
And when referring to the works that secure our salvation, let’s point to the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
We should move away from using the word “works” in a way that causes confusion and explain that the good we do as Christians flows from the fruit of the Spirit:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” — Galatians 5:22–23 (KJV)
If we take this direction, our focus shifts from the individual toward God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—where it belongs. The following verse further describes the fruit of the Spirit:
“(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)” — Ephesians 5:9 (KJV)
As you can see, faith without good works isn’t possible, because those works flow from the Spirit as a result of your salvation through Jesus Christ. Every good thought, every good deed, and every good word that follows your new life through the Holy Spirit was prepared for you by the Father and accomplished through the Spirit.
Going back to our original equation, we can finally correct it:
Faith = Salvation + Works
Then, using the substitution above to make the meaning clearer and give Him more glory:
Faith = Salvation + Fruit of the Spirit
Until next time, and as always, stand firm in Christ.
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