Growing up as an evangelical, I was taught that whether we go to heaven is based on our “faith alone” in “Christ alone” and not on our character or deeds. However, the more I studied what the Bible had to teach on the subject, the more convinced I became that this was wrong. The biblical writers believed that through faithfully following Christ's teachings and example we can become the type of loving people who will receive a positive final judgment from God. Our “salvation” then, depends very much upon us and our character and deeds, not solely upon Christ or our faith in him. Here are some of the reasons why I reached this conclusion:
(1) The New Testament is full of statements which indicate that whether a person is (and does) good or evil is what counts at the final judgment.
eg Jesus: "the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." (John 5:28-29)
Likewise, Paul: "For he will repay according to each one's deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury." (Rom 2:6-8)
See also: Matthew 7:21-23; 12:33-37; 19:17; 25:31-46; Luke 6:37-38; 12:47-48; 13:27; John 5:28-29; Acts 10:34-35; Romans 1:18; 2:6-11, 14-16; 8:13; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 6:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 11:14-15; Galatians 6:8-9; Ephesians 5:3-5; Colossians 3:5-6; Colossians 3:24-25; 1 Timothy 5:24-25; 1 John 4:17; 1 Peter 1:17; 3:10-12; 2 Peter 2:9, 12-13; 3:7; Jude 1:14-15; Revelation 20:12; 21:8.
The New Testament has over 30 references to the final judgment which virtually without exception depict the criteria of that judgment to be a person's character and/or works. There is never a final judgment scene depicted in which the sheep and goats are separated based on their faith alone in Christ alone.
(2) It is often claimed that no one can be sufficiently good to be acceptable to God, and that therefore salvation by works is impossible. Yet such a view contradicts extensive biblical testimony. Time and again, the Bible speaks of individuals or groups as “righteous”. Over 80 passages exemplify this usage:
Genesis 6:9; 7:1. 2 Samuel 4:11. Job 1:1, 8. Psalms 1; 5:12; 7:9; 11:3, 5, 7; 14:5; 31:18; 32:11; 33:1; 34:15,17,19,21; 37:12-17,21,25,28-30,32,39; 52:6,22; 58:10-11; 64:10; 68:3; 75:10; 92:12; 94:15,21; 97:11-12; 112:4,6; 118:15,20; 125:3; 140:13; 141:5; 142:7; 146:8. Proverbs 3:33; 4:18; 9:9; 10:3,6,7,11,16,20-21,24-25,28,30-32; 11:8-10,21,23,28,30-31; 12:3,5,7,10,12-13,21,26; 13:5,9,21-22,25; 14:19,32; 15:6,28-29; 18:10; 20:7; 21:15,18,26; 23:24; 24:15; 28:1,12,28; 29:2,6-7,16,27. Ecclesiastes 3:17; 7:15; 8:14; 9:1-2. Isaiah 26:7; 57:1; 58:2. Lamentations 4:13. Ezekiel 3:20-21; 13:22; 18:9,20,24,26; 33:12-13,18. Amos 2:6; 5:12. Habakkuk 1:4; 2:4. Zephaniah 3:5. Malachi 3:18. Matthew 1:19; 5:45; 9:13; 10:41; 13:17; 13:49; 23:29; 23:35; 25:37,46. Mark 2:17; 6:20. Luke 1:6; 2:25; 5:31-32; 15:7; 23:50. Acts 24:15. Hebrews 11:4. James 5:16. 1 Peter 3:12; 4:18. 2 Peter 2:7-8. 1 John 3:7,12. Revelation 19:8; 22:11
The Bible uses righteous versus wicked/sinner terminology the same as we talk about “good” and “bad” people today. You don’t have to be perfect to be “good” or “righteous”. Many other passages speak of people finding “favor” in God's sight, or of them pleasing God. Thus, the Bible repeatedly endorses the idea that humans can do a sufficient level of good to be acceptable to God and please him.
The idea that no one can be righteous before God usually stems from two misinterpretations of Paul's writings:
(2a) The first of those mistakes is to misinterpret Paul's list of quotations in Romans 3:10-18 as if it were saying that no human in the world was ever righteous before God. As we saw above, over 80 passages in the Bible describe people as righteous, and hence this interpretation of Paul sets him against the rest of the Bible. In this passage, Paul is quoting from six different Old Testament passages. In their original context they all contrast particular historical groups of unrighteous people with groups of righteous ones. Thus the context of every passage Paul quotes in Romans 3:10-18 asserts the existence of some righteous humans. To interpret Romans 3:10-18 as denying that any human has ever been righteous therefore puts it in direct contradiction with six out of six of the passages Paul is citing. What Paul is actually arguing is that following Jewish culture makes no difference in God’s eyes, and that what matters is morality. Thus he quotes examples of specific times and places where various Jews and various gentiles were called wicked and sinners because they did moral evil. He uses this to prove that simply following Jewish culture is not what makes a person right with God, but rather how they act: There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. (Romans 2:9-11)
(2b) Another common misinterpretation of Paul’s writings is to read Paul’s Spirit/Flesh discussions as if “flesh” referred to our “sinful nature”, and spirit referred to God’s action within us. In this reading, we sinful humans can do nothing good without God’s Spirit transforming us. However Paul is adopting traditional Greek philosophical terms to speak of conflicting desires within the human mind. This was a common Greek practice that went back at least as far as Plato (Republic 436c ff, Phaedrus 246b ff). The idea was that whenever we have conflicting desires, it must be because one part of our mind has a desire for one thing, and another part has a different desire. Paul is using the terminology in a standard way, familiar to his original readers, which classifies these as the fleshly part of our mind which represents the desires of the body (for food, drink, sex etc) and the spiritual part of our mind, which represents desires for abstract goods (honour, justice, mercy etc). In standard Greek moral philosophy both the spirit and flesh are parts of our minds. Many Christians reading Paul have mistakenly assumed that the “flesh” corresponded to our human nature and that the “spirit” corresponded to God's supernatural intervention via the Holy Spirit. Paul's discussions about the moral war within us between our different desires, have hence been mistakenly read as saying that our human nature is inherently sinful and that supernatural intervention is required for positive change.
(3) Paul's statements that “works of the law” do not justify a person have often been misinterpreted as denying that good works can save. This has primarily been due to a misreading of “works of the law” as if it said “good works” and a misunderstanding of what the “law” was. Paul is trying to argue that morality is what matters to God and not a person's culture, race, or customs. Confusion has arisen because some Christians have misread Paul's phrase for referring to culture and customs (“work of the law” as if it referred to morality (“good works”, when actually Paul is arguing against the first and in support of the second. In recent years there has been a great deal of progress made by scholars studying ancient Judaism. This has helped clarify that the Jews of Paul’s time equated the “law” with their culture and customs. This was a big issue in the first century, as the ancestral customs of Judaea were being undermined by the global influence of Greek culture, and Jews were prepared to kill or die for their traditions. Throughout his letters, Paul struggles to deal with the factionalism in his churches, as Jews believe following their customs (the law) is important. When Paul writes that justification is not by works of the law, he is saying that God is indifferent to culture and customs, he is not saying “no one can be right with God by human effort”.
(4) The notion of “faith” is often set against the idea of good works. There is a translation issue here: The Greek word which Paul and other New Testament authors use for “faith” and “belief” is pistis. This word is more accurately translated as “faithfulness”. It is a synonym for “obedience”. Faithfulness to Christ is about committing yourself to his teachings and message and living by them. A “faithful servant” (Mat 25:21) is an obedient servant, not a servant who believes and trusts that his master will do all the work for him. In Paul's thinking, “faith” and “good works” mean pretty much the same thing. He speaks of the “obedience of faithfulness” (Romans 1:5, 16:26) and “work of faithfulness” (1 Thes 1:3, 2 Thes 1:11). To Paul, “faithfulness to Christ” means following Christ's teachings and living our lives by doing the good works that Jesus taught us to do. Jesus spoke out against the high value that the Pharisees were placing on the Judean ancestral customs, and instead emphasized that value of loving others and doing works which helped them. Faithfulness to Christ’s teachings therefore excludes placing a high value on those customs. Thus Paul contrasts faithfulness to Jesus / good works as one method of gaining God's favour over and against trying to gain God's favour through following Jewish culture and doing “the works of the law”.
Thoughts? Comments?
<Staff Edit>
(1) The New Testament is full of statements which indicate that whether a person is (and does) good or evil is what counts at the final judgment.
eg Jesus: "the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." (John 5:28-29)
Likewise, Paul: "For he will repay according to each one's deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury." (Rom 2:6-8)
See also: Matthew 7:21-23; 12:33-37; 19:17; 25:31-46; Luke 6:37-38; 12:47-48; 13:27; John 5:28-29; Acts 10:34-35; Romans 1:18; 2:6-11, 14-16; 8:13; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 6:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 11:14-15; Galatians 6:8-9; Ephesians 5:3-5; Colossians 3:5-6; Colossians 3:24-25; 1 Timothy 5:24-25; 1 John 4:17; 1 Peter 1:17; 3:10-12; 2 Peter 2:9, 12-13; 3:7; Jude 1:14-15; Revelation 20:12; 21:8.
The New Testament has over 30 references to the final judgment which virtually without exception depict the criteria of that judgment to be a person's character and/or works. There is never a final judgment scene depicted in which the sheep and goats are separated based on their faith alone in Christ alone.
(2) It is often claimed that no one can be sufficiently good to be acceptable to God, and that therefore salvation by works is impossible. Yet such a view contradicts extensive biblical testimony. Time and again, the Bible speaks of individuals or groups as “righteous”. Over 80 passages exemplify this usage:
Genesis 6:9; 7:1. 2 Samuel 4:11. Job 1:1, 8. Psalms 1; 5:12; 7:9; 11:3, 5, 7; 14:5; 31:18; 32:11; 33:1; 34:15,17,19,21; 37:12-17,21,25,28-30,32,39; 52:6,22; 58:10-11; 64:10; 68:3; 75:10; 92:12; 94:15,21; 97:11-12; 112:4,6; 118:15,20; 125:3; 140:13; 141:5; 142:7; 146:8. Proverbs 3:33; 4:18; 9:9; 10:3,6,7,11,16,20-21,24-25,28,30-32; 11:8-10,21,23,28,30-31; 12:3,5,7,10,12-13,21,26; 13:5,9,21-22,25; 14:19,32; 15:6,28-29; 18:10; 20:7; 21:15,18,26; 23:24; 24:15; 28:1,12,28; 29:2,6-7,16,27. Ecclesiastes 3:17; 7:15; 8:14; 9:1-2. Isaiah 26:7; 57:1; 58:2. Lamentations 4:13. Ezekiel 3:20-21; 13:22; 18:9,20,24,26; 33:12-13,18. Amos 2:6; 5:12. Habakkuk 1:4; 2:4. Zephaniah 3:5. Malachi 3:18. Matthew 1:19; 5:45; 9:13; 10:41; 13:17; 13:49; 23:29; 23:35; 25:37,46. Mark 2:17; 6:20. Luke 1:6; 2:25; 5:31-32; 15:7; 23:50. Acts 24:15. Hebrews 11:4. James 5:16. 1 Peter 3:12; 4:18. 2 Peter 2:7-8. 1 John 3:7,12. Revelation 19:8; 22:11
The Bible uses righteous versus wicked/sinner terminology the same as we talk about “good” and “bad” people today. You don’t have to be perfect to be “good” or “righteous”. Many other passages speak of people finding “favor” in God's sight, or of them pleasing God. Thus, the Bible repeatedly endorses the idea that humans can do a sufficient level of good to be acceptable to God and please him.
The idea that no one can be righteous before God usually stems from two misinterpretations of Paul's writings:
(2a) The first of those mistakes is to misinterpret Paul's list of quotations in Romans 3:10-18 as if it were saying that no human in the world was ever righteous before God. As we saw above, over 80 passages in the Bible describe people as righteous, and hence this interpretation of Paul sets him against the rest of the Bible. In this passage, Paul is quoting from six different Old Testament passages. In their original context they all contrast particular historical groups of unrighteous people with groups of righteous ones. Thus the context of every passage Paul quotes in Romans 3:10-18 asserts the existence of some righteous humans. To interpret Romans 3:10-18 as denying that any human has ever been righteous therefore puts it in direct contradiction with six out of six of the passages Paul is citing. What Paul is actually arguing is that following Jewish culture makes no difference in God’s eyes, and that what matters is morality. Thus he quotes examples of specific times and places where various Jews and various gentiles were called wicked and sinners because they did moral evil. He uses this to prove that simply following Jewish culture is not what makes a person right with God, but rather how they act: There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. (Romans 2:9-11)
(2b) Another common misinterpretation of Paul’s writings is to read Paul’s Spirit/Flesh discussions as if “flesh” referred to our “sinful nature”, and spirit referred to God’s action within us. In this reading, we sinful humans can do nothing good without God’s Spirit transforming us. However Paul is adopting traditional Greek philosophical terms to speak of conflicting desires within the human mind. This was a common Greek practice that went back at least as far as Plato (Republic 436c ff, Phaedrus 246b ff). The idea was that whenever we have conflicting desires, it must be because one part of our mind has a desire for one thing, and another part has a different desire. Paul is using the terminology in a standard way, familiar to his original readers, which classifies these as the fleshly part of our mind which represents the desires of the body (for food, drink, sex etc) and the spiritual part of our mind, which represents desires for abstract goods (honour, justice, mercy etc). In standard Greek moral philosophy both the spirit and flesh are parts of our minds. Many Christians reading Paul have mistakenly assumed that the “flesh” corresponded to our human nature and that the “spirit” corresponded to God's supernatural intervention via the Holy Spirit. Paul's discussions about the moral war within us between our different desires, have hence been mistakenly read as saying that our human nature is inherently sinful and that supernatural intervention is required for positive change.
(3) Paul's statements that “works of the law” do not justify a person have often been misinterpreted as denying that good works can save. This has primarily been due to a misreading of “works of the law” as if it said “good works” and a misunderstanding of what the “law” was. Paul is trying to argue that morality is what matters to God and not a person's culture, race, or customs. Confusion has arisen because some Christians have misread Paul's phrase for referring to culture and customs (“work of the law” as if it referred to morality (“good works”, when actually Paul is arguing against the first and in support of the second. In recent years there has been a great deal of progress made by scholars studying ancient Judaism. This has helped clarify that the Jews of Paul’s time equated the “law” with their culture and customs. This was a big issue in the first century, as the ancestral customs of Judaea were being undermined by the global influence of Greek culture, and Jews were prepared to kill or die for their traditions. Throughout his letters, Paul struggles to deal with the factionalism in his churches, as Jews believe following their customs (the law) is important. When Paul writes that justification is not by works of the law, he is saying that God is indifferent to culture and customs, he is not saying “no one can be right with God by human effort”.
(4) The notion of “faith” is often set against the idea of good works. There is a translation issue here: The Greek word which Paul and other New Testament authors use for “faith” and “belief” is pistis. This word is more accurately translated as “faithfulness”. It is a synonym for “obedience”. Faithfulness to Christ is about committing yourself to his teachings and message and living by them. A “faithful servant” (Mat 25:21) is an obedient servant, not a servant who believes and trusts that his master will do all the work for him. In Paul's thinking, “faith” and “good works” mean pretty much the same thing. He speaks of the “obedience of faithfulness” (Romans 1:5, 16:26) and “work of faithfulness” (1 Thes 1:3, 2 Thes 1:11). To Paul, “faithfulness to Christ” means following Christ's teachings and living our lives by doing the good works that Jesus taught us to do. Jesus spoke out against the high value that the Pharisees were placing on the Judean ancestral customs, and instead emphasized that value of loving others and doing works which helped them. Faithfulness to Christ’s teachings therefore excludes placing a high value on those customs. Thus Paul contrasts faithfulness to Jesus / good works as one method of gaining God's favour over and against trying to gain God's favour through following Jewish culture and doing “the works of the law”.
Thoughts? Comments?
<Staff Edit>
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