Many of the saints seem to be confused as to what constitutes a "work". So I will ask this rhetorical question. What must we do to receive forgiveness, and if there is something we must do, is it work?
In order to define what constitutes a "work" it is first necessary to define "work" as the scriptures refer to various types of work(s). Upon regeneration by faith, all believers are created and called to do good works (Eph 2:10; Rom 2:7). Why are we called to do good works? Because it is the outward evidence of our inward faith; in other words it proves one's faith is genuine. That is why James wrote that one is
justified by works and
not by faith alone (Js 2:24) and faith without works is dead (Js 2:17). If we want to know the role of works as it relates to forgiveness and the Good News all one needs to do is refer to how Paul described the gospel that he himself preached: "but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and
then to the Gentiles, that they should
repent,
turn to God, and
do works befitting repentance. So for example, because believers have received God's gracious forgiveness, we are then obligated to forgive others as this is not optional. "But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matt 6:15). Because we are forgiven, we then perform the work of forgiving others which demonstrates our own repentance and receipt of forgiveness.
The criticism coming from those who deny or mitigate "works" in the life of the Christian is that they believe that it adds to the finished work of Christ. This belief could be described in equation form: Faith + Works = Salvation. However, the scriptures cited above equate works in the life of the Christian as Faith = Works = Salvation. Faith and works go hand in hand; can't have one without the other as they are two sides of the same coin. That is why in the book of Revelation, Jesus says to each and every one of the 7 churches - "I know your works...." If works are unnecessary, then why does Jesus judge each of the churches for what they have or have not done? Jesus promised "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—" (Rev 2:26). One can easily see that the role of works in the life of the Christian is no small thing in Jesus' eyes.
The other confusion stems from not distinguishing good works which believers are called to do from works of the Law (Rom 3:20, 28; Gal 2:16) and works done in our own strength (Eph 2:9; 2 Tim 1:9) which the scriptures condemn. These 3 types of works are often equated with each other so obedience to God is often mislabeled and mischaracterized as "works-based salvation" despite the requirement of obedience specified for eternal life in Heb 5:9. Finally, there are works of the flesh which describe sins that all believers should avoid from engaging in (Gal 5:19-21).
