Work, Works and Faith Primer
Posted: 15 September, 2011
By Fikayo Adeyemo
Administrator
Administrator
Some years ago, I heard a Christian leader preach from James 2:
26 that a jobless (either unemployed or plain lazy) Christian is no
longer in the faith. His faith is dead. Well, he did not actually say
that such a person was going to wind up in hell, but the implication
is obvious. And that if such were to turn a new leaf, then his
salvation is redeemed again!
I can imagine many of us have heard one variation of the other of
this general form of misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the
quoted scripture. Indeed, the epistle of James happens to be one
of the most misinterpreted books of the New Testament. Even the
identity of the author is contested.
Much of the misunderstanding is unwarranted and if a few basic
points about the doctrine of Christ are grasped, I believe the murky
waters will clear up considerably. I therefore hereby attempt a
primer on the issues of work, works and the faith of the Christian.
Work
It is natural for us as human beings to assume that when the
Scriptures talk about work and works, it has to be about counted
numbers - i.e. singular and plural. Well, this may be generally so,
but the biblical usage of these words are far more deeper than the
plain grammar. Briefly, work refers to physical engagement
especially for the purpose of physical sustenance or other
attainment of temporal value to the person working. It talks about
the labouring of the artisan and the skilled professional as well as
the "charity" efforts of those who feel called to do so - whether out
of due moral sense of giving or as acts of atonement to appease
their bruised consciences for the rape they know they have inflicted
on the society. Thus, work may not necessarily be for money, but it
is nonetheless always to satisfy man's appetites of the emotion,
intellect or will.
Such work is generally termed secular work and it has a vital role
in the scheme of things of God. Paul both engaged in it (Acts 18:3;
20:34-35; 1 Thessalonians 2:9) as well as commanded believers
to be so engaged rather than stealing (Ephesians 4:28). But it is
not the subject matter of James 2:26
The will and commandment of God is that everybody must work.
Even Church leaders must work secularly! In the case of those
who are bivocational, this is already obvious. But even concerning
those not engaged in any other employment apart from ministry,
they must work - and I am not talking about spiritual works of
praying for the sick, etc, but rather "secular" work associated with
ministry such as holding meetings, organising events, dealing with
money and personnel issues, etc. All such are part and parcel of
the work of these leaders. The fact that they are performed in a
church setting does not automatically spiritualise them. And, as we
shall see later, what we bring ito them is what determines their
eternal value and not wheather they are performed by a bishop or
by the president of a blue chip corporation. Afterall, the General
Overseer of a Church is not just a spiritual leader, but also a CEO.
While at our work, God demands diligence. God always frowns at
indolence. (Proverbs 6:6-11, 22:29, Ecclessiastes 9:10)
While our work is not our provider or source of sustenance, but
God Himself who is Jehovah-Jireh, there is a punishment for
disobeying God’s commandment to work. (2 Thes. 3:10)
We are not through yet. It must be clearly understood that what
makes secular engagement work is not primarily its secularity but
rather its focus and scope on the temporal. The fact that an
endeavour earns us money does not automatically strip it of
eternal value. If we can adopt an eternal perspective in our secular
endeavours, we shall gain its real value. We shall talk more about
this below.
Works
The first thing we shall observe is that throughout the New
Testament, the word works only refers to spiritual or religious
activities. Of course, these may be good or evil, fruitful or unfruitful,
of light or of darkness. Nowhere do we find this plural rendering
used for secular work as defined above.
Secondly, we also note that individual spiritual activities are
referred to as "work" (singular) just like secular work (John 7:21; 9:
4), but in all such instances, the language and the context removes
every ambiguity.
Thirdly, even in the context of secular work, spiritual works are
called for and it is they that give relevance and reward to the
secular work. To put it simply, secular work actually ought only to
be an opportunity for spiritual works, without which it is totally
irrelevant.
Having said this much, we can now appreciate "works" as the
totality of efforts expended to attain spiritual goals. For the
Christian, such spiritual goals are first, spiritual salvation and
second, spiritual blessings. Such activities include exercises like
prayer, affirmation, fasting, sacraments / rites, ceremonies,
offerings, work of ministry, teaching, preaching, etc.
These activities are not wrong in themselves, but are even
commanded to be done as duties of believers. As a matter of fact,
these very works are the basis by which believers shall be judged
and rewarded. The great error concerning them arises when they
are engaged in as the agent that earns or secures the desired
salvation or blessing. For example, Judaism is one of the religions
that seek to attain salvation / righteousness by the doing of these
works (Deuteronomy 6:25). Similarly, right from the time of the
ancient Galatians till the present day, the Church has continually
faced the problem of legalism. For example, some denominations
preach salvation by the works of water baptism and the eucharist
while the movement popularly known as Prosperity Gospel
preaches attainment of blessing by the works of affirmation - which
they erroneously call faith.
Faith
Everybody knows what faith is. The core of faith is trust. Differences
come only when we ask questions like who (or what) is trusted
and for what purpose. To the Christian, faith is the proper means of
obtaining spiritual salvation and blessings. Not works at all. The
object of our faith is the Word of God - written, spoken and
incarnate, who is Jesus Christ.
Faith is very very important in the life of the believer. Without it we
cannot please God regardless of any other thing we do. Neither
can we receive anything from Him. Many Christians understand
this and on account of it, some go into error. The fact that faith is
required for us to receive from God does not mean that faith earns
us anything from God. Faith does not earn at all - it only receives
what God has already given by grace. Yes, grace is the source
from which we tap God's provisions. Whatever God gives, He gives
by grace. It then becomes our responsibility to receive (take
possession) by faith. So, faith is like a basin which a man places
on the ground to collect water from the rain of grace. The bigger
your basin the more you collect. That's up to us, not God. He has
already given all the fullness of all we will ever need, by grace.
So, the Scriptures declare it that we are saved by grace, THROUGH
FAITH, not by works.
Relationship between Works and Faith
Whoever is genuinely saved will be led by the Holy Spirit to follow
the Word of God. Such leading will definitely make him/her to
engage in works very diligently and intensely. Such engagement
will not be to earn salvation or receive blessing but are the
manifestation of the salvation that is already possessed. Thus, he
who does not engage in works could not have been saved even
though it is not works that saves. Works and salvation are
unconditionally tied together in a relationship whereby works is
always the product of salvation. This principle is so fundamental
that if works are not observed in a person, we will be correct to
declare that he/she is not saved, ceteris paribus.
However, since works do not produce salvation, the opposite
statement can never be true that the presence of works is evidence
of salvation. No.
This is to say that the works of a genuinely saved person are valid
proofs of his salvation just as Jesus said, "By their fruits you will
know them." (Matthew 7:20) even though not every one who
presents the likeness of the fruits is a saved person. Many are
mere religious pretenders. But if a person does not have works,
then we know that he does not have living faith, just as James said.
Similarly, just as the works cannot save, so also will they not earn
blessings after salvation. It has become rather popular among
Christians now to presume that it is the effort of works that gets
them God's attention and favour. In their equation, there is an
absolute linear relationship between works and blessing. What
you get from God is determined by the hours of your prayer, the
number of chapters of the Bible you read daily, the size of your
offerings, and, according to prosperity gospellers, the number of
affirmations you can make per minute. Welcome legalism!
But the word of God is unshakable: we receive only by grace
through faith. All the works that are devooid of faith are dead works.
It is only if the works are performed as "works of faith" do the works
have any life in them which makes them to abide and survive the
test of fire.
26 that a jobless (either unemployed or plain lazy) Christian is no
longer in the faith. His faith is dead. Well, he did not actually say
that such a person was going to wind up in hell, but the implication
is obvious. And that if such were to turn a new leaf, then his
salvation is redeemed again!
I can imagine many of us have heard one variation of the other of
this general form of misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the
quoted scripture. Indeed, the epistle of James happens to be one
of the most misinterpreted books of the New Testament. Even the
identity of the author is contested.
Much of the misunderstanding is unwarranted and if a few basic
points about the doctrine of Christ are grasped, I believe the murky
waters will clear up considerably. I therefore hereby attempt a
primer on the issues of work, works and the faith of the Christian.
Work
It is natural for us as human beings to assume that when the
Scriptures talk about work and works, it has to be about counted
numbers - i.e. singular and plural. Well, this may be generally so,
but the biblical usage of these words are far more deeper than the
plain grammar. Briefly, work refers to physical engagement
especially for the purpose of physical sustenance or other
attainment of temporal value to the person working. It talks about
the labouring of the artisan and the skilled professional as well as
the "charity" efforts of those who feel called to do so - whether out
of due moral sense of giving or as acts of atonement to appease
their bruised consciences for the rape they know they have inflicted
on the society. Thus, work may not necessarily be for money, but it
is nonetheless always to satisfy man's appetites of the emotion,
intellect or will.
Such work is generally termed secular work and it has a vital role
in the scheme of things of God. Paul both engaged in it (Acts 18:3;
20:34-35; 1 Thessalonians 2:9) as well as commanded believers
to be so engaged rather than stealing (Ephesians 4:28). But it is
not the subject matter of James 2:26
The will and commandment of God is that everybody must work.
Even Church leaders must work secularly! In the case of those
who are bivocational, this is already obvious. But even concerning
those not engaged in any other employment apart from ministry,
they must work - and I am not talking about spiritual works of
praying for the sick, etc, but rather "secular" work associated with
ministry such as holding meetings, organising events, dealing with
money and personnel issues, etc. All such are part and parcel of
the work of these leaders. The fact that they are performed in a
church setting does not automatically spiritualise them. And, as we
shall see later, what we bring ito them is what determines their
eternal value and not wheather they are performed by a bishop or
by the president of a blue chip corporation. Afterall, the General
Overseer of a Church is not just a spiritual leader, but also a CEO.
While at our work, God demands diligence. God always frowns at
indolence. (Proverbs 6:6-11, 22:29, Ecclessiastes 9:10)
While our work is not our provider or source of sustenance, but
God Himself who is Jehovah-Jireh, there is a punishment for
disobeying God’s commandment to work. (2 Thes. 3:10)
We are not through yet. It must be clearly understood that what
makes secular engagement work is not primarily its secularity but
rather its focus and scope on the temporal. The fact that an
endeavour earns us money does not automatically strip it of
eternal value. If we can adopt an eternal perspective in our secular
endeavours, we shall gain its real value. We shall talk more about
this below.
Works
The first thing we shall observe is that throughout the New
Testament, the word works only refers to spiritual or religious
activities. Of course, these may be good or evil, fruitful or unfruitful,
of light or of darkness. Nowhere do we find this plural rendering
used for secular work as defined above.
Secondly, we also note that individual spiritual activities are
referred to as "work" (singular) just like secular work (John 7:21; 9:
4), but in all such instances, the language and the context removes
every ambiguity.
Thirdly, even in the context of secular work, spiritual works are
called for and it is they that give relevance and reward to the
secular work. To put it simply, secular work actually ought only to
be an opportunity for spiritual works, without which it is totally
irrelevant.
Having said this much, we can now appreciate "works" as the
totality of efforts expended to attain spiritual goals. For the
Christian, such spiritual goals are first, spiritual salvation and
second, spiritual blessings. Such activities include exercises like
prayer, affirmation, fasting, sacraments / rites, ceremonies,
offerings, work of ministry, teaching, preaching, etc.
These activities are not wrong in themselves, but are even
commanded to be done as duties of believers. As a matter of fact,
these very works are the basis by which believers shall be judged
and rewarded. The great error concerning them arises when they
are engaged in as the agent that earns or secures the desired
salvation or blessing. For example, Judaism is one of the religions
that seek to attain salvation / righteousness by the doing of these
works (Deuteronomy 6:25). Similarly, right from the time of the
ancient Galatians till the present day, the Church has continually
faced the problem of legalism. For example, some denominations
preach salvation by the works of water baptism and the eucharist
while the movement popularly known as Prosperity Gospel
preaches attainment of blessing by the works of affirmation - which
they erroneously call faith.
Faith
Everybody knows what faith is. The core of faith is trust. Differences
come only when we ask questions like who (or what) is trusted
and for what purpose. To the Christian, faith is the proper means of
obtaining spiritual salvation and blessings. Not works at all. The
object of our faith is the Word of God - written, spoken and
incarnate, who is Jesus Christ.
Faith is very very important in the life of the believer. Without it we
cannot please God regardless of any other thing we do. Neither
can we receive anything from Him. Many Christians understand
this and on account of it, some go into error. The fact that faith is
required for us to receive from God does not mean that faith earns
us anything from God. Faith does not earn at all - it only receives
what God has already given by grace. Yes, grace is the source
from which we tap God's provisions. Whatever God gives, He gives
by grace. It then becomes our responsibility to receive (take
possession) by faith. So, faith is like a basin which a man places
on the ground to collect water from the rain of grace. The bigger
your basin the more you collect. That's up to us, not God. He has
already given all the fullness of all we will ever need, by grace.
So, the Scriptures declare it that we are saved by grace, THROUGH
FAITH, not by works.
Relationship between Works and Faith
Whoever is genuinely saved will be led by the Holy Spirit to follow
the Word of God. Such leading will definitely make him/her to
engage in works very diligently and intensely. Such engagement
will not be to earn salvation or receive blessing but are the
manifestation of the salvation that is already possessed. Thus, he
who does not engage in works could not have been saved even
though it is not works that saves. Works and salvation are
unconditionally tied together in a relationship whereby works is
always the product of salvation. This principle is so fundamental
that if works are not observed in a person, we will be correct to
declare that he/she is not saved, ceteris paribus.
However, since works do not produce salvation, the opposite
statement can never be true that the presence of works is evidence
of salvation. No.
This is to say that the works of a genuinely saved person are valid
proofs of his salvation just as Jesus said, "By their fruits you will
know them." (Matthew 7:20) even though not every one who
presents the likeness of the fruits is a saved person. Many are
mere religious pretenders. But if a person does not have works,
then we know that he does not have living faith, just as James said.
Similarly, just as the works cannot save, so also will they not earn
blessings after salvation. It has become rather popular among
Christians now to presume that it is the effort of works that gets
them God's attention and favour. In their equation, there is an
absolute linear relationship between works and blessing. What
you get from God is determined by the hours of your prayer, the
number of chapters of the Bible you read daily, the size of your
offerings, and, according to prosperity gospellers, the number of
affirmations you can make per minute. Welcome legalism!
But the word of God is unshakable: we receive only by grace
through faith. All the works that are devooid of faith are dead works.
It is only if the works are performed as "works of faith" do the works
have any life in them which makes them to abide and survive the
test of fire.
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| Hey! Jesus calls you, NOW! Have you ever accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? We were all born with the sinful nature of Adam which God cannot fellowship with. The Good News is that God therefore gave Jesus to us to redeem the situation. It is only by receiving this provision of God that you can have spiritual salvation and enjoy eternity in heaven with God. I implore you to allow Jesus into your life now. Yield yourself to Him. Stop the struggle and religious debates. While he who is spiritually saved will enter into the Kingdom of God (which is commonly seen as the Christian faith), this is not a call to the Christian “religion”, but a call to the salvation of your soul. For no religion can save – not even Christianity as a religion. So, being born into a Christian family or going to church or mosque, or trying to live a devout life will not save you. Whatever your religion, whatever moral standing you have, you must repent of your sins and personally receive Jesus into your life. So, now, Jesus is calling you one more time. What shall your response be? |
