Faith or Works

Posted by on February 3, 2008 under Sermons

Theme: Maturity in Christ, Transformation of Character, Virtue and Spiritual Discipline

The background to the debate –

Oct. 31, 1517 – 95 theses. The sale of indulgences. Martin Luther was reacting to an empty system of righteousness that had been turned into a commercial transaction.

Luther was particularly fascinated with the Book of Romans.

Martin Luther was never sure about the book of James.

  • Luther lived in a time when the church taught that grace could be merited through works of righteousness. Salvation could be bought. Sins were forgiven only if proper penance were performed. This system of merit and penance made the rulers of the powerful -they held the keys to heaven.
  • Luther’s great discovery was the doctrine of grace as it was laid out in Romans. That teaching on grace shook the power of the corrupt church hierarchy.
  • But the Epistle of James was a problem. “Faith without works is dead” was difficult for the leader of the Reformation. He called the epistle “strawy” and wondered if it should even be taken out of the NT.

Soren Kierkegaard later recognized the problems of his day when Luther’s teaching on salvation by grace was misunderstood.

  • He warned of worldliness and cheap grace. That Christ died so that we may indulge ourselves.
  • “We are free from all works. Long live Luther! Who loves not women, wine and song remains a fool his whole life long! This is the significance of the life of Luther, this man of God who, suited to the times, reformed Christianity.”
  • Kierkegaard’s comments still apply. We are so conditioned to react against faith by works and legalism that we can talk about holiness and spiritual discipline only with difficulty.
  • Self-righteousness is repulsive. But how can we be righteous without being holier-than-thou? Can we celebrate spiritual maturity or must we be content to say “I’m just human”?

Bonhoeffer – Cheap grace vs. Costly Grace

James and Paul:

  • James’ message is about the nature of faith. Faith, real faith, will take action. That’s just its nature. .
  • Luther understood this: “It is impossible to separate works from faith – yea, just as impossible as to separate burning and shining from fire.”
  • Paul makes it clear that no work or deed can earn the love and grace of God. God’s salvation is a gift.
  • It is unmerited, but to say it is “unconditional” is not entirely accurate – for it changes our condition. Once we were sinners, now we are the saved. Once we were controlled by the sinful nature, now we are led by the Spirit of Christ.
  • God’s love and grace are transforming. Paul believed that the Holy Spirit working in people could be seen in real action: the fruit of the spirit!

Mature in Christ:

  • Paul believed that the goal of his ministry was to create mature believers. This I have taken as my vision statement for my ministry (Colossians 1:28)
  • “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” Admirable for its humility, but not for its vision of holiness and maturity.
  • We are called to “work out our salvation.” Not work for or work toward, but work out. That means our salvation must show “in the flesh.” Jesus was God “in the flesh” and our salvation (like our Lord) must come in the flesh. Our inward faith and our outward deeds must be consistent.
  • This means we become intentional, deliberate and disciplined with the life we live. Why? Because not only have we heard the truth of the gospel, we desire to live it!

What Would Jesus Do (WWJD)?

  • Why can’t we just play golf like Tiger Woods? Why can’t we simply play football like Eli Manning or Tom Brady after watching the Super Bowl?
  • We know that they can do what they do because of years of training and a dedication to their sport. To be like them means much more than copying their moves after watching them once.
  • WWJD on a deeper level means more than just thinking about Christ at a moment of decision or temptation. It means practicing his manner of life. It means being Christ every minute. Following him. How can we know what Jesus would do if we don’t follow him totally?
  • Look at what he did when he was alone – he was in prayer, he fasted, he was in the temple at age 12. For Jesus, faith and works were the same thing. And it can be for us too if we will get serious about becoming disciples of the Lord Jesus.

The Great Commission:

  • “What is our plan for teaching our people to do everything Christ commanded?” (Willard, p. 16) Does this seem like too much to ask? It’s not my idea, it’s part of the great commission – a part we have neglected.
  • We have a sort of defeatist attitude too often. We admit that we’re going to sin no matter how hard we try, so we might as well just accept it. I think there is a way for us to be more confident without boasting. It will mean relying on the spirit of Christ. It will mean submitting our works to God’s will so that he can accomplish his purposes through us.
  • Christianity can only be a guide if … [see Willard p. ix]
  • Our works and deeds do matter for salvation. But not so we will be saved. No, that misses the point – it’s not for our sake, but for the sake of the world!
  • The greatest obstacle for nonbelievers today is that they recognize no difference between Christians and non-Christians. How can we be salt if we have lost our saltiness?

Shining Like Stars

Posted by on under Sermons

Read Philippians 2:12-16.

Over the last few centuries, the Christian faith has been haunted by the phrase “works-righteousness.” The meaning of this phrase has generally been focused on a religious system of actions or deeds – those works that must be done to count for righteousness. As you can imagine, this “works righteousness” is consider inferior to a “righteousness of faith.” After all, doing works simply because you must isn’t very inspiring or enriching, now is it?

In contrast to this seemingly empty and hypocritical “works righteousness” is the notion of “faith righteousness.” It is a righteousness that is given to us by God and his Spirit. It is a righteousness that we cannot obtain on our own. Now as you can imagine, anything that would seem to interfere with that external gift of righteousness is avoided lest it become a process for manipulating God’s grace. This is why some are concerned that baptism or the Lord’s Supper could be a form of works righteousness. They are concerned that these physical acts are an attempt to put a claim on God and his grace.

Our problem is not a choice between Works Righteousness vs. Faith Righteousness. That is a false choice. Even Martin Luther, who coined these terms, allowed that both types of righteousness were proper and had their place. He was not opposed to one over the other. But here we are almost five centuries past Luther and we seem to operate on polar extremes when it comes to this issue.

  1. On one extreme we have an attitude that “getting saved and staying saved” is all up to us. I remember teaching a Bible class on 1 John. I cited 1 John 5:13 – “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” My attempts to encourage and inspire confidence in the class were thwarted by a woman who replied, “I wouldn’t ever want us to get too confident about having eternal life. After all, we are supposed to work out our own salvation.” Her perspective left one believing this to mean that we are on our own when it comes to achieving salvation.
  2. On the other extreme we have an attitude that “being saved” is all up to God and we have absolutely no involvement in the process; furthermore we must be careful not to appear as though we are doing anything physical or tangible to hijack God’s work. But extreme positions always lead to extreme action – or in this case inaction. I agree with Fred Craddock who commented that the worry over slipping into works-righteousness “has driven some [Christians] straight to the hammock as the only place where a doctrine of grace can be kept safe.”

I want to suggest that these polar extremes are not helpful and that Paul, in his letter to the Philippian church, is recommending that faith and works are not only compatible, but also vital.
Paul has already commented on the “mind of Christ.” Having the attitude and mindset of Jesus Christ is so very important. He did not avoid humbling himself and bearing shame for the sake of others and out of obedience to God. God exalted Christ. But the example of Christ and action of God demonstrates that this mindset and attitude is more than just mental – it results in action and behavior.

So, Paul follows on the heels of this hymn to call us to “work out our salvation.” This phrase is very confusing to modern English. “Work it out” can mean figure it out. Someone with a problem can be dismissed by another who says “well, just work it out.” It might also be a non-specific promise that we will figure something out. “Don’t know how, but we’ll work it out. It will all work out in the end.” But that’s not what this text is saying. Salvation is not the goal of the work. Salvation is something that God has already begun in us.

  • Paul tells the Philippian church that God is working in them and that they already share in the gospel (1:6-7).
  • Salvation is a work of God that we live up to. Working out our salvation means living worthily – living like those who are saved by God. (1:27)
  • Salvation is not just about the great beyond and the hereafter and the golden streets. Its about the here and now and the concrete streets. We are united with Christ, already. We are comforted by his love even now, we have fellowship with the Spirit now. (2:1-4). Thus we should live like it. We need to put it into action. This is what “work it out” means.

If there’s still any doubt, let verse 13 clear up the confusion … for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

So, having the attitude of Christ is not just a matter of thoughts and beliefs. It also involves deeds and behavior. Of course we could just as accurately rephrase this and say that having the attitude of Christ is not just a matter of deeds and behavior, it also involves thoughts and beliefs. Both are true. There is a harmony here that is so important …

People who have the attitude and behavior of Christ are going to stand out. We are meant to be a contrast to the warped and depraved cultures around us. But this isn’t a reactive stance to the world. We are not to simply do the opposite of the world or reject new fads and technologies because they are worldly. We are to be a contrast in all cultures and ages. How do we do this?

  1. We are authentic. Paul wanted the Philippians to work out, or live out, their salvation whether he was there or not. Living out the attitude of Christ demands internal and external authenticity.

  2. We are encouraging. It is difficult to live out our salvation if we are complaining and arguing. It’s not just that this type of behavior is antithetical to life in Christ, but we wouldn’t be stars in a dark sky, we wouldn’t stand out at all. The background of our culture is to complain and argue. Encouragement, cheerfulness, sincere optimism and reasonable hope are a stark contrast to the paranoia, cynicism, bickering, and in-fighting that seems to be contagious in our culture. (Jeff Long is the new athletic director at the University of Arkansas. Harry King reported the following about Long in his article yesterday. First, he isn’t interested in hearing about past scandals in the athletic department that have already been settled. He’s not interested in complaining and arguing. Second, he has given all his staff this encouragement: “I detest the ‘woe is me’ attitude, the ‘Here’s all the reasons why we can’t be successful.’ I don’t want to hear that. Let’s focus on all the reasons why we can be successful.”)

Shining like stars means standing out. A people who are a contrast. Holding out the word of Life – Living out our salvation (putting it into action) is evangelism. It is sharing the gospel.

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