The question of faith vs. works is often discussed among believers. Yet, there is lingering confusion about the relationship between faith and works. Most Christians agree that faith is fundamental, but then how are works part of that?

On the question of faith vs. works, we are often told that faith is all that matters. If we have faith then we are saved, and the goal of Christianity is salvation. So if we are saved through faith, then why be concerned about works?

Many conclude that because faith is the key to eternal life (John 3.16), then works must be irrelevant. Sermons are given every Sunday where the importance of faith is stressed, and the importance of works is deprecated. In some churches, it has become a creed that as Christians "works don't matter".

However, how can works be irrelevant to salvation? The apostles were called to dedicate their lives to God's work. The bible tells us that there is great work to be done, "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest" (Luke 10.2 KJV bible).

Part of the problem is that our inclination is not to work. Spiritual work requires the dedication and sacrifice of our time away from other pursuits. If we are moved by the Holy Spirit to further God's Kingdom on earth, then we can't be focused on worldly things.

If someone is too devoted to their own life to work for God, then are they faithful? "...If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16.24-25 KJV bible).

What does it mean that we are saved by faith, and not by works?

To understand faith vs. works, we need to examine why the bible says that we are saved by faith and not by works. There are many scriptures that make clear that faith, not works, is the source of salvation.

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Galatians 2.16 KJV bible).

This verse is saying that it's not through obedience to a moral code that one can be justified in the eyes of God. Rather, it's through faith in Christ as the Son of God, who died for our sins. We can't be good enough to redeem ourselves.

This is a key point where Christianity departs from other religions and traditions. It doesn't prescribe rituals, deeds, or actions through which we can earn eternal life. Rather, faith in Christ is the foundation and root through which eternal life springs (John 3.15).

This "justification through faith" is a distinguishing part of Christianity. It implies that there is no inherent righteousness or purity in man through which he can earn redemption. It's only by God's grace that one can become a new creature in Christ, having a relationship with the Lord.

Justification through faith means that there is no kind of work or struggle in the world that has the power to redeem us from our sins, and deliver us from death. It's not on account of our own works or righteousness that we find Christ, but the mercy of God, after which comes the regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

"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 bible). "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3.5 KJV bible).

There is a relationship that exists between faith and works.

So if faith preempts everything else in our relationship with God, then how do works fit in? Part of the confusion comes from the separation of faith from works. It's often assumed that they are unrelated; works being external actions, and faith being internal beliefs.

However, the bible tells us that there is a relationship between faith and works. Works are a consequence and obligation of faith, and faith is sustained and perfected in works, "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 bible).

We know that faith in Christ is the foundation of eternal life, and that without faith we are estranged from the Lord. However, faith is also a process that prepares us to be able to do God's work. Faith matures us not for our own purposes, but to be fruitful to God. This is the symbiotic relationship of faith and works.

Faith and repentence create the potential for works, "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work" (2nd Timothy 2.21 KJV bible).

So it is through faith that we become qualified and useful as vessels of righteousness, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2.13 KJV bible). Therefore, faith is more than a mindset, but a process that results in our lives becoming fruitful unto God.

God's will is that our faith leads to works that are pleasing to him. Therefore, if works do not follow faith, the process has been broken and frustrated in us. If we are always focused on our own desires, we are not serving the Lord.

"But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed" (James 1.25 KJV bible). We must resist any tendency to shrink back as forgetful hearers, but move forward as doers, bringing forth the mature fruits of faith.

Works are the fruits of faith, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit...Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me...Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples" (John 15.1-2,4,8 KJV bible).

Jesus is the true vine and we are the branches. Unless we are connected to the vine through faith, we can't bear any useful fruit. However, Jesus also tells us that the fruitless branches are taken away, so that they wither and die apart from the vine. So we must push forward in faith unto righteous works, while resisting temptations that pull us away. Otherwise, we've allowed ourselves to become fruitless branches.

Faith is sustained and completed in works.

The book of James also speaks in detail about the connection between faith and works, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?" (James 2.14 KJV bible). This statement, "can faith save him?", seems to contradict a lot of other scriptures that tell us we are saved by faith alone.

However, the faith being described here is not the living faith of salvation, but empty faith. This is because living faith cannot be separated from works, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2.26 KJV bible). Faith cannot survive apart from works, and it is only when faith produces works that it can mature.

So not only does faith push us toward works, but faith itself is sustained and completed in those works, leading unto salvation, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" (James 2.21-22 KJV bible).

Abraham's deed was an act of absolute faith in God, because he knew that God could raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11.19). So Abraham was justified by his actions, because his actions were an embodiment of his faith. When given a choice between obeying God in faith, or not, Abraham acted in faith. So Abraham's faith was fulfilled in his righteous works.

Noah is another example of works through faith. God chooses Noah, and gives him a message about the coming flood. Noah has to be faithful to this message over many decades as he builds the ark. When the flood comes, Noah and many others are saved. Noah's ark was the triumph of his faith, because he believed the promise of God.

Works are the compulsion of faith.

So we see the deeper relationship that exists between faith and works. Faith is what connects us to the true vine, Jesus Christ. It is through our connection with him that we are compelled to bring forth righteous works unto God. God then prunes the branches that are fruitful, which strengthens them and allows them to bring forth more fruit. A connected branch produces fruit (see Does a Seed Die?).

Therefore, as faith is fundamental to our relationship with Christ, works are necessary to sustain and strengthen that relationship. So works are an undeniable part of salvation, and an obligation in Christ, who alone is our redeemer, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1st Corinthians 15.58 KJV bible).

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