Works-Producing Faith
Yanadi reminds us that though we are saved by faith alone, this is a faith that produces good works.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9)
There is much assurance from knowing and believing the biblical truth of salvation by faith alone, apart from good works. This biblical truth has become a soothing balm for the souls of many saints across generations. And we praise the Lord for the rediscovery of this precious biblical truth by the Protestant Reformers of the 16th century. As a result, Christians have been released from unnecessary unbiblical burdens and focus on what really matters, namely, Christ and His Gospel. In Christ, we have Christian liberty.
However, if you are like me, you would have the tendency to be complacent if none of your contributions matter for your eternal state. After spending three chapters in Romans (Romans 3 to 5) emphasising that justification is by faith alone, it is no surprise that Paul opens Romans 6 with,
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom 6:1-4)
In Christian liberty, we are not saved from the slavery of sin into an arbitrary freedom. Rather, we are saved from the slavery of sin into the "slavery" of Christ. The word "slavery" may evoke negative connotations because of what has happened in the history of mankind. But if we can trim all the negative historical connotations, us being "slaves" of Christ ought to be understood as simply: Christ is our Lord and we serve Him. Christ is a good Lord, in fact the only good Lord. So it is good, and indeed it is for our own good, for us to submit to Him.
So what does it mean for Christians to be “slaves” of Christ?
It means that we have Christian liberty. Liberty, however, does not refer to lawlessness. In fact, lawlessness is a sign of the absence of Christian liberty. Rather, Christian liberty means that we have been freed from the slavery of sin. As Christians, we have been freed from the penalty of sin (justification), we are now being freed from the power of sin (sanctification), and we will finally be freed from the presence of sin (glorification). In Christian liberty, we submit to the law of Christ that He has given us, not as a means for salvation, but as a necessary and inevitable fruit of salvation. God who is holy and righteous, accepts us as we are, but does not leave us as we are.
The famous verses from Ephesians 2:8-9 does not stop in verse 9. The whole idea continues and concludes in verse 10,
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Martin Luther said it well,
We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.
This does not mean that we are saved by faith alone in the beginning but persevere by our good works. If that were true, that would mean that our salvation is not by faith alone, since salvation involves not only the beginning, but the whole. Instead, it means that as we persevere by continually trusting in Christ alone, we also continually repent of our sins. We do not merely continually trust at the expense of continually repenting. But rather, we continually trust and continually repent. There is an active component of our responsibility in our salvation. Just as Paul says in Philippians 2:12-13,
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Our willingness to work out our salvation is both our active responsibility and the proof that God is indeed working in us.
What constitutes good works then?
I understand that we have a tendency to favour "joy" over "duty", which results in us generally not liking a Christian "law". However, Christians across generations have no problem seeing the preciousness of both "joyful duty" and "dutiful joy" as we see how the two words are often used in tandem in historical confessions and catechisms. We know what constitute good works only by reading and studying God's word. A common standard that all of us will agree is the law of Christ, or what is also known as the law of love, the Great Commandment. It is useful for us at least as a guide for how we ought to live out our lives as Christians. But it is most useful when it is applied in the context of a local church, like GBC, where encouragement, correction, and help to grow in good works are covenanted and premised upon the common love that we have received from Christ and for one another.
Some of us struggle with traditionalism. My encouragement is to evaluate if the traditions that we cling to so tightly are based on the law of Christ. If yes, cling to them tightly. If not, why cling to them tightly?
But for some of us who, like me, struggle with complacency, Martin Luther has good words for us,
God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.
Salvation is not by faith and good works. Rather, salvation is by faith alone.
But salvation by faith alone does produce good works. And it is our joy and duty to obey Christ, our Lord, in gratitude and love for others.