Bible Question:
I am a relatively new Bible reader and one big question keeps hitting me -- I see a difference between Jesus' words on heaven and Paul's. Let me explain... Paul says "If you confess w/your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom 10:9, TLB) And also, "For it is by grace you have been saved thru faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of works..." (Eph 2:8, NKJV) But I don't see Jesus talking that way in the gospels. For example, in Mt 7:21, Jesus said that "Not all people who sound religious are really godly. they may refer to me as Lord, but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Fathers in heaven". And again, in Mt 5:22, He says "if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell". See also Luke 12:35-49, where He discusses being prepared about his coming. If the servant isn't behaving well, the master will tear the servant apart and banish him. These statements of Jesus seem to indicate that much more than simply announcing and believing in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God is required for the Kingdom of Heaven. He clearly states that the key issue is whether you obey his Father in heaven. Is this to be interpreted as living a good life, following the commandments, etc., as additional requirements for heaven? Does that jive w/Paul's statements? Note that it's not that I'm against trying to live a good, holy life, but this seems to lead down the road of salvation by faith-and-works. Please help me understand this better, because my life was changed by Eph 2:8-9, but this is confusing me. Thanks! |
Bible Answer: Part II " There are works and there are works! A closer look at St. Paul's letters to the Romans, Galatians and Ephesians is necessary in order to understand what he is talking about when he refers to "works of the law" and "works" in the broader sense. "Works of the law" is a technical term, which refers to the Mosaic Law and all it's rituals, but especially circumcision. Paul's whole point in Romans is that we cannot restore our relationship to the Father, which has been shattered by sin, by any kind of ritual works even in obedience to God's law given through Moses. We cannot put God in a position of obligation or owing us anything because of something we have done, even if it is obeying his law. Nor can we oblige God by any good works we do above and beyond the requirements of the law on our own initiative. This is a serious dilemma. How then can we be saved? Only by God's grace, through faith in Jesus Christ who by his faith and obedience even to death on a cross, restored the relationship with the Father, which was broken by the faithless disobedience of Adam (Romans 5: 12-21). But does this bring us back to "faith alone"? Indeed not! For St. Paul himself tells us that God's saving grace is a transforming grace. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God - not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2: 8-10) So we are saved by grace through faith to what purpose? Good works in Christ Jesus! So we see that St. James can correctly say without contradicting St. Paul, "faith without works is dead." The works that St. James is speaking of are the good works we do in Christ. It is because they are done in Christ that they have merit. Outside of Christ they are useless and cannot save us or justify us. But where in St. Paul's letter to the Romans can we find any reference to this kind of works in Christ? St. Paul opens and closes his letter with a reference to "the obedience of faith." (Romans 1:5 and Romans 16:26) In chapter two he tells us: "For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who are justified." (Rom. 2: 13) Eight times in chapter two, between verse six and verse twenty-seven, he speaks of the necessity to "do the law." Is this the same Paul who in the same letter has told us that we are not justified by "works of the law" but by faith? Or is he speaking of two different laws? Are we slaves subject to a fugitive slave law or are we citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven who find our freedom in willing servitude and obedience to the law of love and grace through and in Jesus our Savior who has redeemed us from slavery to sin and death and set us free? In Galatians 4: 21- 31, St. Paul uses this analogy when retelling the story of Hagar and Sara." © Emmaus Road Disciples |