ARE GRACE AND WORKS MUTALLY EXCLUSIVE?
Andrew M. Connally
In many people’s thinking there seems to be a contradiction between
the subjects – the Grace of God and the Works of God. In a letter
I have in my files a brother in Christ states: “It is time, brother
Connally, that we quit thinking of Jesus as another Moses. Jesus
never wrote any book or gave any law. We are under grace and
not any law (Rom. 6:14). . . It’s about time we started relying on Jesus
(Our sin-offering) rather than our legalistic religion for salvation…”
Here you have it – confusion to the nth degree!, and that from a
man who purports to be a Christian.
The Nature of Grace
If the Bible teaches anything, it teaches we are saved by grace:
“for by grace have you been saved through faith: and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory"
(Eph. 2:8-9). Again, we read, "For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing
salvation to all men . . ." (Tit. 2:11). These passages, and dozens of
others, make it abundantly clear that God's grace saves us! Yet, in none
of them do they state we are saved by "grace only," nor do they teach all
men are saved without any effort on the part of man! God's grace is "unmerited
favor." Man does not deserve it, neither can he earn it
nor work for it. It comes from God. He is the source of "every
good and perfect gift" (James 1:17). He is the supreme architect
of the universe (Gen. 1:1-2). He is the author of the plan of salvation
(Eph. 1:11). He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16), yet this
grace is not unconditional, and herein lies the confusion.
The Nature of Works
The Bible plainly teaches that man's works cannot save! Notice again, "For
by grace have ye been saved through faith: and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God, not of works, that no man should glory (Eph. 2:8-9).
Human works of righteousness do
not amount to anything in the sight of God. Man is a sinner,
a terrible, lost sinner! And nothing on earth he can do can save himself.
The Bible says, "But when the kindness of God our Saviour, and his love
toward man appeared, not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves,
but according to his mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Spirit . . ." (Tit. 3:4-5). So anyone can
see that anything man might devise to eradicate sin, or make him holy or
make him appear righteous can never avail in the sight of God. Not
only are human works out, but even the works of the Mosaic law cannot save.
Notice: "Because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in
His sight ..." (Rom.
3:20). Therefore, works of human merit and works of the Mosaic
law cannot save us; if they could then there would have been no reason
for Christ to come and die for us! His very coming shows something
else was required. This does not mean that God does not demand and
command we obey His commandments in order to be saved! Either the Bible
teaches universal salvation or it does not. Since the Bible plainly teaches
some will be lost (Matt. 7:21-23: Matt. 25:46. etc.) then it follows that
something separates the saved from the lost! What is it?
The Nature of Faith
God demands and commands works of faith in order for man to attain salvation.
"Without faith it is impossible for man to please God" (Heb. 11:6).
For "God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6).
Faith, for it to be acceptable to God, must express itself in action.
This is the very point missed by so many in denominationalism! Faith
unexpressed is a dead faith., Notice: 'Ye see that by works a man is justified,
and not only by faith . . For as the body apart from the spirit is dead,
even so faith apart from works is dead" (James 2:24.26). Now we have
shown that the Bible says some works do not save and some works do save.
This is why some people are confused. But God expects us to search
the Scriptures with a longing for truth. Our responsibility is to
harmonize all God's teaching. At this point denominationalists scream "faith
only" saves! Yet in the passage just noticed from James (James 2:24)
we learn we are not saved by faith only! Surely the Bible teaches
we are saved by faith (Rom. 5:1: Acts 16:31, etc.), but nowhere does it
teach salvation by "faith alone." People who so teach fall into the
trap of those who teach salvation by "grace only." Neither is true!
God's part is called "grace." Man's part is called "faith."
But saving faith includes (leads to) acts of obedience. Notice: "By
faith the walls of Jericho fell down" - now we ask the question, "When
did they fall down?" Was it at the moment the Israelites "believed" they
would fall down? Was it the moment they "trusted God" to make them fall
down? Or was it "after they had been compassed about for seven days" (Mob.
11:30). Surely anyone knows they fell after the Israelites obeyed God's
commands to march for seven days and blow the trumpets! Such is the nature
of faith. Faith must always express itself in overt action according
to the command of God.
To refuse to do so is disobedience. To do anything else is works
of human merit. But, to do exactly as God has said is to be "justified
by faith"
The Nature Of Obedience
Numerous passages teach obedience is essential to salvation Notice: "Though
he was a son. yet learned he obedience by the things which He suffered:
and having been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey Him the
author of eternal salvation . "(Heb. 5:8-9). For this very reason
"faith alone" never saves. But to obey is to be "saved by faith."
Our responsibility is to harmonize God's word, not to take a position that
contradicts some other passage. To demand salvation by "grace only."
"faith only" or by "works" is to violate the plain teaching of God.
That is why when Jesus said "except you believe I am he, ye shall die in
your sins” (John 8:24), faith becomes essential to salvation. That
is why when Jesus said. "Except you repent ye shall perish" (Luke 13:3-5),
repentance becomes essential to salvation. When a man believes repents
and is baptized according to the commands of God, these are not works of
human righteousness but rather constitute "justification of faith." Any
other position taken will result in a hopeless morass of contradictions
and error. That is why so many are confused and do not understand
the relation of grace and works
Conclusion
To answer the question first raised. "Are Grace and Works Mutually Exclusive?",
if you mean the grace of God and the meritorious works of man – yes, they
are exclusive. But if you mean God's grace and God's commanded works,
then they are not mutually exclusive. God does not cause confusion:
only man does that. God demands an honest heart, a searching for truth
and will reward such a one with an understanding so he can obey.
Otherwise, a man will be lost. One should accept all that God
has said, render obedience to the truth and teach it to others. In
this way, and only in this way, can we hope to be “justified by faith.”
The Spiritual Sword
Vol. 7 Jan, 1976 Num. 2