Christians: Why won't 'works' save us? What is wrong with being saved by works, if anything?

Question

Let's debate,
Why?

By the way, I did not give anyone a thumbs down.

Let's Debate.
Your first statement is contradicted by the text you used. Please look at it closely.

PaulCyp,
You said:
Likewise if our own faith saved us, we would be our own saviors.

Then what do you make of this:
Mark 5:34
And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

and this:
Mark 10:52
And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

Callen,
Your post was very good. I liked that you thought it out so well. But that is not what James was saying at all. James was the chief Legalist of the Jerusalem Christians. He proved it in Acts 15 and Acts 21. The legalists that Paul was referring to in Galatians were from James.

amberwav...,
I'm glad to see that there are some who are of a like mind here. Those who would be persuaded to other ideas outnumber us I think. But if we keep on with the message like the one you wrote about; true message of what Grace is, then perhaps we might teach them.

Answer 1

God tells us that the wages of sin is death. If we were to DO (works) what was needed to pay that wage, the only thing we could DO is to die. And if we die, we cannot "recover" (resurrect) ourselves to then live again having "earned" our salvation.

That is why Jesus had to do it FOR us. He was the ONLY one who COULD PAY that wage... to DIE for our sin... and still had the POWER to resurrect Himself back to life, so that He could then live again.

We cannot do that. Jesus could, and did. But Jesus was sin-less. He didn't HAVE to "pay the price" for His OWN sins, because He had none. He offered up Himself in our place (and for ALL of us) and He didn't have to.... yet He DID have to because He knew (since He's God) that we are unable to perform that act of saving grace. If we COULD, then, conceivably WE COULD SAVE OURSELVES. We could ALL simply pay that wage of death, and rise again to live eternally "restored" to God.

This is why He is the ONLY way that we can obtain our salvation. He is the ONLY one, since we are spiritually and physically unable to "perform" that act of salvation ourselves. Therefore, works cannot obtain salvation, only faith in what Jesus accomplished can.

I hope this helps.


Have a blessed day.

Answer 2

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5

But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away. Is. 64:6

Works don't save us because they are rotten. The work of Jesus on the cross is what saved us IF we repent.

If we were saved by our works then god isn't holy and it's not the God of the Bible. Everyone could get to heaven and that's not what Scripture teaches. Our works are a slap in the face of Christ. When the White Throne Judgment takes places people will be judged according to their works and then they'll be cast into hell anyway. Read Rev. 20

Answer 3

Because we can never be perfect. Regardless of how many good works we do, we still fall short. In the Old Testament, God gave the 10 commandments, and the rest of the law in order to show how imperfect we are. Then He sent Christ, so that we can be saved based on grace through faith, since we cannot be saved by our own works which we will always fall short.

Answer 4

Works are important, but we are not saved by works. We are saved by grace. Because our sins are like filthy rags to the Lord, there is nothing we can do to secure our our own salvation. We cannot "work" our way into salvation. Because no one is that good. Not even the most wonderful human you can think of could pay for their own sins by works. This is why we needed the precious blood of the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. This is the ONLY way we can be washed clean of our sins and be "born again". This simply means we are made new in Christ. We have new desires and we have new goals. The things in our personalities that are not of God are taken away. We become humble in spirit. We are no longer the selfish, self centered humans we once were. We are new people! We are changed and are freed from anything that once kept us in bondage. There was nothing that we ourselves could have done to make this change! Nothing else was able to free us from the terrible burden of our sinful past. If we do not accept the atonement sacrifice of Christ, we would be stuck with having to atone for our own sins. How could we pay for our own sins? Only the precious blood of Christ could pay for our sins. I do not want to "debate" about this . But I do think you are entitled to an explanation.

Works are the evidence of fruitage of the Spirit. But they are not what is going to save us. May the Lord bless you.

Answer 5

Works or Faith
Works or Faith...
Paul says we are saved by Faith alone, lest any man should boast. Some contemporary Lutherans (in Europe, I'm told) interpret that to mean that they should go right on sinning, to even try to be good would be to deny the Power of God.

On the other hand...

James says 'Faith without works is dead.'
Can one enter the Kingdom of Heaven with a 'Dead Faith'?

Jesus said 'He who loves me will obey My commandments.'

I've thought about this some. For the Hebrews and the Ancient Judeans 'Love' was very much an action, where we think of it as an emotion today, a warm gooey feeling about someone. A feeling that did not lead to action would have been considered a very dubious thing to the Apostles. For them what a person did with themselves was very much a reflection of what was already in their heart. You will see this reflected in the Gospel and the Epistles.
I think it's the same with Faith.

We tend to take Paul's equation that Salvation is by Faith, we connect it to the various Christian Creeds, which came long after, and we wind up with the idea that Salvation consists basically of an intellectual assent to a certain set of ideas, like, say the Nicene Creed 'I believe in God the Father Almighty...' etc. etc... In other words, 'say this and you're saved.'
But I don't think this is what Paul was saying at all. I think what he was saying was that Salvation comes through Faith in God, which he would have understood as a relationship with God, those who have faith in God know God and are known by God. Faith indicates relationship. So what 'by Faith, not by Works' means is that Salvation is bestowed upon us by God because of our relationship to Him, not gained by us by our own efforts. In other words, you can't 'take' Salvation, it has to be 'given' to you.

But just like Love, Salvation should reflect in one's actions. I think what James was saying was that Salvation that doesn't result in actions is not really Salvation. 'Works' are not the 'means' of Salvation, they are the 'proof' that it has taken place. So then, you can't really separate Works from Faith, they are the inward and outward manifestation of the same phenomenon.

Answer 6

Jesus, who was God incarnate (John 1:1,14), paid an infinite price for our sin. Jesus died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3). Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 2:2). To add works to Christs free gift of salvationis an attack on the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. If we must in any sense pay for our salvation, that indicates Jesus’ death was not a perfect, complete, and sufficient sacrifice.

Answer 7

Its a really good question and to be honest I truly believe that you are saved by works.. real works: kindness, hardwork charity, love, grace, forgiveness

But the reasoning from the Bible is actually quite simple if Jesus Died on the Cross for the GIFT of salvation

then if Salvation required works it is not a GIFT it is payment

Romans 11:6

6And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

Thus a gift with a requirement is not a gift but a payment

Answer 8

If works saved us we would be our own saviors, and would have no need of another Savior. Likewise if our own faith saved us, we would be our own saviors. Nothing we do can be the cause of our own salvation, not our own works and not our own belief. Christ's death on the cross alone made salvation possible. He alone is the Savior. Salvation is a free gift of God. But like any gift it must be accepted in order to be received. Both the 2,000 year old teaching of the Church and the collection of writings which reflect that teaching, the Bible, make it extremely clear that faith and works of Christian charity are the two required means of accepting salvation. Faith of itself won't save you. Works of themselves won't save you. But the absence of either one can prevent you from being saved.

Answer 9

Rom. 4:4-5 Works remove grace from salvation and salvation we received by "CHRIST'S Atonement, which is Christ died as a substitute for sin; He died in the place of Christians-Rom. 5:8. Christ blood shed effect salvation and by it we receive GRACE. Have someone explain Eph.1:7; 2:13; Col. 1:14 to u or try going to SUNDAY SCHOOL to learn that GOD so loved the world....Jn. 3:16 and Works can't save you because Salvation comes from CHRIST and you can't earn it through Work.

Answer 10

Because everybody has done wrong. No matter how hard we try, we can't live life without doing something wrong.(Think back to when you were a kid, and you told a lie, for example.) Because God can't allow sin into Heaven, it is impossible to be saved by works. And because belief in Jesus means we are cleansed of our wrongdoings, faith in Him is the only way to Heaven. Hope I helped you get it! :)