The false dichotomy of faith and works

There’s an ongoing argument between some Christian traditions about whether ‘faith’ or ‘works’ is what saves a person. I see in this an example of what Hugh Nibley taught about the things that Satan gets people to argue about, thinking they are the important matters, while the thing of real importance is ignored.

It is that old Devil’s dilemma, in which we are asked to take sides with Gog or Magog, as his means of decoying us away from our true dedication to that celestial order established in the beginning.

Nibley, “Patriarchy and Matriarchy”, in ‘Old Testament and Related Studies’

Satan’s masterpiece of counterfeiting is the doctrine that there are only two choices, and he will show us what they are. It is true that there are only two ways [(in the larger sense of God’s way or not)], but by pointing us the way he wants us to take and then showing us a fork in that road, he convinces us that we are making the vital choice, when actually we are choosing between the branches in his road. Which one we take makes little difference to him, for both lead to destruction. This is the polarization we find in our world today.

Nibley, ‘Gifts’ – talk, 1979

Why is the division between faith and works a false dichotomy? Because we need both. Both are as important as each other. However, this is still a false division, because they’re inseparably linked. You can’t have one without the other. Faith leads to action, and action always comes from faith. You won’t get out of bed if you don’t believe that it’s worth it. That’s why depressed people stay in bed so long, or don’t get up at all, if it’s a really bad case. You won’t go to see a friend if you don’t think that it will be enjoyable, or that you’ll have a good conversation, or can help each other, or whatever. And if you do think those things, then you’ll go to see them.

Going beyond the everyday examples, you won’t keep God’s commandments unless you believe that (a) He exists, (b) He is good, and therefore His commandments are just, and (c) that you will gain good rewards for keeping them. So to do these ‘works’, you must have faith, which is made up of these beliefs.

But even in expressing it that way, I’m making ‘faith’ into something separate from action. The Lectures on Faith tell us that faith is a principle of action. This would mean that it naturally engenders action, and that faith itself is action. I wonder if the argument between faith and works arises partly from a misunderstanding, or incomplete understanding, of what faith is.

Faith isn’t a simple belief, a fanciful notion, a wish, or openness to an idea – although it can start with the first or the last of those.

Faith is the decision to act on a principle that you don’t completely understand, but trust is correct because God commands it.

Faith holds within it the fire of action. It’s a choice, and that choice is work – partly because you keep doing it, over and over, through life. The boundary of your faith keeps expanding, as your knowledge grows; so you keep applying faith to new things.

Now let’s talk about other ‘works’ (besides the work of faith). There’s something really important to point out here, which is that effort – our own, alone effort – is never sufficient to save us from either of the two great deaths: physical or spiritual. It’s not enough to either justify or purify us. It can’t exalt us – make us into glorified, holy beings who enjoy eternal life. Only God’s power is able to do that. From it, we are all saved from eternal death, or the unending separation of our bodies and spirits. And with it, we can overcome the natural man and become new creatures – godly creatures. But this second gift can’t happen on its own. God has the power, but it only works for us with our willingness and effort.

You can’t force another person to change, however kindly you mean it. No-one changes except through their own will. That doesn’t mean that the change comes from their will alone – willpower only does so much, after all. But your good ideas and the help of other people and useful resources are only able to be of use when the person allows them to influence them. Only when they are ready to change, when they see the need for it and have the capacity for it, will they do so. Then, outside help becomes effective.

It’s the same with the power of Christ that turns us into new creatures. It can’t happen unless we want it to. Unless we believe that it needs to, and that God can do it and will. That’s the first step. Once we invite that help in, we need to work in the way that eternal laws direct in order for it to make real inroads in our hearts. We need to pray wholeheartedly, recognise our wrongs and repent, be humble about our failings, hopeful about Christ’s love and power, study the scriptures so we really understand God’s will and how to live according to it, and invite the influence of the Holy Spirit constantly into our hearts and lives.

Accepting Christ as our Saviour isn’t really just a one-time event. It’s something that we do over and over, as we accept His help in this thing, and this. As we recognise our need for His grace here, and here. As we realise that we have another tear in our hearts; another intractable weakness; another hopeless (without Him) situation. I think this happens because, well, of course we’re imperfect, so there’s always another thing to be overcome in us. But it’s also because of the ‘natural man’, or ‘natural mind’; following Christ isn’t a clean, direct path once we’ve covenanted to do it at baptism. It’s not like we choose that, and then the road is clear the rest of the way, and we just need to add the things we need – more love, mercy, patience, courage, etc. The natural mind means that we forget, all the time, that this is the person we want to be; it distracts us from eternal goals and covers our perceptions with mist. We have to renew, again and again, each time this happens – which is very often (an understatement!), our discipleship of Christ. Not decide again that we want to follow Him, but remember that we are, in our whole souls.

Let’s hear from Paul, the one these church traditions misconstrue.

In Hebrews, Paul dedicates a chunk of space to reciting all the scriptural figures who exercised faith, and the results. Every thing he lists is about what happened or what they did – the worlds were framed, Abel offered an acceptable sacrifice, Enoch was translated into heaven, Noah prepared an ark, Abraham obeyed and left his homeland, then lived in a foreign place; Sara gave birth; Abraham offered up Isaac; and so on.

In Romans, Paul explains how Abraham’s faith was counted to him for righteousness (Romans 5). This is after he writes that we are saved by grace – which he wrote in order to overcome misconceptions that people needed to still keep to the Mosaic Law. He teaches that the Law was superseded by Christ’s atonement, because the Law on its own could never save them – never sanctify them. It couldn’t even justify them, because there’d always be another thing they’d done wrong, according to the Law. They couldn’t be perfect in this way. The Law was never meant to make them perfect, but to teach them how to live well, and to look to Christ for salvation.

The Saviour Himself said that He didn’t come to ‘destroy’ the Law, but to fulfill it. He gave the sermon on the mount/plain which told people that they needed to be more righteous – from the heart. Being saved, ultimately, by His grace – His perfection and mercy and power – doesn’t erase the need to keep eternal law. It doesn’t take away responsibility from us to work. It makes our work be completed by His grace. The little, imperfect efforts that we make actually of use in saving us, by being lifted up and made perfect with His power. There’s no separation between ‘faith’ and ‘works’. It’s all ‘work’. Just work that we do because we love and believe Christ and work with Him, not because we’re desperate to save ourselves.

This is what Paul meant in Romans 4:15-16, and in the other places where he teaches about faith and grace. When he talks about faith and ‘works’, he usually means the Mosaic Law (works), not works as modern thinkers have taken them to mean.

We also have this:

(Speaking of himself and his missionary companions) Wherefore we labour that we may be accepted of him, whether we remain in this body, or leave it.

For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that every one may receive according to the good or the bad that he will have done, while in his body.

2 Corinthians 5:9-10 – a combination of the KJV and the Louis Segond/International Bible Society (1910) French edition

So I think it’s clear that neither faith nor works is exclusive of the other, and that there’s no real distinction between them. Plus, it makes more sense ; ). And I always like things that make sense.