Faith AND Works Are Necessary For Salvation James 2:26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.

Introduction The comfort doctrine of “Faith Only” is cherished by millions. Those who hold to this doctrine have proven they do not care to obey God in any way other than the way they want to worship Him. So much of the New Testament teaches the necessity of Faith AND Works. Let us see some more of what is taught in the Bible.

What Does The Bible Teach? Jesus and Apostles Teach that Works are Necessary for Justification Matthew 5: Jesus' teaching of the beatitudes goes beyond faith - being pure, merciful, and peacemakers are all good works. They are acts of the will that are necessary for a right relationship with God. Matthew 5:16 - Jesus confirms this by teaching, "let your light shine before men that they may see your 'good works' and give glory to God." Good works glorify God and increase our justification before the Father.

What Does The Bible Teach? Matthew 5: give your striker the other cheek, give away your cloak, and go with him two miles. This is faith in action, not faith alone. Matthew 5: this means even loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us. Love is a good work, an act of the will. Matthew 6:12 - forgive us our sins, not by how much faith we have, but as we forgive those who trespass against us.

What Does The Bible Teach? Matthew 7: just saying "Lord, Lord" and accepting Jesus as personal Savior is not enough. We must also bear the fruit of good works. Matthew 19: Jesus teaches the man to sell all he has and give it to the poor. It is not just about accepting Jesus as personal Lord and Savior. We also need good works by keeping Jesus' commandments. Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31 - Jesus says You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love is a good work - an act of the intellect and will.

What Does The Bible Teach? Mark 9:39 - Jesus said no one who does good works in His name will be able to soon after speak evil of Him. Good works justify us before God. Luke 6: the Lord asks us to do what he tells us, and that is to keep His commandments, not just "accept" Him as personal Lord and Savior. Luke 6: again, beatitudes, the love of enemies, giving to the needy, forgiving, bearing fruit - all these good works justify a man before God.

What Does The Bible Teach? Luke 8:21 - Jesus says that His mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. John 5:24 - note that "eternal life" here means sanctifying grace (the life of God within us). We can choose to fall from this grace. John 5:36, 10: Jesus emphasizes that His works testify to who He is. We must imitate Christ's works to be more fully united with Him.

What Does The Bible Teach? John 5: knowing the Scriptures is not enough if you do not have love in your heart. John 8: Jesus requires works even from those who believe in Him. Mere belief is not enough. John 13: Jesus gives us a new commandment, that we love one another as He loves us. He commands love which is an act of our will.

What Does The Bible Teach? John 14:15 - Jesus says, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." This requires doing works, not just faith (and not faith alone). God’s and Christ's commands are works. John 14:21 – he who hears My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. This is doing good works for others. John 15:8 – Jesus requires us to bear the good fruit of works if we are to be His disciples.

What Does The Bible Teach? John 15:10 - if you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, as I have kept the Father's commandments. John 15:12 - this is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Love is both a cause and the fruit of our justification. Romans 12:10 - Paul commands us to love one another. Love is a good work, an act of the intellect and will, not just a feeling.

What Does The Bible Teach? 1 Corinthians 3:8 – Paul teaches that he who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor. 1 Corinthians 13:2 – Paul teaches that if our faith moves mountains, but we have not the works of love, we are nothing indeed. 1 Corinthians 13:13 - abide in faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Love is the greatest work which justifies us (not faith, and most importantly, not faith alone!)

What Does The Bible Teach? 1 Timothy 6: we are to do good and be rich in good works thus laying up a good foundation for a chance at eternal life. Titus 1:16 - people claim to know God, but their deeds deny Him. Like Jesus, it is our works that testify to our faith in Christ. 1 John 2:3-5 - and by this we may be sure that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. This requires good works, not faith alone.

What Does The Bible Teach? 1 John 3:23 - God's commandment is to believe in His Son Jesus and love one another. Belief is not enough, but good works to perfect that belief. 1 John 4: and this commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.

What Does The Bible Teach? John gives us repeated exhortations to love one another. 1 John 5:2-3 - we know we love God and God's children when we keep His commandments. We need to love which is manifested in good works and not faith alone. 2 John 6 - we must love one another and keep Jesus' commandments.

Conclusion We must cooperate with Christ's grace. We must combine our belief with works commanded of God to be worthy of the salvation that God offers. Faith AND Works are necessary for salvation. Are You Doing What Jesus and His apostles taught through the Bible? It is time to get busy doing the works of God.