THE QUESTION OF FAITH AND WORKS 
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Martin Luther, "Faith Only" and 
"An Epistle of Straw"
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 REPORTEDLY, the great reformer Martin Luther wrote "only" in the margin of his Bible along beside of Romans 3:30. His reactionary doctrine in opposing Roman Catholicism was "faith only" as he spoke out against this human system of works. Consequently, we are told that he went so far as to call the New Testament epistle of James an "epistle of straw" because James said, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24). He had reservations about James being included in the canon of the New Testament Scriptures. And we wonder what Luther thought about the Scriptures that say we are going to be judged according to our works (Revelation 20:12,13; Matthew 25:31-40). His reactionary doctrine of "faith only" is still found today in the creed books of Protestant denominations as they espouse his views.
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Trying to Understand Martin Luther
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 Evidently, such Scriptures as Romans 4:2-5 and Ephesians 2:5-9 had a bearing on his thinking. The Romans’ reference tells us that Abraham was not justified by works. Then these words follow: "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Next the marvelous verses in Ephesians read, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." In these references works and grace seem to clash, and the kind of works of which he writes certainly clash with grace and even invalidate it, if relied upon for salvation (Galatians 2:21; 3:10,11), "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
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Understanding the Nature 
of Works in the New Testament
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 To understand what we are dealing with here, let us go back to what James said when he wrote, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." In the verse right before (James 2:23), he said that Abraham believed God and it was "imputed unto him for righteousness." How does James look at the kind of faith that imputes righteousness? Read James 2:14-26 to get the whole picture. He questions a person’s faith when that person sees someone in need, but will not help. He said, "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." Then he nails it down: "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." In reference to Abraham, he said, "Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect." The thinking of James was in line with what the Lord said in John 6:28 and 29. Here Jesus said that faith is a work of God that we do. So, James when he says that we are justified by works, he is talking about works of faith. They are not works of human righteousness or works of the law. Perfection would be necessary to be justified in that way. But works that spring from faith and are the outworking of faith are in a different category. They are manifestations of faith, all in the context of grace. And in the Day of Judgment when we are judged according to our works, they will be examined as works of faith to measure our faith (not our righteousness).
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A Look at How God Looks at Things
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 Some would try to belittle baptism, labeling it a work and trying to make it appear to be in conflict with grace. Then others, trying to stand for what the Bible says about baptism, have perhaps unintentionally reduced it to the level of human works. It is not seen in the context of grace and the great outworking of faith that it is supposed to be.
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 Consider the following Scriptures. They tell us a lot about how God looks upon what takes place in conversion, including baptism. It is by grace through faith that we are saved.
  • "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost [Spirit]; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:5-7).

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  • "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:26,27).

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  • "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him, through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead" (Colossians 2:12).
    •  Baptism, from what we can see with the human eye, is external. But from God’s viewpoint, who sees the heart, it is the summation of what has taken place and is taking place internally. The washing of water by itself avails nothing (1 Peter 3:21). But with the conviction of sin, realizing that we are lost and cannot save ourselves, trusting the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, we repent and turn to him in full surrender. Baptism then becomes the "washing of regeneration." The blood of Christ spiritually is applied as we are baptized for the "remission of sins" (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Colossians 2:11,12; Revelation 1:5). (How foolish of those who belittle baptism to say that it is thought that water washes away sin). This is mercy and grace in action. Faith is the moving impetus. We are not talking about a magical, sacramental, ritualistic regard for baptism, but faith in action. Notice Galatians 3:26,27 and Colossians 2:12 again. Therefore, Paul says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…" Repenting and being baptized are anything but a work of human righteousness. It is the acceptance of the grace and mercy of God.
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    Believing and Obeying the Gospel
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     Not to overemphasize this point, but because of extensive misunderstanding, perhaps it would be good to say more about believing and obeying the gospel. We know that the gospel is defined by Paul as the good news of how through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ our sins are taken away (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Righteousness is imputed to us "if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:22-25).
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    How Did the Ethiopian Know?
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     In view of this, what we read about Phillip and the conversion of the Ethiopian governmental official in Acts 8:26-40 is very interesting. We are told that when Phillip got up in the chariot with him, he "opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture [Isaiah 53], and preached unto him Jesus" (Acts 8:35). The next thing we know the Ethiopian is wanting to be baptized. How did he know about this, as this seems to be the first time he had heard the gospel? Obviously in preaching "Jesus" one must preach baptism. But why and how is baptism involved in preaching Jesus?
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    Believing and Obeying 
    "That Form of Doctrine" from the Heart
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     This corresponds with what we read elsewhere in the New Testament (and there we can see the why and how). In Romans 10:9 and 10 Paul stated that confession of faith in Christ and believing in the heart that God had raised him from the dead was necessary to salvation. Earlier in Romans 6:17 he made a statement about the Roman Christians, "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you." What was the doctrine "delivered" unto them that they obeyed? In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Paul tells what doctrine he "delivered" when he preached, reminding the Corinthians of his initial preaching among them. "For I delivered unto you first of all…how that Christ died for our sins…and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day…" So, they had not only believed in the heart the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, they had obeyed it from the heart. But in Romans 10 after the statement about believing in the heart the doctrine of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and telling about those who had been sent out to preach it, Paul said, "But they have not all obeyed the gospel…" (Romans 10:16).
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    The Simple Explanation—Faith in Action!
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     To preach the gospel is to preach of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. This produces faith (Mark 16:15,16; Romans 10:17). This may sound strange to some, but when people obey the gospel, they obey the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The 6th chapter of Romans is a good commentary on this. Here Paul rhetorically questions his readers and answers, saying, "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3,4). It is in this same chapter where a little later he says, looking back to this, that they had "obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered" unto them (6:17). They obeyed the death, burial and resurrection of Christ when they repented (dying to sin), were immersed (buried) into the death of Christ, and were raised to walk in newness of life. Summing it up, he said, "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." We obey the gospel in becoming a Christian—very simple, but wonderful truths of faith in action!
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    Obedience to the Faith
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     These same truths are highlighted by Paul again in Romans 1:1-5. Here he tells of his call and commission to be an apostle. He became an apostle to bring about the "obedience to the faith among all nations" (1:5). Then in Romans 16:26 he further accents this truth by saying God’s revelation was "made known to all nations for the obedience of faith." This means the same as obeying the gospel, as the gospel embodies "the faith." And the relationship between faith and works is again further highlighted in the first and last chapters of Romans. Paul first addressed the Romans by saying, "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world" (Romans 1:8). Then as he concludes his letter in Romans 16:19, he notes, "For your obedience is come abroad unto all men…" Interestingly, in the record of the early days of the church in Jerusalem we are told that "a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7). This is the kind of faith that James talks about (James 2), not a dead faith, but the real kind.
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    Arising to Walk in Newness of Life
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     Obeying the gospel is not just something that ends with baptism. We are raised with Christ to "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). The whole Christian life is now spread out before us. As Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:7, "we walk by faith, not by sight." It is as John said, "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk, even as he walked" (1 John 2:6). With Colossians 2:12 in his eye, Paul admonishes his readers beginning in Colossians 3:1, "If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth…" Read the rest of this chapter for good instructions about doing this, walking in "newness of life."
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    Good Works That God Has 
    Appointed That We Should "Walk In"
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     All of this is a walk of faith and in the context of grace. When Paul said, "For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9), he didn’t stop there. Works of the law and human righteousness are no longer part of the equation. They avail us nothing, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," but other kind of works enter the picture. James has told us all about this. Now Paul says, continuing in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." The New Testament Scriptures are full of what this is all about. 
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     Yes, as we perfect our faith, increasing and exercising it, let us press onward and upward in the cause of Christ. And as Paul elsewhere admonished, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12,13). Amen!
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