Works Prove Your Faith--But Not Before God

[Jerry Shugart]

The LORD does not need to see any outward works or acts in order to know if a man has faith or not:

"But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart" (1 Sam.16:7).​

A man cannot know if another man has faith unless he sees outward works which gives a good indication if he does. So if you are trying to prove your faith it is for men and not for God.

 

[Robert Pate]

The only thing that works prove is that you are religious, Romans 4:5.

The Christian does good works not to be saved, but because he is saved. Ephesians 2:10.

 

[Jerry Shugart]

The Christian does good works not to be saved, but because he is saved. Ephesians 2:10.

EXACTLY!

Those who insist that no one can be saved unless they first believe and then do works have a misunderstanding of these words of Paul:

"For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law" (Ro.3:28).​

Those people say that the "works" spoken of here only apply to the ceremonial law and nothing more. However, just a few verses earlier we can see that when Paul used the word "law" in the context he was referring to the moral law:

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin" (Ro.3:20).​

It is not by the ceremonial law whereby we become conscious of our sin but instead the moral law. Later in the same epistle Paul makes it plain that it was one of the Ten Commandments which gave him the knowledge of sin:

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet" (Ro.7:7).​

Therefore, when Paul uses the word "works" in this verse he is speaking of the moral law:

"For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law" (Ro.3:28).​

In other words, our salvation is by faith alone and has nothing to do with keeping the moral law.