Faith And Works in Harmony Summary
   We undermine the gospel if we merely claim that Jesus came to save us from hell or from the wrath of God. The gospel is that Jesus came to save His people from their sins, in every sense. (Mt 1:21)


   It is right to carefully distinguish the different roles that faith and good works play in the Christian life. To confuse their roles is to utterly undermine the core of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is precisely on this point that many lies and heresies have led multitudes astray from God from ancient to modern times. However, I would argue that failure to acknowledge the positive and complementary relationship between the two also undermines essential Biblical truth, even the gospel itself. We can be so jealous to guard the truth of `salvation by faith apart from works' that ironically, and sadly, "good works" almost becomes a bad word in the evangelical Christian vocabulary. This should not be so.
   In this article I want to put attention on the harmonious relationship which God has designed between faith and works, such that even as we look at their different roles, we will see how these distinct roles complement each other. The rest of this article will view the relationship between faith and works from the following perspectives:

1. Harmony in God's plan - A people saved through faith for good works
2. Harmony in Christ's redemption - Jesus has become our justification and our sanctification
3. Harmony in the Spirit's work - Changing death into new life
4. Harmony in man's hope - Friendship with God
5. Harmony in the twofold separation of mankind - Righteous believers versus wicked unbelievers
6. Harmony in purpose - God's glory
7. Harmony in the Scriptures - Paul, James, and Jesus in agreement

And finally to balance out the picture we'll take a brief look at the roles of faith and works in distinction.

1. Harmony in God's plan - A people saved through faith for good works
   God saves us by grace through faith in Christ. This formulation concisely answers how God saves us. But more should be asked. Why does God save us, or, what does He save us for? One Scriptural answer is that God saves us through faith for good works. Certainly the question could be pressed even further: why does God save us for good works? In section six we will show that God's ultimate purpose in saving us for good works is exactly the same as His purpose for saving us by faith. But for now let's look at the Scriptural testimony about God's plan to redeem a people zealous for good deeds.
   As with so many important subjects, a Biblical doctrine of good works has its foundations in Genesis 1-2. We are immediately presented with a God who works, and whenever God looks upon His own work He sees that it is good. Our Creator is active in the business of doing good works. Now, it is true that on the seventh day God rested from all the work He had done, that is, He rested from the work of creating. Yet Jesus made it clear that it lawful to do good (deeds) on the Sabbath (Mt 12:12) because not only the Father Himself (John 5:16-19), but even wicked Pharisees do works of rescue on the Sabbath (Mt 12:11).
   Likewise when God creates man He immediately sets man to work as well. It certainly seems reasonable to say that from the beginning man was created for good works as the image of the God who loves to do the same. But when man rebelled against God and became a lawbreaker whose eyes were opened to good and evil he fell into the position of a worker of iniquity. God proceeded to bring forth His plan which would not merely to save man from hell, but restore man to a position where He could bear the image of God in doing good works. We can see this in the passage which gives perhaps the most well known and succinct declaration of salvation by faith, but which also goes on to show what God has saved us for:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Eph 2:8-10

   In addition, the above passage reveals that God has even planned good works beforehand for us to walk in. As this passage comes just after one of Scripture's most clear and glorious expositions of election, it would seem likely that when Paul says "beforehand" he means that God planned these good works for us from before the foundations of the world (compare Eph 1:4). This possibility gains even greater likelihood when we consider passages like 1 Peter 1:1-2, "Who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood." God not only chose a people for sprinkling by the blood of Christ, but (apparently in the equally distant past) He chose us for obedience to Christ. Again, in 2 Thes 2:13-14, "God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." Romans 8:29 also says that God "predestined [us] to become conformed to the image of His Son". A comparison with 2 Cor 3:18 and Colossians 3:9-10 shows that this conformity to the image of Christ most likely refers to the process of our becoming like Him in all ways including our deeds, and not just the legal declaration of our righteousness. So it seems quite evident that our good works were indeed part of God's eternal plan!
   Scripture not only speaks of God the Father choosing and predestining us for obedience, but also of God the Son choosing for Himself a people to bear good fruit:

You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain. John 15:16

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. Titus 2:11-14

   The observation that we are saved for good works appears in many more places as long as we are alert to observe it. "The Lord God of Israel... has raised up a horn of salvation for us... To grant us that we... Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days" (Lk 1:68-75), "You also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ... in order that we might bear fruit for God" (Rom 7:4), "[God sent] His own Son... so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:3-4; see Romans 3:29 and chapters 6-8), "For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification." (1 Thess 4:7)
   While we are considering God's salvation plan, we should not overlook Jesus' Great Commission to His apostles. Evangelical Christians know, although we often need to be reminded, that the task Jesus gave the church was not merely to make converts of all nations, but rather to make disciples who would be obedient to everything Christ taught. Paul likely had this in mind when he spoke about his work, by God's grace, in bringing the nations into obedience. (Rom 1:5, 15:14-18)
   The fact that a major goal of Paul's ministry was to make disciples of Christ who do what is good, also appears in Titus 3:8. But the context helps draws out even more about the relationship between faith and good works. In the three prior verses Paul gives one of his most clear and powerful declarations that we are washed and reborn by God's grace, not on the basis of what we have done. Then, very interestingly, he instructs Titus to confidently teach this truth of salvation which is by grace and not by deeds, "so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds."
   Thus we have now seen two ways in which faith and works relate in God's eternal salvation plan. First, faith belongs to the answer to the "how" of salvation, while works belong to the answer to the "why" of salvation. Second, in Romans and Titus 3:5-8, we have begun to see that in God's perfect wisdom the gospel of salvation which is by faith (and does not require or even accept our works!) contains in itself what is needed to bring about good works in those freely redeemed. The next two sections will shed further light on this glorious paradox.

2. Harmony in Christ's redemption - Jesus has become our righteousness and our sanctification
   We are counted righteous through faith in Christ. While this statement is certainly true, we should beware of potential misunderstandings that can arise. It is not (as some have claimed) that God looks at our faith in Christ and considers that faith as our righteousness. Rather, faith is the instrument through which we receive Christ Himself together with His righteousness. (See, for example, Counted Righteous in Christ by John Piper.) Thus the first sentence of this paragraph, not only to carries the meaning that we are righteous through "faith in Christ", but also that we are counted righteous in Christ, through faith.
   But how is Christ Himself able to be our righteous? It was God's plan for Jesus not just to die a death in our place, but first to live a perfect life of obedience in our place (see, e.g. Mt 3:15, 5:17). Jesus did the good deeds of a righteous man so that, much more than having a "clean slate" of no evil in Him, He also earned in the body an overflowing account of good merit in God's sight. The righteousness of God that comes through faith is when our sins are imputed to Christ and His righteousness is imputed to us.
   So it is quite accurate to say that those of us who are saved through faith are, on another level, actually saved by good works... Jesus' good works! In the strictest sense, "faith alone" is not enough to save anyone. "Faith" itself, even faith in what is true, cannot solve our sinful condition. The good news is that we are justified apart from our own works of the Law. But our freedom from the demands of God's law is only possible because the Son of God "learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation." (Heb 5:8-9)
   The point of the comments in this section so far is just that when God ordained salvation by faith, He wasn't saying good works were unimportant to Him. He wasn't saying, "I'll ignore My requirements for good deeds in holy living and just consider your faith as enough to be reconciled to Me." On the contrary, good works remain so important to God that it was necessary for One to come who was fully obedient and fulfilled all righteousness that we might be able to be reconciled God by being in Him through faith. (Rom 5:19, 2 Cor 5:21) Of course this only establishes a positive relationship between our faith and Christ's work. Indeed when it comes to the topic of being justified in God's sight, when can go no further to talk about harmony with our own works. It is our own works that have caused such great disharmony in rebellion against God that He could only reconcile us to Himself by purging us of our own evil, dead works. Thus to talk any further about our faith and our works in harmony we have to move on to the topic of sanctification.
   Now we generally think of sanctification as the special role of the third person of the Trinity, and rightly so. (Rom 15:16, 1 Peter 1:2) We'll look more at the Holy Spirit's work in the next section. But first we must realize that there are several reasons that our sanctification is possible only because of Christ and what He has done. Indeed, Paul considered it not going too far to say that Christ has become not only our righteousness, but also our sanctification. (1 Cor 1:31)
   Romans 6-8 shows at least three perspectives in which we can view how Christ Himself attains for us our sanctification. First, we can be raised to newness of life, in which we bear fruit for God, only by being joined together with Him in His resurrection. (6:4, 7:4) Second, our members can be enslaved to righteousness for sanctification only because Christ redeemed us to set us free from our old slavemaster sin. (6:8ff) Third, our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us, yet it is only possible for the Spirit of holiness to dwell in us because Christ has cleansed the temple. (8:3-4, also 1 Cor 6:19-20)
   Beyond these brief observations, there are yet more ways to view what Christ has done to accomplish our sanctification which require a bit more explanation. So that is where we will go for the remainder of this section.
   The Law of Moses (and indeed all of the Old Testament) contains many "mysteries" that are never resolved until the full revelation of the gospel of Christ was completed (see, e.g. Mt 22:42-46, Rom 16:25, Col 1:26). One of these is the mystery of circumcision of the heart. Even the Law itself testifies to those under the Law that circumcision of the flesh is not enough to be right with God (Deut 10:16; see also Jer 4:4, 9:25-26).
   Deuteronomy 30:6, by itself, is a wonderful promise, "Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live." A heart to completely love the Lord, that is, a heart given over to fulfilling the greatest of all commandments! That's just what Israel needed, and it is just what we need. Those who receive this circumcised heart will willingly obey God and observe all of His commandments.
   So then how does one receive a circumcised heart? Now we run into a problem. A circumcised heart is one of the blessings God promises, if only His people will "return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul" (vs. 2). Indeed, He again confirms He will give this circumcised heart, along with other blessings to Israel, "if you obey the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul" (vs. 10).
   This is not encouraging news to anyone familiar with Israel's history, or with his own. Wholehearted obedience is the condition God gives in order to circumcise their heart. But wholehearted obedience is precisely the outcome, or fruit, that comes only from a circumcised heart. We need a circumcised heart in order to love and obey God, and it seems God is saying we need to love and obey Him to receive the blessing of a circumcised heart. It seems to be a hopeless "Catch 22": we need the result in order to get its cause. Moses goes on to say:

For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?" Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?" But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it. Deut 30:11-14

But again, this is not really encouraging to anyone who knows the recurring disobedience in Israel or, equally, in himself. How can Moses say "this commandment... is not too difficult for you" when so much evidence seems to prove the contrary?
   The greatest clue in the Old Testament to a resolution of this mystery comes when God speaks through the prophets of a new covenant He intends to make with His people. Not at all motivated by men's righteousness, for they were evil, but only by a desire to vindicate His own Name, He states this new covenant without any conditions:

"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, `Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." Jer 31:31-34

"I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God." Ezek 36:23-28

He will write His law on their hearts, even give them a new heart, and cause then to walk in His statues. This definitely seems to be just another way of speaking about the circumcision of the heart. Now this is truly a wonderful and gracious promise. Then, in the fullness of time, to the great glory of God, Jesus Christ came as the mediator of the new covenant. Moreover, He inaugurated the new covenant with His own blood. So again we see that Jesus purchased our sanctification with His blood just as He purchased our justification by His blood.
   Now Hebrews 8:13 says that in speaking of a "new" covenant, God was making the first one "old" and "obsolete". But we must keep in mind that the words used here in Hebrews 8:13 do not contradict Matthew 5:17. The first covenant became "old" and "obsolete" not because it was being abolished or destroyed. Nor did God simply "abrogate" the Law (as He is alleged to do in Islamic theology) by merely replacing the old with something new. But rather the first covenant became "old" and "obsolete" as it was perfectly fulfilled in Christ.
   Therefore in Romans 10, Paul is able to finally unveil part of the resolution to the old covenant mystery:

But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART,"WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Christ down), or "WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, in your mouth and in your heart" -- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Paul takes Deut 30:11-14 and wherever "observation of God's commandment" is mentioned, Paul instead inserts "Christ". Further, he takes the word which is "in your mouth and in your heart" to be the word of faith in Jesus rather than the word of the Law. Christ has become our righteousness because Christ has obeyed the Law in our place. For whom did complete obedience to the command prove "not too difficult" to accomplish? For Christ.
   In Romans 10 Paul is only speaking about the righteousness of faith. But I believe we can take what he is saying one step further and fully resolve the mystery of circumcision of the heart. Christ fulfilled the demands of the Law, therefore in Him we can receive its promises. God said that if someone obeyed Him wholeheartedly, He would circumcise their hearts. In Christ we are reckoned to have perfect love and obedience toward God, therefore we get the blessings of the righteous, including a new heart which really does love and obey God. Christ was born and lived without sin, thus did not need His heart to be circumcised. So He is able to break into the "Catch 22" of Deuteronomy 30 and obtain for us the heart we need to obey God and do good deeds in love.
   Thus through faith in Christ we receive not only the justification that He acquired for us but equally the sanctification unto actual good works that He purchased for us. This fact should serve as a reminder that the Christian life does not begin with faith and then switch over to being based on human effort. The Christian life is about a righteousness from God that is from faith to faith, that is, by faith from first to last (Rom 1:17). Indeed the whole book of Galatians is dedicated to this very point. We receive Christ by faith (2:16), and then we continue to live in Him by faith (2:20). Likewise we begin with the Spirit by faith (3:2), and continue in the Spirit by faith (5:5, see also 5:16,25). Did God intend to teach that this gospel of life through faith renders good works unimportant or that the two are unrelated? On the contrary, in the very same place He explains, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (5:6), and "For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith." (6:8-10)
   The harmony between these things that Christ has purchased for us becomes even more clear as look at the work of the Holy Spirit to apply them to God's chosen ones.

3. Harmony in the Spirit's work - Changing death into new life
   `Salvation through faith' and `faith expressing itself through works' are both results of the Holy Spirit bringing life out of death. It is not surprising that so much of the Spirit's work can be described in this way since even the word for spirit in Hebrew (ruwach) as well as Greek (pneuma) means "breath" and therefore also "life". Many Scriptural verses explicitly show the tight connection between the Spirit (or spirit) and life (e.g. John 6:63, Rom 1:4,8:6,8:10-11, 2 Cor 3:6, James 2:26, 1 Peter 3:18; see also Isa 32:15, and Joel 2:28-29 in the context of Joel 1-2). The Holy Spirit Himself is a living being, not merely a "lifeforce" as some have erroneously conceived, but certainly bringing and sustaining life is one of His great characteristic works.
   Just as the new covenant that Jesus purchased for us is expressed in Ezekiel 36, the Spirit's application of it is expressed in the vision of Ezekiel 37:

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." Again He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones and say to them, "O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.' "Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, "Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. "I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.'" So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, "Thus says the Lord GOD, "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life."'" So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Ezek 37:1-10

   Ezekiel is called "son of man" over 100 times because he, like so many Old Testament figures, was a prefigure of Christ. Here in Ezekiel 37 we see a picture of Christ sending forth His Spirit to transform a valley of dry bones into a living, breathing, army of men. The interpretation comes to Ezekiel that God is saying to Israel, "I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land.... They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God." The vision climaxes with one of the great Old Testament promises of the coming kingdom under the shepherd king "David" (another major prefigure of Christ).
   We may ask, who belongs to this coming Davidic kingdom? If we trace the continuity of the vision in Ezekiel 37, we see that it is only the former dead bones (vs. 3, 12) who were now given new life by the power of the Spirit who will see the kingdom. Jesus expected a teacher of Israel like Nicodemus to be able to understand these things.
   What is life like in this kingdom? "They will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them." (vs 24) To walk in all the ways of God, rich in good works, this is life! (1 Tim 6:18-19, Prov 12:28) Just as Jesus did not set us free so that we could again be enslaved to a yoke of slavery, also the Spirit did not give us life so that we could return to death. It is for living that He has given us life! The breath of the Spirit takes dead bones and brings to life an army, ready for action. (See also 1 Peter 1:13) The rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit inevitably results in a people who are "careful" and "zealous" to engage in good deeds (Titus 3:5-8, 2:11-15).
   Looking again into Galatians we see an interesting parallelism between two verses:

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.
For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
Gal 5:6, 6:15

It stands to reason that the "new creation" which the Spirit births is a life of "faith working through love". If the Holy Spirit has breathed into us new life, then He who dwells in us will also bear the fruit that is according to His nature. (Gal 5:22-25)
   This relationship between the Spirit, new life, and good works is perhaps not exposited anywhere more fully than in Romans 7-8. When the Law comes to man in his fallen condition sin abounds. Therefore in Christ we were made to die to the Law so that we might serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. We can now walk according to the Spirit rather than according to the flesh, putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit. In God's unsearchable wisdom it is the very salvation which is received by faith apart from works that brings about a new life to fulfill the requirements of the law.
   In addition to regeneration and sanctification by the Spirit, let's briefly look at how the gifts of the Spirit also relate to our topic of faith and works. First, by way of reminder, we note that the Spirit distributes gifts to the body of Christ for the common good, that we may serve one another with them. Spiritual gifts are not for ourself, at least not primarily. God gives them so that we may do good to one another. "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (1 Peter 4:10) "But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (1 Cor 12:7) Then we need only note the connection between spiritual gifts and faith, which comes out most clearly in Romans 12:3-6:

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith...

Paul speaks about the distribution of different gifts in terms of a "measure of faith" allotted to each member. I understand this to mean that God gives one the faith necessary to prophecy for the common good, another the faith necessary to serve for the common good, etc. (See also Eph 4:7-16) So again, this time looking from the perspective of spiritual gifts, we see that God grants His people faith for good works.
   Now that we have seen how the Triune God planned, purchased, and produced a purified people of faith, zealous for good works, let's look at how God's design fulfills the hopes and desires of the redeemed man himself.

4. Harmony in man's hope - Friendship with God
   As we mentioned in the second section, "faith alone", in the strictest sense, will not and cannot save anyone. Someone may have great faith... in himself. That faith will not save him. Someone may believe that Jesus is the Holy One of God... and hate Him for it. (Mk 1:23-24) Such belief will not save him. So we must ask about the characteristics of that faith through which a man may be saved.
   James talks about demons who believe that God is One. Why does this "faith" not help them? What is the difference between this demon's faith and a saint's or angel's belief that God is One? One key difference is that the demons believe... and shudder. A demon knows that God is One, but fears and even despises what he knows to be true. In contrast, the saints have a faith which "is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb 11:1, see also vs 16) Assurance refers to what we know to be true. The demons have "faith" to that extent. Hope refers to what we want to be true (but see footnote 1). Demons do not have hope in the fact that God is One. The fact that God is One means they are not God, that they can't "shop around" to find a God that best suits them, and that they will one day be accountable to this God. The children of God, on the other hand, rejoice in their faith in God, because what they want to be true is the same as what they know to be true.
   We can also see this in 2 Thess 2:12, "they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness." Here the opposite of "belief in the truth" is "taking pleasure in wickedness". When the redeemed "believe" in the truth, their belief is the type that loves, that takes pleasure in, the truth. (2 Thes 2:10) Or consider 1 Peter 1:9 where the faith of the saints is leading them to their goal, to their desired outcome. Romans also makes it clear that the faith which justified Abraham was an assured hope (4:18-22). We can acknowledge the truth of any or all of the facts of the Bible, even Christ and the gospel message, but if our hope does not lie there then (by Hebrews 11) we have not put faith in Him, and we stand condemned because of unbelief. (See Heb 3:19 and footnote 2.)
   Now that we have seen that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, let's consider what the content of the hope of God's people consists of. If we look at the saints of the Old Testament we see that although they may have hoped for many things, all of those good things flowed out of one, ultimate, primary hope and desire. They wanted God.

Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Job 13:15

As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before God? Ps 42:1-2

Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Ps 73:25-26

O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever. Ps 131

Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O LORD,
We have waited for You eagerly;
Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.
At night my soul longs for You,
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently Isa 26:8-9

O LORD, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You will be put to shame.
Those who turn away on earth will be written down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the LORD.
Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise. Jer 17:13-14
(See also, e.g., Ps 31:23-24, 37:4, 71, Jer 50:7, Mal 3:1)

   Additionally, these saints delighted in and hoped for things like forgiveness (e.g. Ps 38, 51, 130), rescue from afflictions, oppression, and enemies (e.g. Ps 9:18, 43, 146), salvation (e.g. Ps 62, 119:166, Lam 3:19-26), and life (e.g. Ps 33:18-22, 119:116, Isa 38:18). In these things it is clear that their hopes were centered around things which were also important to God. But even more than that, it appears that in all of these things they desired the presence and glory of God Himself. They were not hoping for "blessings" from God devoid of a relationship with God Himself. For example, David seeks rescue from oppressors and enemies so that evil men might be humbled before God (Ps 9:18-20). Hezekiah rejoices in forgiveness and life in order that he might live to praise God (Isa 38:18). Daniel prays for forgiveness and restoration for Israel so that God's name will not be defamed amongst the nations (Dan 9:17-19).
   We also see that the hopes and desires of the New Testament believers were fixed on God and that which they knew would be pleasing to Him, such as: goodness and the work of faith with power (2 Thess 1:11), a godly life in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 3:12), the glory of God (Rom 5:2), our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body (Rom 8:23-24), righteousness and its results (Gal 5:5), our inheiritance in heaven (Col 1:5), Christ in us (Col 1:27), salvation (1 Thes 5:8), Jesus (1 Tim 1:1), the living God (1 Tim 4:10, 1 Pet 1:21), eternal life (Titus 1:2), the return of Christ (Tit 2:13), and the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).
   We can tie many, if not all, of these hopes together and say that one of the great overriding hopes of a child of Abraham is, like our forefather in the faith, to be a friend of God (2 Chron 20:7, James 2:23). The friends of Christ are those who do what He commanded (John 15:14). Thus Christian faith is the assured hope that we can be friends of God who please Him in every way. Indeed, the Scriptures testify that the kingdom, salvation, relationship with God, and all of His accompanying blessings belong to those who love God and love His truth. (James 1:12,2:5, 2 Thes 2:10, Rom 8:28-29, 1 Cor 2:9, 8:3)
   God gave His Son the name Jesus because He is the One who would save His people from their sins. (Mt 1:21) Jesus came not merely to save man from the consequences of sin, such as death and hell, but to save us from sin. He came to set us free from the mastery of sin so that we might be enslaved to a better master, to God and His righteouness. (Rom 6) That's why Zachariah could also express the hope of Abraham's descendants as, "being rescued from the hand of our enemies, [We] might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days" (Luke 1:74-75). The people of God don't merely desire to be rescued from our enemies (sin, Satan, and death), but we desire to be set free so that we might serve Him in holiness and righteousness.
   The above discussion reveals two new ways in which faith and good works exist in harmonious relationship. First, the content of the faith of redeemed men includes the assurance that God will save us from our sins to live a righteous life. The redeemed are believing God to will and to work in and through them the good deeds that He has planned for them in advance. Second, the characteristic that distinguishes saving faith from intellectual awareness or agreement is that this faith also hopes for the life of righteousness that God has promised. Therefore the assured hope of faith always results in action, since it both desires and is certain of its object. These two aspects can be seen together in 1 John 3:2-3:

We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

In content, our faith includes the knowledge that Jesus is going to make us like Himself. In characteristic, our faith views this fact as a "hope", it desires to be pure as Jesus is pure. Therefore it is no wonder that everyone with such a faith most certainly would purify himself.
   The fact that faith is an assured also helps us to understand, at least in part, the problem of apparent Christians who do not persevere to the end. Consider the parable of the sower. The seed that fell on the road and the seed that fell on the good soil seem easy enough to understand. Let's look at the other two cases:

The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Matt 13:20-22

Both of these two "receive" or respond favorably to the word. But when affliction or persecution arises the first one falls away. So we may ask, where was his hope? If his hope was in the kingdom of heaven then in persecution he could have been filled with joy that he would receive his hope. (Mt 5:10-12) If his hope was in receiving the love of Christ, then he could have persevered knowing that persecution wouldn't separate him from his hope. (Rom 8:35) If his hope was to be like the Master, then he could have been encouraged in his fellowship with Jesus. (John 15:20, Phil 3:10) If his hope was for a godly life, then he could have found solace that he was walking in the right path. (2 Tim 3:12) If his hope was for the revelation of the glory of God, then he would have kept on rejoicing that his hope was soon to be fulfilled. (1 Peter 4:13) But his hope was not in these things, apparently his hope was for comfort, health, long life, and ease in this world. So in fact, he hadn't put faith in the word of truth at all, even if he had acknowledged its factuality.
   As for the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, where was his hope? Was he hoping for the richness of faith that belongs to many who are poor in the world? (James 2:5, Lk 6:20) Was he hoping to be "first" in the kingdom by being "last" in the eyes of the world? (Mk 10:29-31, James 1:9) Was he hoping to store up treasures in heaven by being lavishly generous with his earthly treasures? (Mt 6:19-21, Mk 10:21) Was he hoping for any and every chance to press in more to God's kingdom? (Mt 6:33) Apparently not, because when the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth appeared, they revealed where his heart was. He may have known that Jesus' words were true, but his hope was not set there. In both letters letters to Timothy Paul describes men like this. They hold to a "form" of godliness, but only because they think it might satisfy their worldly loves, such as their love for money and selfish pleasure. (1 Tim 6:5-10, 2 Tim 3:2-5)
   If the hope that we are looking toward is "money plus a ticket to heaven" or "comfort and ease in this life plus a ticket to heaven" or "sinful pleasures plus a ticket to heaven" or "a ticket to heaven where I won't be bothered by God" or "a ticket to heaven without bearing fruit of good works in this life" then we cannot say that we have faith in the Biblical gospel. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. But the gospel never pointed us towards hope in those things, and certainly never assured us of them. The gospel promises us such things as peace and reconciliation with God (Rom 5), freedom from the yoke of sin to be enslaved to God (Rom 6), death to the law so that we might be joined in union to Christ (Rom 7), new life in the Spirit (Rom 8), conformity into the image of Christ (Col 3:10, 1 John 3:2-3), and heavenly rewards that far exceed any possible earthly losses and sufferings (2 Cor 4:16-18, 1 Pet 4:12-14). If our hope is oriented towards these treasures (Mt 13:44-46), and if we are assured that Christ's life, death and resurrection acquired those things for us, then we can say we have faith in the gospel.
   It is the nature of the redeemed man not only to believe that he was created in Christ Jesus for good works, but also to rejoice in that knowledge, because being a friend of God living a life pleasing to Him is just what such a man is hoping for.

5. Harmony in the twofold separation of mankind - Righteous believers versus wicked unbelievers
   If the Father eternally decreed to save a people out of the fallen world through faith for good works, if Christ lived and died to purchase for that people a justification by His good works received through faith as well as a sanctification that brings good works flowing from a new heart of faith, if the Holy Spirit indwells those people to bring forth the new life of faith and to bear fruit in good works, and if those people have a faith which includes the assured hope that God has done all this to produce good works through them, then it should come as no surprise that this group of people could be described in Scripture as `the people of faith' or equivalently as `those proven righteous by their works'. Likewise, it should be clear that `the people of unbelief' or `those proven wicked by their works' are two phrases to identically describe the remainder of humanity. However, to clear out any possible remaining doubt, we offer up further evidence in the following section.
   John 15 repeatedly makes clear that those who abide in Christ will bear fruit pleasing to God, whereas those who are not in Christ will not bear fruit pleasing to God.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. John 15:5-8

Likewise John 14 makes it clear that those who love Christ will obey Him (vs 15) and those who obey Him love Him (vs 21). These things can also be stated in the negative: those who do not love Christ do not obey Him (John 14:24) and those who do not obey Him do not love Him (1 John 3:17).
   We have already seen that faith is an assured hope, and hope refers to something desired, that is, something loved. Thus to have faith in Christ is to love Him. And now we see in John 14 that to love Him is to obey Him. Therefore to have faith in Christ is to obey Him. We also see this in John 3:36, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life." The opposite of believing in the Son is not obeying the Son. To believe in the Son is to obey Him. To disobey Him is unbelief.
   God is the one and only ultimate source of anything good. (James 1:17) Although good does pass through other intermediaries, it is only truly good if it can be traced back to the One source of good. Every deed that is truly good is meant to bring glory to its Ultimate Source. (Mt 5:16, John 3:21, 1 Cor 10:31) Deeds that appear "good" to us, but are not done in faith, are not being done to glorify God. Most likely they are being done to make the doer look good in his own eyes or in the eyes of others. Therefore they are not actually good deeds but rather proud and self-righteous deeds. Any works not done in faith are evil and displeasing to God:

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment. Isa 64:6

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Matt 23:25-28

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Rom 8:8-9

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Heb 11:6
(See also 1 Sam 16:7, Mt 6:1-18)

   On the other hand, a mere profession of "faith" is also not pleasing to God if that "faith" it not the assured hope in God which inevitably results in good works:

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Matt 7:21

They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed. Titus 1:16

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. James 2:26

The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 John 2:4
(See also Isa 29:13, Mt 21:28-32, 2 Cor 13:5, 1 Tim 5:8)

   The existence of faith in Christ, love for God, obedience to God, or the presence of good works are each conceptually distinct criteria by which people could be distinguished. However, no matter which of these criteria we use, Biblically we see that they will each divide humanity into precisely the same two groups. For example, while Jesus is speaking in John chapter 8 he first says (vs 24) that whether we live or die depends on our belief, and then He says (vs 51) whether we live or die depends on whether we keep His word (see also John 5:24,29). But between the two verses it must be the same group of people who die, and the same group of people who live. We must understand this if we hope to make any sense out of the various Scriptures where these things are spoken of interchangably. And we also must understand this for the sake of the care of our own souls and for others.
   The Old Testament, especially Psalms and Proverbs, repeatedly speaks in such a way as to divide humanity into "the righteous", who have reason to be secure, and "the wicked", who have reason to fear. The books of Kings and Chronicles make a separation between the kings which "did evil in the sight of the Lord" and the kings who "did what was right in the sight of the Lord." Likewise, when the New Testament (even Paul's letters!) speaks about the Judgment Day it consistently distinguishes two groups by reference to their deeds:

Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' Matt 25:34-36

Those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. John 5:29

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. Rom 2:5-8

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Cor 5:10
(See also Eccl 12:14, Mt 12:35-37, Acts 24:25, Rev 20:12, 21:8)

   Yet in the midst of this language about the righteous and the wicked, those who do good and those who do evil, something very interesting is happening. It appears that in the eyes of God there is a very clear distinction between the two, a great gulf of separation. In fact the most common word used for judgment (as in the phrase `Day of Judgment') in the Greek New Testament is krisis, meaning "a separation." The Bible seems to allow no concept of a middle ground between the righteous and wicked. (See footnote 3.) God distinguishes between the righteous serve Him and the wicked do not. (Mic 3:18) He does not distinguish a third group which "sometimes" or "in some ways" serve Him. Jesus talks about those who did the good deeds versus those who did committed the evil deeds, but not those who did "more good than evil deeds" or vice versa. Paul talks about those who do good versus those who do not obey the truth, but not those who "partially obey and partially disobey."
   Sometimes the gulf between the righteous and the wicked stands out even more clearly. In Matthew 25:32 Jesus first separates the sheep from the goats, two entirely different species. Only then does He point out the good deeds of the sheep, and the disobedience of the goats. Revelation 20:12 speaks about a judgment that is based on the deeds of men, as recorded in the books. But then the outcome of the judgment on a man's deeds seems to be completely determined by whether or not his name is written in another book, the book of life. Your name is either written or not written in the book of life, you are either a sheep or a goat. There are no fine lines.
   Significantly, the concept of a scale in which good deeds are weighed against bad deeds is totally absent. (See footnote 4.) Many people envision God balancing out our deeds to discern between those who are "mostly good" and those who are "mostly bad." But that is not the picture we are given. As God sees it, there are the righteous and there are the wicked, and it appears to be no delicate task for Him to draw the line between them. But how can this be, since it seems to us that there is a continuous spectrum of degrees of good and evil in humanity?
   Jesus' warning to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:33-34 helps bring clarity to this situation, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." Behind the distinction of behavior (righteous vs. wicked) is an underlying distinction in their very being. Consistent good fruit only comes from a good tree. Consistent sheep-like behavior only comes from a sheep. Consistent signs of life only come from a living being. Likewise it is clear what consistent bad fruit, goat-like behavior, and odors of death come from. In God's eyes none of the fruit coming from a bad tree is pleasing, yet the fruit coming from a good tree is pleasing to Him. It is not as if we need to add good fruit to the good soil of genuine faith. The seed sown on the good soil produces the good fruit that testifies to the nature of the soil. (Lk 8:15)
   We must understand that faith, love, and obedience always occur together in one package in order to reach an understanding of 1 John. This epistle is largely directed towards the question, "How do we know if we really are in fellowship with God?" In answer, John presents a whirlwind of different criteria: If we walk in darkness we do not have fellowship with Him (1:6). If we confess our sins, he will forgive and cleanse us (1:9). If we keep His commandments then we know that we know Him (2:3). If we do not keep His commandments then we do not know Him (2:4). The one who loves his brother is in the light (2:10). The one who hates his brother is in the darkness (2:9,11). If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (2:15). True believers are those who persevere to the end (2:19, 24). If we confess the Son then we have the Father also (2:22). Anyone who practices righteousness is born of Him (2:29). Everyone whose hope is fixed on Him purifies himself (3:3). No one who continues in sin is abides in Him, or has seen Him, or knows Him (3:6). The one who practices righteousness is righteous (3:8). The one who practices sin is of the devil (3:8). Anyone who hates his brother does not have eternal life abiding in him (3:15). Anyone who does not have compassion for his brother does not have the love of God abiding in him (3:17). If we have love in action then we have assurance that we know God (3:19). The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him (3:24). We know He abides in us by the Spirit whom He has given us (3:24). Those who know God listen to the apostolic teaching, those who do not know God do not listen (4:6). Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God (4:7). The one who does not love does not know God (4:7). If we confess Jesus is the Son of God then God abides in us and we in God (4:15). If we do not love our brother then we do not love God (4:20). If we believe that Jesus is the Christ then we are born of God (5:1). If we love and obey God then we love His children (5:2). To love God is to obey Him (5:3). If we believe in the name of the Son of God then we have eternal life (5:13). No one who is born of God continues in sin (5:18).
   That's thirty different citations! Does that mean that being a Christian involves keeping track of and following thirty different requirements or laws? No! The point is that all of these things are actually one God ordained, Christ bought, and Holy Spirit applied gift for His elect. The one gift contains forgiveness, eternal life, and a new heart and a new spirit which have the impetus to obey all of God's commands, especially to love Him and love our neighbor. When we receive Christ by faith we are receiving the whole package. If we know that we have one part then we know that we have the whole. If one part is utterly absent then we know that we haven't received any of it, because it all comes together.
   We may be tempted to ask questions like, "What if I believe in Christ, but don't love my brother?", "What if I love God, but also continue in sin?", "What if my friend practices righteousness, but doesn't acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God?" But John is saying that we can only say we truly have any of these qualities if we have them all. Faith in Christ is sufficient for eternal life. But, as we saw before, that "faith" must be the assured hope that inevitably results in love and good deeds. Alternatively, the ongoing practice of love is a sufficient criteria to show that we have been born again. But that love must spring out of a faith in Christ or it is not really love at all.
   Am I saying that there is no salvation without sanctification? Precisely:

Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. Heb 12:14

But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. Rom 6:22

For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Rom 8:13
(See also 2 Peter 1:4-11, 1 Tim 4:16, Acts 26:18, and footnote 5)

So then, let us be all the more diligent to make our calling and election sure, working out our salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who is at work in us both to will and to work according to His good pleasure.

6. Harmony in purpose - God's glory
   We have looked from several perspectives at the harmonious relationship between faith and good works in the lives of God's people. But we haven't pressed into the topic far enough until we see that God planned a salvation that was through faith for precisely the same reason that He planned our salvation unto good works. Faith and good works exist in harmonious relationship because the role of both flows from the same source - God's ultimate concern for the display of His glory.
   The reason we are declared righteous in God's sight by faith apart from works of the Law is so that God's glory may be upheld. If we look at several of the letters where Paul presents the gospel of justification by faith most clearly, it seems that one of the reasons he is most eager to defend this truth is to eliminate any possibility of boasting:

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested... the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe... Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. Rom 3:21-27

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ... God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD." 1 Cor 1:20-31

But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Gal 6:14

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph 2:8-9

Salvation is in Christ through faith so that no redeemed man may have the slightest reason to boast in the presence of the Lord. [In fact, pushing back even further, the reason God chose and called us by His grace alone, before we had done anything good or bad, is also for the sake of His glory (Rom 9:11, 1 Cor 1:27-29, Eph 1:5-6,11-12).]
   Equally so, the reason we are demonstrated to be righteous by good works is so that God's glory may be upheld:

But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. John 3:21

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. John 15:8

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matt 5:16

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Phil 1:9-11

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 1 Peter 2:12
(See also 1 Tim 6:1, 1 Peter 4:11)

   We can look to Job to better understand how our works are important for glorifying God, especially on that Final Day. In the case of Job, God knew his heart perfectly; that is clear from the first verse, "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil." God told Satan the truth about Job (vs 8), but then Satan questioned whether Job really valued God or just the gifts God had given Job. Now at this point God conceivably could have said, "Satan you are an evil, unbelieving liar. Job is upright, end of story. Leave my Presence." But that's not what God said. God granted Satan permission to afflict Job.
   God knew what the outcome would be, but it seems He wanted Satan to see it with his own eyes. In which way could glorify Himself the most: to ignore Satan's groundless accusations, to declare Satan wrong and send him away, or for Job's own lips in the midst of incredible loss to say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord"? Based on what God did, it would seem that He is most glorified by the latter.
   In the same way, consider the so called "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11. In it we see that all the saints of the Old Testament who were righteous in God's eyes were justified in precisely the same way we are - through faith. It wasn't their works of the Law that merited righteousness for them in God's sight, it was their faith. And yet there is another observation not to be missed. How does the author of Hebrews convince us that these men of old were people of faith? By recounting their deeds! God knew they were men of faith by looking into their heart and soul, but we cannot look there. (1 Sam 16:7) So God proves the fact that they were men of faith by pointing out their righteous deeds.
   There are good reasons to believe that the Day of Judgment has several things in common with the story of Job and with the Hebrews Hall of Faith. In Job 1:6 we read, "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them," and Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us..." Likewise throughout the Scriptures the Day of Judgment is consistently pictured as a public event. By that I mean that we should not merely picture individuals standing before God in a closed room. (See footnote 6.) Rather, all the nations, and even heavenly beings, will be gathered together in one massive location for the proceedings. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! (Joel 3, Isa 66:18, Ez 39:21-23) Jesus even speaks as if entire cities will be brought under judgment at one time. (Mt 10:15, 11:22,24, 12:41-42) Every secret will be made public, everything done in darkness will be brought into the light.
   The Judgment Day is a public event because, as with Job, God has a greater desire than to merely separate the righteous from the wicked. God knows every man's heart and He could easily make the separation in an instant. But more importantly God desires to magnify His own glory, to powerfully display and expose the truth of His own worth, and to prove that all His statements are true. (See footnote 7.) In fact it is Biblically valid, as long as we understand the meaning correctly, to say that God intends to justify Himself on Judgment Day. Of course by this we do not mean that God will make Himself righteous, but He will vindicate Himself, He will prove Himself righteous. (Compare Lk 7:29) Indeed, this is the most important justification that will occur on that Day. For example, Romans 3:25-26 says that the reason God put Christ's redemption on public display was to prove God's own righteousness. By the wrath that He poured out on Jesus in our place God has proven that He is just, He does punish all sin, He does not merely overlook any of it.
   So for the sake of His glory God justified Himself in front of the "sons of God" and in front of Satan through Job. God is glorified whenever His creatures see and declare that His judgments are true. (Deut 32:4, Ps 19:9, 51:4, Dan 4:37, Rev 19:2) In fact, this is almost certainly the reason that God has planned for the saints to participate in judging the world of men and angels. (1 Cor 6:2-3; see also Ps 49:14, 149:5-9, Dan 7:18,22,27, Zech 14:5, Matt 12:41-42, 19:28, Luke 22:30, John 5:45, Rom 2:27, 1 Thess 3:13, Jude 14-15, Rev 2:26-27, 3:21, 20:4) Christ wants His friends alongside Him on Judgment Day that we might "approve and applaud" the fact that all His ways are perfect and just. (See footnote 8.) It appears that the saints will be judged first, so that we may then sit with Him and confirm the righteousness of His judgment on the disobedient. (1 Pet 4:17-18) But it also seems that He will even allow the unregenerate to offer up testimony to condemn each other (Mt 12:27), just as He sometimes caused the enemies of Israel to fight amongst themselves and thereby destroy themselves. (2 Chron 20, Isa 19:2, compare Gal 5:15)
   Moreover, we should always take note of how God works in patterns, and from Adam to Abel to Babel to Sodom God established a pattern whenever He brought judgment. He always came down to earth to "see" man in his rebellion (Gen 3:8-11, 11:5, 18:21), or at least He spoke to man as if He was limited to ordinary human sense perception (Gen 4:9, and possibly 6:11-13). The same is true with those under God's favor. Although God saw Abraham's faith in Gen 15 and considered him righteous, it was only after Abraham offered up his son that God said, "Now I know that you fear God." (Gen 22:12, see also Heb 11 as above.) That Hebrew word know ("yada") very often refers to experiential knowledge, such as when Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived. (Gen 4:1) Of course God sees from heaven all that man does on earth. (Ps 33:13-15) But it seems that when God executes judgment He wants the evidence He uses to be that which any man could see if it was presented to him. In fact, in God's perfect wisdom He will cause a great deal of man's condemnation to spring from his own mouth (Gen 3:9-13, Mt 12:37, Lk 19:22, Rom 2:14-15).
   There are at least two reasons to explain this. First, when the Old Testament speaks of God "coming down" to earth or "the angel of the Lord" appearing on earth, it is well accepted that these appearances are of the second person of the Trinity. Therefore, as early as Genesis God is already teaching us that the Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son. (John 5:22) Second, Jesus wants to be glorified in judgment by proving to all watching eyes that His verdicts are righteous. Therefore, although He sees the heart and soul and could expose unbelievers in an instant, it pleases Him to limit His evidence to that which is visible or audible. Before Jesus throws down the gavel, all of creation which fills His great courtroom will see and hear and know the evidence that acquits or condemns. It is true that God sees the thoughts and intentions of man's heart (1 Cor 4:5, 14:24-25, Heb 4:12, Ps 139), but interestingly even in the same place that God declares that He searches the heart and mind He says that he will give to man according to his deeds (Jer 17:10, Rev 2:23). It appears likely that in Judgment the way in which Christ will expose men's inner thoughts and motives will be by bringing their secret deeds into the light.
   Theoretically, after making the separation on that Day, Jesus could point to those on His right and simply say, "I know my sheep", because He does! (John 10:27) But instead He points to those on His right and says, "You fed the hungry, you clothed the naked, you visited the prisoners...", and He is glorified because His sheep have proven to act like their shepherd. He is glorified because they have proven that the law of God was inscribed on their hearts. He is glorified because they have proven that God gave them a new, pure heart. He is glorified because their lives have proven that those who walk with Jesus reflect and radiate His character. He is glorified because what He has declared about us, that we are righteous, has been outwardly proven to be true by our deeds. He is also glorified when His apostles, prophets, and saints look upon His destruction of the wicked and see and declare that all His ways are true and just. (Rev 18:20-19:4) In summary, He is glorified in front of creation because the basis for His judgments is evidence accessible to the senses of the human nature that He shares with us.
   So although the Creator is answerable to no creature, and does not need to be declared just by them, yet He chooses to vindicate Himself before their eyes because He loves to put His glory on display:

So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased, The eyes of the proud also will be abased. But the LORD of hosts will be exalted in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. Isa 5:15-16

"I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight." Ezek 36:23

   Therefore the Day of Judgment will proceed like Hebrews 11 and like Job 1-2. Those who receive God's favor, who stand at Christ's right hand, who are welcomed into the kingdom, are those who are children of God through faith. Yet to the glory of God, they will be proven to be His by their deeds. At the same time, God's people themselves will know that they were made righteous only by receiving God's forgiveness through faith in Christ. They know their works give them no reason to boast before God, because any good in them was only what He accomplished through them. (Phil 2:13) So whenever God points to our deeds, we will in turn point to Christ. (John 3:21) Any crown of righteousness that we receive (2 Tim 4:8) deserves to be cast down before His throne (Rev 4:10), that He may be doubly glorified!
   If our righteousness did not come through faith apart from works then God would not receive the full glory of being the unique source of goodness. And if our faith did not bear fruit of good works then God would not receive the full glory that His declaration of our righteousness is indeed true and just in light of our actual deeds. But God is jealous to receive the full glory He deserves, and He delights in shutting the mouth of any creature who would dare to detract from His glory. On that Day the Law will shut the mouth of any proud sinner who thinks he achieved goodness on His own. (Rom 3:19) The good works of the saints will shut the mouths of the pagans who previously insulted the name of Christ. (1 Peter 2:12,15) And the salvation that comes through faith in Christ will prevent the mouth of any of the redeemed from uttering the slightest boast. (Rom 3:27) And it will come to pass that the harmonious relationship between faith and good works will finally reach its ultimate consumation. The two will join together, each in their complementary roles, to produce the ultimate goal of both: endless praise belonging to the One Triune God alone!

7. Harmony in the Scriptures - Paul, James, and Jesus in agreement
   The main goal of this section is to show how various New Testament teachings on good works do not contradict the gospel of salvation by faith. However, if we really want to see the harmony in the Scriptures on this issue, we should actually begin with the account of God's promises to Abraham in Genesis. If we settle our minds that God's words at various times to this one man are reconciled with themselves, then any confusion over the New Testament should disappear.
   God spoke essentially the same promises to Abraham several times, under different circumstances. He promised to make Abraham into a great nation with many descendants, to give them a land to live in, to bless them, and to bless all nations through them. When God called Abram to go out from his country God said He would do these things (12:1-3). Later God appeared to Abram telling him He would multiply his descendants. Abram believed the Lord and God reckoned it to him as righteousness. (15:5-7) Then immediately God made a covenant with Abram that He would surely fulfill His promises. (15:18-21) Later, God made another covenant with Abraham, but this time there were stipulations on Abraham's side, namely circumcision. (17:6-8)
   Then after Abraham offered up Isaac in obedience to God's command, God says something that seems a bit strange, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." (22:16-18) It is not the promises themselves that seem strange at this point. Indeed they are just a repetition of things God has already promised Abraham. But then again, that actually is the strange thing, because now God says, because you have done this thing I will bless you... because you have obeyed My voice. This is the first time that God has stated the reason He will do these things for Abraham. The reason is because of Abraham's obedience in offering up his son. But the fulfillment of these promises had already been completely certain and secure for over two decades as the very word of God, and indeed, with two covenants to back them up! Later God also appears to Isaac and affirms the same promises that He gave to Abraham. God says that He will do these things, "because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws." (26:2-5)
   So then, were God's blessings to Abraham totally unconditional (Gen 12), or a response to the righteousness Abraham received by faith (Gen 15), or conditional on the covenant of circumcision (Gen 17), or did they come because of Abraham's act of obedience (Gen 22, 26)? The answer is yes. Genesis 18:19 sheds some light on this situation, "For I have chosen [or `known'] him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him." This is reminiscent of the truth on which this article started, God planned to save a people through faith for good works.
   What is true for Abraham is also true for anyone of us who is truly in Christ. It is correct to say that we were saved by God's grace from before the foundations of the earth apart from any working or willing on our part. God chose us for salvation before we exercised any faith or good works. (Eph 1-2, Rom 9) It is also correct to say that God saved us through our faith apart from our works. (Rom 3:21ff, Eph 2:8-9) It is also correct to say that the blessings of the circumcision covenant come to us because Christ perfectly fulfilled the Law. (Mt 5:17, Hebrews, Col 2:11-13) It is also correct to say that when God brings all things to fulfillment he will point to our good deeds and say and that the promises are ours because of the good things we've done. (Mt 25:21, 34-36, John 5:29, Rom 2:7) Thus if one portion of Scripture emphasizes only one of these truths at one time, that does not imply any contradiction with the portions of Scripture that emphasize the other truths.

Paul
   The truth of justification with God through faith apart from the works of the Law is an overwhelmingly clear emphasis in Paul's letters. Indeed, teaching and defending this truth is the main point of both Romans and Galatians. But if someone asked Paul if this justification by faith rendered good works unimportant or unnecessary in his view of the Christian life he would have responded, "God forbid!" or "May it never be!" We know this because that is how he responded many times to such accusations. (Rom 3:8,31, 6:2,15)
   Paul wrote to Timothy saying that all Scriptures are useful to prepare the man of God for every good deed. (2 Tim 3:16-17) Likewise in Titus 3:5-8 we see that one of Paul's motives for teaching and defending salvation by faith so vigorously was because he knew that through this doctrine men would be careful to engage in good deeds. We can see how these principles worked out very clearly in some of Paul's own letters. Romans 1-11 builds up the incredible doctrine of God's mercy to us in Christ. Then Paul says, "Therefore in view of God's mercies..." and proceeds with several chapters of exhortation unto good deeds. In Galatians 1-4 Paul expounds the freedom from the Law that we have in Christ. Then he turns to the brethren he is addressing and says God gave us this freedom not so that we might please the flesh, but so that we might love one another, and then goes on with directions for godly living. In Ephesians 1-3 Paul reveals the wonderful truth that God has called us to Himself by His grace alone, and then from chapter 4 Paul instructs the Ephesians how to live in light of this calling. (See also Col 3:1-5, 1 Thes 4:1, and 2 Thes 2:14-15.) In all these major transitions Paul doesn't merely "switch" from doctrine to practice, but instead connects gospel truth itself to the response it warrants in those who believe. As mentioned in the first section, a major goal, if the the major goal of Paul's ministry was precisely the Great Commission - to make obedient disciples of Christ, not merely to make converts.
   So spurring the saints on towards love and good deeds was central to Paul's ministry. But still, we must directly tackle the question: what would've Paul thought of James 2? I believe that in hearing James 2 in its context Paul would have shouted, "Amen!" Several observations will lead us to that conclusion.
   First, we must note that the people who Paul spent a lifetime of ministry fighting a theological battle against were nothing like James. The "circumcision group" would come to Gentiles who had trusted in Jesus the Messiah, who had received the Holy Spirit (Gal 3:1-2), who were running well the race of self-discipline in Christ (Gal 5:7, see 1 Cor 9:24-27), and tell them that they weren't right with God unless they followed the entire Law of Moses beginning with circumcision. (Acts 15:1) This is what made Paul irate. We must realize Paul was not fighting against people who said faith and love in action were essential to the Christian life. He wasn't even fighting against people who said that love in action was an essential evidence of our justification. Paul was fighting against people who said that even if you have faith in Christ that displays itself through deeds of love, you still don't have enough unless you also receive circumcision (Gal 6:12), follow rules about clean and unclean food (Col 2:21), and observe the all the Jewish festivals throughtout the year (Gal 4:9-10). The circumcision group was burdening the disciples with a yoke of ritual and ceremony.
   James' teaching was nothing like that of the circumcision group. For one thing, James' letter was probably intended for Jews (see, for example vs. 1:1) so the question about Gentiles coming under the Law was not at all his concern here. As mentioned below, James also rejected the circumcision group and sided with Paul on the matter of the Gentiles. James was spurring the disciples on to the necessity of displaying their faith in deeds of love. No where in Paul's letters did he argue against people for putting "too much weight" on the importance of deeds of love. Indeed, in both Romans and Galatians, Paul's two great letters on "justification by faith apart from works of the Law", he commands the disciples that they must love their neighbor, and thereby "fulfill the Law" (Rom 13:8-11, Gal 5:13-14). So James was not the type of teacher Paul argued so vigorously against.
   Second, Paul in fact affirmed the same truths and same priorities as James. James saw people claiming to have faith in the gospel who displayed a shocking lack of love for the brethren, especially the poor amongst them. Their professed faith seemed to have no beneficial impact on their lives. Paul completely agreed with James about the great priority of caring for the poor. (Gal 2:10, 2 Cor 8-9, 1 Tim 6:17-19) Paul completely agreed with James that a so-called "faith" that is devoid of love is worthless. (1 Cor 13:2) Paul sided with James (against the position of the Judaizers) in saying that neither circumcision nor uncircumsion is what matters, but what matters is faith working through love. (Gal 5:6) Paul completely agreed with James that any man whose deeds are bad and worthless fruit should not expect entry into the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10, Gal 5:19-21, Eph 5:3-5), because his deeds deny his professed "faith" in Christ. (Titus 1:16, 1 Cor 5:11) Indeed, as if in response to James' rhetorical question, "Can a man be saved through a faith that does not provide for the needs of the brethren around us?" (James 2:14-16), Paul gives an explicit answer that such a man "has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Tim 5:8) Paul completely agreed with James that those who can expect to see life are those who are replacing the evil deeds of the flesh with the good deeds of the Spirit. (Rom 8:13, Gal 6:7-10, and footnote 5)
   Yet, as much as Paul clearly agreed with James, we must ask if Paul could ever have possibly accepted the two sentences that seem to go directly against his own teaching, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?" (James 2:21), and "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." (James 2:24) I believe that if Paul heard these sentences in isolation, apart from their context, he would have argued and fought against them, but if he heard them in the context of James' letter he would have had no quarrel.
   First, Paul would have seen that James recognized the theological significance of Genesis 15:6, which was one of Paul's own favorite verses. Paul would have seen that James knew that God reckoned Abraham righteous by his faith. Therefore Paul would have understood that James was using the word "justification" differently from how Paul himself used it. Second, in light of the context, Paul would have understood that James was basically saying that on the Day of Judgment God will render to each person according to his deeds. Paul himself taught the same things (Rom 2:5-7, 2 Cor 5:10), therefore I conclude he would have uttered an "Amen" upon hearing James chapter 2.
   Furthermore, when we look at some of Paul's writing, it seems entirely possible that he intentionally sought to avoid contradicting the truth that James spoke about. Now, the precise dating of James' and Paul's letters is a matter open to debate. But in any case, Paul had met James personally before the writing of Galatians (see Gal 1:19) and was undoubtedly familiar with his teaching. So even if the letter of James was not yet written when Paul wrote Romans or Galatians, for example, it is still very likely that Paul would have known the content and vocabulary of James' teaching from early on. (See footnote 9.) With this in mind, we can see how Paul was sensitive not to deny the truth James was proclaiming. In both Romans and Galatians, Paul distinguished his use of three major terms in such a way that it would be clear that his teaching was complementary to James'. (Even if this was not intentional on Paul's part, it certainly was provided for through the Holy Spirit's inspiration of all the Scriptures.)
   First, Paul made it clear that when he talked about "faith" he was talking about true, living, obedient faith. Paul begins (1:5) and ends (16:26) his letter to the Romans saying that his ministry is to bring about the obedience of faith among the Gentiles. (Also Romans 15:18) Paul also begins (1:8) and ends (16:19) this letter by rejoicing that the Romans' faith and obedience have been declared amongst the nations. It was a visible faith. Likewise the Galatians could not miss the fact that the kind of faith Paul spoke about to them was the kind that works through love. (5:6) Therefore Paul's use of the word "faith" is clearly meant to exclude the kind of "dead faith" that James addressed, where a man would claim to have faith but no one could see the evidence.
   Second, Paul explicitly defined the "justification" that he spoke about as that which is "in God's sight". (Rom 2:13, 3:20, Gal 3:11) Thus no one should have reason to confuse Paul's justification before God with James' justification before men. Paul also made it clear that although "justification" used in his sense does guarantee our final salvation, yet the two are not the same thing. (Rom 5:9, 8:30) Thereby he left open the possibilty for the word justification to be used in other senses regarding our salvation.
   As for the justification of Abraham, I highly suspect that Paul had James' teaching in mind when he wrote Romans 4:2. The context of this verse requires going back to Romans 3:27, where Paul has declared the glorious fact that justification by faith excludes boasting. Then he asks what we shall say about Abraham in regard to this matter. Now the apostle at this point could have made a very direct statement that Abraham was justified by faith, not by works (and therefore did not have any reason to boast). But that might have then sounded too much like a refutation of James' teaching that Abraham was "justified by works." I suspect that it was for this reason that Paul felt compelled to qualify what he wanted to say, "For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God." In other words, Paul avoids a statement of outright denial that Abraham was justified by works. He seems to say, "If Abraham was in one sense (i.e. James' sense) justified by works, then Abraham might have reason to boast about that justification. But certainly before God Abraham has nothing to boast about, since he was justified in God's sight by faith apart from works." (See footnote 10.) If Paul was not trying to accomodate for some sense in which Abraham could be viewed as justified by works, then it is difficult to account for the unneccessary indirectness and awkwardness of Romans 4:2.
   Third, Paul avoided ever using the phrase "faith alone". James was correct to say a man is not justified by faith "monon" (Greek for "alone"), so Paul never spoke of a faith that was "monon". The Latin slogan "sola fide" (meaning [justified by] faith alone) that came out of the Reformation is not an exact translation of anything from Paul. That is why the Reformation slogan "sola fide" required the clarification that it received in the confessions and catechisms of the time, that although we are justified in God's sight through faith alone, such saving faith is never alone. (See footnote 11.)
   Paul instead generally spoke about a justification that is "by faith apart from works of the Law." (Rom 3:20-4:16, Gal 2:16) By this he made clear that his battle was against those teachers who laid heavy emphasis on the ceremonial and ritual aspects of Judaism. I think it is important for modern evangelicals to realize that Paul's major battle was not against teachers who claimed that "good works of love" were what made us right with God. Certainly the popular idea in modern, liberal Christianity (and elsewhere) that we are acceptable to God if we simply choose to be "good people" would have been repulsive to Paul. However, it is still worth noting that the "God accepts decent people" heresy that most of us are familiar with today is very different from the Judaizing heresy that Paul faced. I am convinced that if Paul lived in the modern America he would fight against the "God accepts decent people" heresy, but I am also convinced that he would approach it very differently from how he approached the circumcision group. (See footnote 12.) In any case, Paul never promoted the notion of faith "monon". Paul, with James, sought to spur people on to a "faith working through love."

James
   Though it cannot be proved absolutely, it is highly likely that the James of Acts 15:13ff and Gal 1:19-2:10 is the same James who authored the epistle bearing his name. If that is the case then it is obvious that James listened to Paul's doctrine of justification by faith, approved it, and extended to Paul the right hand of fellowship and blessing to proclaim this doctrine. But whether or not the two Jameses are the same, we still must consider the content of the epistle itself.
   First, we note that James' letter was written to people who already had a professed faith in Christ. (2:1) It is clear from the repeated themes in James that these people had heard the word plenty of times, but many aspects of their lives were not bearing the fruit of faith (e.g. 1:22). What these people at this point needed to hear was a challenge to test themselves to see if they really were in the faith. So James was doing the same thing that Paul sometimes did. (2 Cor 13:5) At the same time, James sprinkled his letter with reminders that the kingdom and eternal life does belong to anyone who loves God. Paul equivalently expressed the criteria for salvation in these terms sometimes. (1 Cor 2:9, Rom 8:28-30)
   Now as for James' famous section on works. Section four of this article has already dealt with all we need to understand James 2:14-20. The Scriptures consistently testify that demon-like "faith" that merely knows the truth cannot save anyone. We have saving faith when our assured hope is fixed on what Christ has done for us. The above sections have also made it clear that such a saving faith will produce its own evidence which is the fruit of good deeds. What remains to be understand then is James' concept of "justification" in verses 2:21-25.
   The short answer, clear from the context (vs 18), is that James, unlike Paul, is concerned with the idea of justification from the perspective of what can be seen. A tree is known by its fruit. The disciples of Christ will be known by their love for one another. A man's claims to have faith in Christ are vindicated, that is to say, he is justified, when his works prove his claims. That much is clear, and presents no contradiction with Paul. But I believe James still has more to say to us, and if the subject matter is something so important as salvation (2:14), we should press in further to be sure we've grasped James' pastoral teachings for the care of our souls. So let us look more closely at verses 21-25.
   Since we know less about Rahab, analyzing her example is actually easier than Abraham's example, since there are less variables to confuse the matter. James says that Rahab the harlot was "justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way". This Rahab is only mentioned in the Old Testament in Joshua chapter 2 and 6. In chapter 2 she hid the Hebrew spies and sent them out by another way. The spies promised to spare her for what she had done, and then went back to their camp and reported all that had happened. In chapter 6 Joshua declared that she and her family be the only ones spared in the destruction of Jericho because of what she had done.
   The interesting thing is that there is not a single mention in these two chapters of God's approval of Rahab, or that He viewed her as righteous. From Hebrews 11:31 we can conclude that God considered her righteous by faith, but in Joshua itself there is no explicit mention of God's perspective on Rahab. This observation especially stands out when we consider that James had several very clear and explicit Old Testament quotes to choose from if he wanted to talk about God's favor on men, such as: Enoch (Gen 5:24), Noah (Gen 6:8-9), Moses (Ex 33:11), and David (1 Sam 13:14, 16:12). Likely those references didn't suit James' purpose because they don't mention deeds, only God's favor. But what about the following?

And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering. Gen 4:4

Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did. Gen 6:22,7:5

Thus Moses did; according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did. Ex 40:16

Just as the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses. Josh 11:15

The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." Job 1:8

So many clear verses about God's approval of men's deeds! Now, James knew the Scriptures well. Why would he pick an example from Scripture where God's approval of Rahab's deeds is not explicitly mentioned when he could have chosen any of these other verses? I think it is because he didn't want an example that spoke about God's approval of someone's deeds. He wanted an example that talked about God's people's approval of someone's deeds.
   Read through the list of the deeds of the faithful in Hebrews 11. Many of them are recorded in the Old Testament as receiving commendation from God, unlike Rahab. But Rahab clearly received commendation from God's people, unlike most of the other examples. A testimony of what Rahab did was passed on from the spies to Joshua, and from Joshua to the entire nation, so that no one in the army of Israel would harm her. This fits with the context of James 2. James is talking about a faith that causes works that we can see in one another. Yes, God can see faith apart from works, but we can only "see" faith in one another by its works.
   Now let's look at the example of Abraham. The Scripture certainly does testify that God saw Abraham's faith and reckoned it to him as righteousness, and James even quotes the verse. Now James certainly wouldn't and couldn't have quarreled with Paul for using the word "justification" to apply to Genesis 15:6. After all, the root of the word "righteousness" in James 2:23 is the same as the root of the word "justification" in 21 and 24. However, it is clear that James himself does not want to use the word "justification" to apply to Genesis 15:6 itself, but rather to what he calls the fulfillment of Genesis 15:6. But we (and the Bible) usually use the word "fulfillment" with respect to prophecies. Genesis 15:6 isn't a prophecy, so how can it have a fulfillment? (See footnote 13.)
   Prophecies are fulfilled when what God has said will happen comes to pass. God is vindicated, He is proven to be true. A prophecy from God is just as true and certain before it comes to pass as afterward. But we say it is fulfilled when what we formerly accepted by faith is revealed to sight. It is reasonable, then, to expand our notion of "fulfillment" so that we can say anything declared by God which He sees but man does not yet see is "fulfilled" when man can receive it by sight.
   In Genesis 15, God could see Abraham's faith and God considered Abraham righteous in His sight. But no man could see Abraham's faith that God would give him many descendants. Even if we had been standing next to Abraham, we wouldn't have seen the faith that God saw. So when was Abraham's faith and Abraham's righteousness proven to our sight? When he offered his son on the altar. Even the angel of the Lord himself declared at that time, "now I know [experientially - Heb. `yada'] that you fear God."
   In the midst of all this, James 2:23 refers to Abraham being called a "friend of God". There appear to be two possible Old Testament references that James could have had in mind, 2 Chronicles 20:7 and Isaiah 41:8. In 2 Chronicles 20 King Jehoshaphat (one of the righteous kings), speaking to God in prayer, says, "Abraham your friend". In Isaiah 41:8 God Himself makes mention of "Abraham my friend". I believe that James 2:23 intends to refer to 2 Chronicles 20:7. First, gramatically it makes more sense. James says Abraham "was called" a friend of God, in other words someone called Abraham a friend of God. This fits well with the Chronicles passage. If James was thinking of Isa 41 it would have been more natural to say, "God called Abraham his friend." Second, the 2 Chron 20 passage fits with what we have seen in the context of James 2 and in the example of Rahab. James is speaking about the justification of Abraham and the justification of Rahab "in the same way" (vs 24), but God never said a word about Rahab. Therefore, it seems most reasonable that James is saying that Abraham's faith was made visible to Jehoshaphat and to us through his offering up Isaac, just as Rahab's faith was made visible to the spies, to Joshua, to the Israeli army, and to us through her protection of the spies.
   So far our study has only served to confirm the conclusion of many, probably most, evangelical commentaries on James 2: James' sense of "justification" is that our works are the evidence, proof, or "vindication" of our faith in the sight of men. But to me this raises a big question that doesn't seem adequately answered in the commentaries I have read. If James is talking about such matters as judgment (vs 12-13) and salvation (vs 14), why does he deliberately put so much emphasis on being justified in the sight of men, and so little emphasis on being justified in the sight of God? On Judgment Day we want to be accepted by God, we want to be saved by God, so who cares what anyone else thinks of us or our faith, right? Well, let's look at why James might have wanted to draw attention the justification that is in the sight of men.
   Despite the new section that many of our English Bibles put at verse 14, it seems certain that James' teaching on faith and works (vs. 14-25) is connected with what has come before. The example of deeds of mercy in caring for the poor (vs 14-16) in in line with James' theme every since at least verse 1:27. So this section on works that justify us in the sight of men is probably flowing from what James said in verse 12-13, "So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment."
   That kind of statement is what makes James a difficult letter for many evangelicals. By faith in Christ we escape being judged, don't we? Depending on the English translation you look at, you might find verses that say those who have believed in Christ "do not come into judgment" (e.g. John 5:24, ASV, NAS, NKJV). However, the sense of the Greek phrase "into judgment" here actually means believers will "not be condemned" (see e.g. NIV, KJV, and footnote 14). We have already seen plenty of evidence that believers will experience, and have to give an account, on Judgment Day (Mt 12:37, 25:34-36, Rom 2:5-7, 14:12, 1 Cor 3, 2 Cor 5:10, etc.), indeed judgment begins with the household of God. (1 Pet 4:17)
   Then what is the criteria by which Christians will be judged? James says it is the "law of liberty". I see three possibilites for what James' might mean by "the law of liberty", all of which could find some support in the context. First, the "law of liberty" could mean the Law of Moses. After all, James was talking to Jews, and he did quote the Mosaic Law in the previous verse. However, it is difficult to imagine why James would call that Law "the law of liberty", or why he would go on to speak about mercy. Judgment under the Law of Moses is not based on the merciful receiving mercy, but rather on demands of perfect obedience. (Deut 27:26, Lev 18:5; see Gal 3) Also, we have been made to die to that Law through the body of Christ already (Rom 7:4). The second option is that "the law of liberty" could be another name James uses for the royal law, the law of the King and the Kingdom, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (vs 8) But this is just a condensed version of the Law of Moses, and presents many of the same difficulties. So I believe that James means something else.
   The only other place in the New Testament that the phrase "law of liberty" occurs is earlier in James' letter (1:25), but again here it is not competely clear what "law" he is referring to. But if we keep tracing back, the law of liberty in 1:25 seems to be the same as "the word" in 22-23, which is the same as the "implanted word" in 21, which is the same as the "word of truth" in 18. By this "word" God brought us forth as firstfruits of a new creation (vs 18), and this word is able to save our souls (vs 21). Clearly this word can be none other than the gospel! Paul also calls the gospel "the word of truth" (Col 1:5), so perhaps in the early church this was a common way of referring to the gospel.
   To understand the "law of liberty" as the gospel has several points of support. Certainly there is no "law" and no "word" that better deserves the title of Liberty than the gospel! Certainly it would make sense for James to urge these Jewish followers of Messiah to keep looking into the gospel and abiding in it. (1:25) The gospel is the message of liberty for the captives (Isa 61:1), and is the fulfillment of the "year of liberty." (Ez 46:17) Finally, James' use of the word "law" in its general sense to refer to the gospel should not raise any objections since even Paul did the same thing (Rom 3:27, 8:2). Thus interpreting the "law of liberty" as the gospel leaves open only one question, but it is a big one. What could it possibly mean to be "judged by the gospel"? (2:12) The gospel is the very message that announces that Christ has died for our sins, his blood covers over our iniquity. How can a believer in the gospel be judged by that which set him free?
   I believe that Jesus' parable about the forgiven slave is a perfect example of what it means to be judged by the gospel (Mt 18:21-35). There was no inherent injustice in a slave demanding payment from a fellow slave who owed him. According to the law of the land, we could say he was "within his rights" to throw the other slave into prision until he paid back everything. Why then did the lord call this slave wicked and hand him over to the tortures? Because he didn't have mercy in the same way that he had received mercy. His appeal for mercy from the lord, and the mercy the lord had granted, was the very thing that brought him under condemnation when he spat upon that mercy and showed that it was of no value to him except as a pardon and excuse to go on living for himself. He was all the worse off for having experienced the way of righteousness for himself and having turned away from it. (2 Peter 2:20-22, Heb 6)
   James 2:12-13 shows that we are on the right track with this understanding of what it means to be judged by the law of liberty, the gospel. If God in the gospel offers infinite mercy, then whether or not we show mercy decisively proves whether or not we have embraced the gospel and treasured the reconcilation to God that it offers. If we appeal to the gospel, but show no mercy, it proves that our hope was never really set on the promises of the gospel. Someone can "accept", even "beg for" the pardon that the gospel offers (Mt 18:26) without actually setting their hope on the full message of the gospel of freedom from sin and reconcilation to be a friend of God. As we saw in section four, if our hope is not set on what the gospel truly offers, but if we merely attempt to hijack some of the benefits of the gospel to achieve our wordly hopes, then this is not actually "faith" in the gospel. We stand condemned, not because our works were insufficient to save us, but because our works proved that we never had the gospel faith that "said we had" (James 2:14).
   The difference between the gospel and the Law is that the gospel provides what it demands, whereas the Law only demands. This is one of the main points of Romans 7-8. Paul makes it clear that the Law is holy, right, and good. There is no problem inherent in the Law. The problem is that sin dwelling in us prevents us from fulfilling the Holy Law. Therefore "what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Rom 8:3-4)
   This understanding of what it means to be judged by the gospel, I believe, helps us to understand many things in James and many other portions of Scripture. In 1:23-25 James uses the analogy of a mirror. The meaning is this: when we look into the gospel, it tells us who we are in Christ and what we look like in Christ. It tells us that we are recipients of incredible mercy, love, compassion, and forgiveness. It tells us that we are righteous, holy, and created for good works. Therefore, instead of forgetting who we are and what we look like in Christ (2 Peter 1:9), we should go out and live according to what the gospel mirror has told us about ourselves, and what we claim to be true about ourselves, by God's grace, in the profession of our faith. This is why the apostles can speak about "obedience to the gospel" or the "obedience of faith." (Rom 1:5, 6:17, 16:26, Acts 6:7, 2 Cor 9:13, 2 Thes 1:8, 1 Pet 1:22, 4:17) This is also why sanctification can be described as the process of "becoming what we are." As with Abraham, if God has declared us to be righteous, then He will be vindicated as truthful, His word will be fulfilled.
   So now we have begun to understand what it means to be judged by the law of liberty. But in his letter, James keeps circling around back to the same topics, and he gives us more insight into his thinking on this matter in chapter five. Recall that the context of James' teaching on works in chapter two had to do with caring for the poor. Now James again returns to rebuke the rich oppressors and says, "Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." (James 5:3-4) Several aspects of the imagery he uses seem to overflow from his intimate familiarity with the (Old Testament) Scriptures, including God hearing and responding to the cries of His oppressed people.
   Recall that God was moved to rescue His people from Egypt because He heard their cries. (Ex 3:9) After bringing them out of the land of slavery, He then pointed towards their own rescue from oppression to show them the neccessity of caring for the needy among them:

You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest. If you ever take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious. Ex 22:21-28

When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge. You shall remain outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God. You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns. You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he will not cry against you to the LORD and it become sin in you. Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin. You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor take a widow's garment in pledge. But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing. When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing. Deut 24:10-22

Elsewhere in the Law, God commands the Hebrews to feed and clothe the orphans, widows, and aliens, because that is precisely what God did for them in Egypt. (Deut 10:18-19) He commands them to be liberal in their generosity to their slaves, because they themselves were slaves in Egypt. (Deut 15:12-15) He commands them to love the strangers among them because they themselves were strangers in Egypt. (Lev 19:33-34)
   In summary, if God heard your cries for help when you were under oppression, will He not also hear the cries of those whom you oppress? If God brought judgment to destroy those who fattened themselves by feasting on you, what will He do when you switch roles and feast yourself by trampling on others? Do you claim that it was right for God to drown the Egyptians in the Red Sea in order to rescue you? Then if you live the life of an Egyptian, your own words will be your judge.
   This is exactly what we saw in Jesus' parable about the forgiven slave. Mercy is not a "Law" that is "added" to the gospel. The law of liberty itself says, "Mercy triumphs over judgment." Therefore if someone doesn't have mercy he doesn't have the gospel. If someone doesn't have love and compassion for the undeserved then how can he say he has received the gospel, for that is the gospel.
   These principles from the Law are so much in line with James' teaching, it seems very likely that this is what he had in mind as he wrote his letter. Now we need one last observation from the above passages to complete the picture of James 2. It is this, that although God's courtroom has only one Judge (James 4:12), yet it has many witnesses. Rust will be a witness. (James 5:3) Dust will be a witness. (Mk 6:11) Men's consciences will be a witness. (Rom 2:16) Ultimately, all of heaven and earth will be witnesses. (Deut 4:26, etc.) When God judged Abel, it was because He heard Cain's blood crying out. (Gen 4:10) When God judged Sodom, Gomorrah and Egypt, it was because He heard the outcry against them. (Gen 18:21, Ex 3:9) And remember the "forgiven but unforgiving" slave? It was the friends of his fellow slave who appealed to their lord and brought this injustice to his attention for judgment.
   So should we who are the under the law of liberty care about the justification which is in the sight of men? Absolutely! For even the apostle Paul, when he thought about facing the coming resurrection, took heed not only of the "Pauline" sense of justification, but also the "Jamesian" sense of justification:

But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men. Acts 24:14-16 [Emphasis added]
(See also Rom 14:16, 2 Cor 4:2, 1 Thes 2:10, 1 Tim 1:19, 3:7)

   Those who walk in the light certainly have comfort that the Righteous Judge will not listen to any false testimony on that Day. And certainly those who walk with Jesus have comfort that we have an Advocate on high. (Job 16:19, 1 John 2:1) We can take comfort that those who slander the Way of Christ right now will be compelled on that Day to give testimony that the deeds of God's faithful were good. (1 Pet 2:12) But we must not say that our justification with God means we don't care if someone, especially a brother in Christ, has something against us. (Mt 5:23-24) We must care. Are cries and pleas rising up to the throne of God against your deeds? Remember that God has a special place in His heart for hearing the cries of His poor and oppressed saints. (Ex 22:21-28, Lk 6:20, 18:1-8, James 2:5) Our confidence in the Day of Judgment is based not only on coming to know and believe the love which God has for us, but also when we can say that as He is, so also are we in this world. (1 John 4:16-17) If what we claim He has done for us is not reflected in what we are doing for others, we must repent and let our faith be perfected through our works.

Jesus
   After all that has been said above, it should now not appear as any difficulty to reconcile the many different ways Jesus spoke about how men find salvation, justification, and eternal life. In my personal notes I have categorized 53 different forms of expression that Jesus used on these matters, although someone could easily find more or less depending on how they look at it. Some passages emphasize forgiveness of sins through faith (Mt 9:2), some endurance (Mt 10:22), some the necessity of us forgiving (Mt 6:14-15), some repentance (Mk 1:4, Lk 13:1-5), some being prepared for Jesus' return (Mt 25:1-13), some that we must humble ourselves as a child (Mt 18:3-4, Mk 10:15, Lk 18:17), etc. These are all just different ways about talking about one thing, that Jesus came to save us from our sins. (One thing is certain, Jesus didn't have a fixed message or "gospel presentation" that He always used, but revealed whatever aspect of truth was most relevant to the situation He was in.) In that light, I want to now look at a few passages in the gospels that used to trouble me because of their apparent "works-orientation".
   We have already looked at Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 in section five of this article. The judgment day will be based on deeds; even Paul clearly taught that. But two more observations are warranted. First, before pointing to the deeds of the sheep, Jesus welcomes them to come "inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Those who prove to be sheep by their deeds are those who God foreknew and predestined before the world began, and they are precisely the same ones who came to be justified by faith. (Rom 8:29-30)
   The second observation illustrates what we learned about being "judged by the gospel" from James. Note that all of the things that sheep do in the physical realm are simply reflections of what the sheep themselves have received in the spiritual realm. The sheep feed the hungry because they already fed on the Bread of Life. (John 6) The sheep provide for the thirsty because they already drank freely of the Living Water which now even overflows out of them. (Isa 55:1-3, John 4:10, 7:37-38) The sheep invite strangers in because their eternal homes have already been prepared in the everlasting city. (John 14:2-3, 2 Cor 5:1, Heb 11:10) The sheep clothe the naked because God already covered over their shame (Gen 3:21, Ez 16:1-14, 2 Cor 5:2-4, Gal 3:27), and given them robes together with cleansing blood to wash them in. (Rev 19:8,13 22:14) The sheep care for the sick because they have already been made whole by the Good Physician. (Mt 9:11-12) And the sheep are quite happy to visit the prisoners because they know what it is like to be trapped in chains. (Rom 6) According to the merciful law of liberty, God does not expect anything from us except what He has already given us.
   Likewise it is amazing how much of the Sermon on the Mount reflects this same truth. Indeed, I don't believe we can find any commandment given to Christians that is not supplied for by what they have received from God. We are to love our enemies because that is what we received in the gospel. (Rom 5:10) We are to forgive others because that is what we received in the gospel. We are to refrain from passing judgment on others because that is what we received in the gospel. We are to be faithful to our wives and not divorce them because that is what we received in the gospel. (Heb 13:5)
   This interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is supported by the fact that the people Jesus was talking to were already His disciples. (Mt 5:1) It used to bother me that Jesus' most famous sermon seemed to be so much about works, apparently without much of an evangelistic message beyond the Beatitudes. But that was only until it occured to me that Jesus was talking to the people whom He had already called with, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mt 4:17) That is the gospel in compact form. The Sermon on the Mount reveals that at this point Jesus already considered His disciples to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. They had already left everything to follow Messiah, they were already what we today would call "believers". Furthermore, as is true for Luke (Lk 1:1-4), all three of the synoptic gospels were probably written primarily for Christians. John is the gospel which was written especially to lead people to put faith in Christ (John 20:31). So it is natural that the Sermon on the Mount only occurs in the synoptics.
   Therefore I disagree with the teaching that says Jesus' design in Matthew 5 was to show people the impossibility of obedience to the Law. Some people will point to the incredibly high standard that Jesus sets in this chapter (esp. vss. 20,48) and conclude that Jesus is using the Law as a tutor to lead His listeners to repentance and faith in the gospel. But there are a few problems with this interpretation. First, as already noted, Jesus' listeners were already His disciples. Second, if Jesus was using the Law as a tutor, where did He end up? If He expected His disciples to be convicted of sin after Matthew 5, where is the subsequent word of hope?
   I don't think that Jesus set such a high standard in Matthew 5 to show His disciples the impossibility of obeying the Law. I think He was teaching them what life in the kingdom genuinely looks like. The book of Matthew is all about the kingdom of heaven. And Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount is no exception, it is literally focused on the kingdom from beginning (5:3) to middle (6:10) to end (7:21). Jesus called His disciples into the kingdom via repentance (4:17) and now He was teaching them about the kingdom life they had entered into. I believe His disciples were born again by the Spirit at this point (except of course the betrayer, if he was there). Therefore Jesus genuinely wanted and expected them to obey these commands, not simply to despair of how difficult they were.
   Of course, it is true that Jesus probably shocked His disciples when He said, "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." But this was more than just a rhetorical device for grasping their attention and shaking them up. I also don't believe that He only meant that they would be counted as more righteous than the Pharisees due to the imputed righteousness that He would provide. That doesn't fit the context. Although it is true that the Pharisees had hundreds of laws that they followed to seek after righteousness, all of these laws had the weight of a gnat. (Mt 23:23-24) The disciples, having been reconciled to God and born again by the spirit, would live lives that fulfilled the weightier provisions of the law such as justice, mercy and faithfulness (Matt 23:23, Rom 3:31, 8:4). If their lives bore no more fruit than the superficial externalities of a proud, hypocritical Pharisee, then it would be very doubtful that they had ever truly entered the kingdom. (7:15ff)
   Once more, Jesus certainly sent some shocks through His disciples when He said, "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (5:48) However, I don't think it is neccessary, or even appropriate, to conclude that Jesus here was using the "Law as tutor", nor that He was speaking about the perfection we receive when His righteousness is imputed to us. Everything that Jesus said before and after this verse were things that He genuinely wanted and expected His disciples to obey and put into practice in their lives. There are a few ways to understand how Jesus intended His disciples to actually put this command into practice.
   First, the word "perfect" (Gr. teleios) carries the idea of being complete or finished. (Vines) Jesus was teaching His disciples to pursue complete obedience. The Pharisees picked out the commandments that were easiest to obey in the flesh, put a huge emphasis on those, and then ignored the rest. A disciple of the kingdom cannot do that. We cannot say, "Well, I'm not so strong on faithfulness, so I'll just focus on mercy", or, "It's OK for me to hate my brother because at least I'm always true to my oaths." We also cannot say, "Well, I can love some of my neighbors and maybe some of my enemies, but I will never love so-and-so for what they did to me." No, children of the kingdom must live lives that are complete. Second, the word "perfect" also carries the idea of being mature. (Vines) The Scriptures use this word in several places to exort Christians to grow up and not remain as infants. (1 Cor 2:6, 14:20, Eph 4:13, Phil 3:15, Col 1:28, 4:12) And finally, even if we take the word "perfect" in the common English sense of "flawless", it is still right for Jesus to set such a standard for His disciples. Granted, we struggle throughout this life to put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, but that does not excuse us to set our sights on any standard short of perfection.
   Finally, I want to look at the two instances where Jesus answered men who asked Him about eternal life. Some people do not realize that there were two different such instances, one with a lawyer (Lk 10:25-37) and one with a rich young man (Lk 18:18-30). This is important because I believe Jesus' interaction with the two proceeded differently, although neither of them received Him. First, Jesus and the lawyer:

And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" And he answered, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE." But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Luke 10:25-29 [Followed by the parable of the Good Samaritan]

One big question is, why does Jesus seem to be teaching the "Law for righteousness", by which we know that no man shall be justified in God's sight? (Rom 3:19-20, 10:4-5) In response, I believe that this is a case (unlike Mt 5) where Jesus was using the "Law as tutor" (Gal 3:22-25). He was teaching the Law for righteousness, "Do this and you will live." But then we might ask, where is the gospel? I think the answer is simply that Jesus did not give this man good news.
   First note that this lawyer wasn't actually seeking eternal life. He was seeking to put Jesus to the test. (Lk 10:25) Jesus did not withhold the gospel of salvation by faith from those who were hungry and thirsty for righteousness (e.g. Lk 7:36-50). But that wasn't the case with this lawyer. This lawyer was doing the very thing that Israel had done in the wilderness, the very thing forbidden in Deuteronomy, the very thing Jesus refused to do during His temptation in the desert; this lawyer was putting the Lord to the test. Also note that after Jesus said, "Do this and you will live", that instead of admitting his guilt of not loving his neighbor, the lawyer simply sought to "justify himself." Therefore, instead of giving this man gospel, Jesus simply gave him more law. He told the parable of the Good Samaritan to show the extent of the righteous demands of the Law. But apparently this man was still unwilling to acknowledge his guilt in failure to obey the Law. So Jesus left Him there.
   I think that we can learn from what Jesus did in this situation. Evangelical Christian culture sometimes gives the impression that we are responsible to present the good news every time spiritual, philosophical, or religious discussions arise with unbelievers. But where there is hardness of heart, the gospel message will not find any good soil to settle in. Sometimes it might be better to leave people in a position of contemplating the Holy God and the inflexible, perfect standard set forth in His righteous Law until they have come to realize their need for mercy.
   Jesus' interaction with the rich young ruler began in a similar way. The man asked about eternal life and Jesus responded by pointing to some of the commandments. I believe at this point Jesus was again using the "Law as tutor" to reveal the young man's heart. Then after the man claimed to have kept these commandments Jesus said, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." In saying this, was Jesus still using the Law as tutor? Some would say that Jesus was revealing more of the demands of the Law at this point to show the young man that He really hadn't kept all the commands. But I think something different happened, and in order to see it, it helps to piece together some information from the account of this story in the different gospels.
   The rich young ruler, unlike the lawyer, appears to have been genuinely interested in seeking eternal life, not in testing Jesus. This is shown in the fact that he ran up to Jesus and knelt before Him. (Mark 10:17) When he addressed Jesus as "Good Teacher" he probably intended it as a sincere title of respect, unlike the disciples of the Pharisees who flattered Jesus in their attempt to trick Him. (Mt 16:22) The young man's statement of keeping the commands seems not to be a proud self-righteousness because, presumably still kneeling before Jesus, he says, "All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?" (Mt 19:20) Probably he had not literally murdered anyone, committed adultery, stolen, etc. Probably he was considered a well-behaved young man by those who knew him. Certainly there are many "well-behaved" members of society who are enemies of God and will not see eternal life. Probably the religious teachers around him did not teach the spiritual and heart-level demands of the Law, that anger is akin to murder and lust to adultery, etc. It is entirely likely, that based on all this man had been taught by those around him, he was an OK person. But he had some sense, probably from a combination of conscience and familiarity with the Scriptures, that Almighty God must require something more to enter eternal life than that I simply don't turn out to be a murderer. And so he rightly asked Jesus, "What am I still lacking?"
   At this point, Mark's account seems to confirm that the man's response was sincere ignorance of the demands of the Law, rather than proud self-righteousness, because it says, "Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him." So what Jesus said next was a message of love for this man, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." I believe at this point Jesus was giving this man the gospel. "Repent" and "come follow Me" were Jesus' standard gospel calls to His disciples. (Mt 4:17-19) When Jesus told this man to go and sell everything he possessed, I think Jesus wasn't using the "Law as tutor." Rather, I think this was in line with "cost of discipleship" message that Jesus often to people who might follow Him. (Lk 9:57-62, 14:25-35)
   Jesus was genuinely calling this man to follow Him. But no one can serve two masters. So for this man to follow Jesus he genuinely had to forsake his previous master, money. Sadly, this man was unprepared to leave everything to follow Jesus, at least at this time. But Jesus taught His disciples not to give up hope when He said, "The things that are impossible with people are possible with God." (Lk 18:27)
   Again, we have a lot to learn from Jesus' interaction with this man. He showed in many ways eagerness to gain eternal life. In fact, in all three accounts of this story in the different gospels, there is no indication that the man was saddened by the Christ's call to follow Him. It seems entirely likely that if Jesus had simply left out the part about "sell all you possess and give to the poor" that this eager, rich young man might well have been willing to come after Jesus. If we, with our modern evangelical mindset, had been amongst Jesus' disciples at this time, would we have attempted to rebuke the Master, "How dare you turn away someone that is seeking eternal life? (And just think of all that he could have contributed to the church building fund, and the missions fund, and...)" But more than once Jesus proved that He was not out to make the maximum number of converts at all costs (e.g. John 6:59-71), He was out to make obedient disciples. We would do well to bring Jesus' cost of discipleship teaching back to life in modern preaching and teaching of the gospel. However before we do that we must ask ourselves if we have forsaken everything else in order to follow Christ. If not, then perhaps we need to become disciples of Christ before trying to make disciples for Christ.

Faith and works in distinction
   Faith has a very special place for the Christian which good works could never replace or even help with. Faith is the alone instrument by which we receive the benefits of what Christ has accomplished for us in His life, death, and resurrection. It is through faith that we begin the new, abundant life, and it is by faith that we continue to live that life. As pointed out in Galatians 3 (and section three of this article), the Christian life does not begin by the Spirit and then switch over to human effort. The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Gal 2:20) The good deeds that we do, that God planned for us to do, that Christ purchased for us an ability to do, and that the Holy Spirit bears through us, are the deeds of faith working through love. Our life of doing good works began by faith and continually rests on faith as long as we remain in this flesh.
   Indeed, it was neccessary that we would receive the redemption that is in Christ Jesus by faith apart from any good works, because before we came to know Him through faith, we had not done any good works. This is apparent from the fact that, "without faith it is impossible to please God." (Heb 11:6) We had not done a single thing pleasing in His sight, but He freely reconciled us to Himself when we were His enemies. If God had not devised a righteousness to be received by faith apart from works, then Paul's letter to the Romans would have had to stop with every mouth closed and the whole world held accountable to God under conviction of sin. (3:19-20) But now that the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ has been revealed, the mouths of the saints have been opened to declare His unending praise!
   So faith has a unique role to receive the gift which our works never accomplished. But did you realize that good works also have a unique role to go somewhere that faith cannot go --- into eternity! When the present universe is overtaken by the new heavens and new earth, when our mortal flesh is replaced with immortal bodies, when the dwelling place of God is among men, faith will be no more because we will walk by sight, but good works will remain.
   Recall how our story started. God made man in His image, to rule over the earth as His ambassadors. God's plans haven't changed. Our future state is more than sitting on clouds, playing harps, and waiting for another million years to pass. Christ came to redeem all of creation from the effects of Man's fall (Rom 8:20-22), and to restore the saints to their position as rulers under Him over this creation. (Dan 7:18, 22, 27, 2 Tim 2:11-12, Rev 2:26-27, 5:10, 20:4) God is a Worker and a Ruler, and He made us in His image to reflect His glory by being like Him and acting like Him. We will not cease from performing good works in eternity any sooner than God will, which is never. Praise be to Christ, who redeemed us from the curse so that we might get back to doing good work, not as a burden, but as the original joy in Him that it was intended to be.

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Footnotes:

1. When the Bible speaks about "hope", it does not mean a "desire that we wish to come true, but might not come true", as in English. "Hope" in the Bible generally refers to the state of looking forward to something that we know is coming, it is a joyful expectation. So Biblical hope includes both the idea of certainty and desire. But in Hebrews 11:1 the word "assurance" (or "substance") already stresses the certainty of our hope. So when I used the word hope in section four and afterwards I am particularly drawing upon the aspect of hope which refers to our desire for the object of our faith.
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2. "You don't get justified by believing that Jesus died for sinners and rose again. You get justified by banking your hope on the promises that God secured and guaranteed for you through the death and resurrection of his Son. The faith by which God justifies us, forgives all our sins, reckons us righteous, is the experience of being satisfied that God will come through for you according to all his promises. That's the first thing I wanted to say about belief: it is future oriented: it means banking our hope for happiness on the promises of God secured by the death and resurrection of Jesus." (John Piper, Sept 11, 1988, http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1988/650_Battling_Unbelief_at_Bethlehem/)
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3. It is true that within these two distinct groups the Bible still points out differences. Some of the evil kings were even more evil than others (e.g. 1 Kings 16:30). Some of the good kings did not do all the good as their father David had done (e.g. 2 Kings 14:3). Yet it is interesting that even here such a clear distinction is made. No king is said to be halfway in between. In God's sight either they "did what was evil" or they "did what was good."
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4. Someone could say that Dan 5:27 is a possible exception. However, it is clear from verse 22-23 that God's judgment against Belshazzar was not a delicate matter of weighing his good deeds against his bad deeds. He was a proud idolator who plundered the temple of the Lord to use its vessels for his pagan drinking parties. The scale was used as poetic imagery, as is so common in God's communication through the prophets, to drive home the point to Belshazzar. It is possible that the Babylonians had a notion of judgment before the gods via a scale, so this imagery would have had a powerful effect on the king, without affirming their incorrect beliefs. (See Barnes' Notes on this verse.)
      As for 1 Sam 2:3, this verse in context does not teach of a Judgment Day where good deeds are weighed against bad deeds. Hannah had just had her baby and is praising the God who is able to turn any situation upside down. As God wills, the strong become weak and the weak strong (vs 4), the full become hungry and the hungry full (vs 5), the barren give birth and the fertile become barren (vs 5). Likewise, the proud are humbled when the true depths of their deeds are exposed (vs 3).
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5. "It becomes increasingly clear that our eternal life depends not only justification, but also on sanctification. In other words, if a person says, `Oh, I am justified by faith and therefore I don't need to renounce sin and pursue holiness,' that person is probably not saved. And without being freed from that slavery to sin, he will not inherit eternal life." - John Piper, Dec 10, 2000, http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2000/39_Slaves_to_God_Sanctification_Eternal_Life/
   
   "Now I want to stop and make sure that you are hearing what I believe the Scripture is saying, because it is not commonly said, but our lives hang on it. There is a real sense in which our justification depends on our sanctification. There is a sense in which whether we are acquitted before God depends on whether the law of the Spirit of life has freed us from the law of sin and death." - John Piper, Sept 14, 1980, http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1980/251_The_Liberating_Law_of_the_Spirit_of_Life/
   
   "So the reason the new covenant is better (Hebrews 8:6) than the old is that the new covenant contains a pledge from God not only to give blessing to those who obey but also to cause the obedience! "I will cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances." God does not make our salvation sure by separating it from obedience, but by guaranteeing our obedience.
      The eternal security that is so clearly taught in the last phrase of Romans 8:30 ("whom he justified he also glorified") is not based on the fact that obedience is unnecessary for salvation, so that you can feel secure if you don't have it. O, no! Obedience IS NECESSARY: "He is the source of eternal salvation to all who OBEY him... Strive for...the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 5:9; 12:14). Eternal security is based on the new covenant oath of God that he will cause the obedience which he requires in those whom he has called and justified.
      ...
      O how many unregenerate people are at ease in Zion thinking that they are secure without holiness! Why? Because for generations teachers and pastors have been saying that you can have the security of glorification without the necessity of holiness.
      And they have been saying this because they have rejected the Biblical teaching of sovereign grace which alone explains how the New Testament on the one hand can give the eternal security of glory and yet on the other hand make that glory dependent on practical holiness. If God's grace is sovereign, it not only fulfills promises of glory, it also fulfills the practical conditions of those promises." - John Piper, http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1985/517_Those_Whom_He_Justified_He_Also_Glorified/
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6. However, we also read in Rom 14:12, "So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God." This important truth balances out the public nature of the Judgment Day. We can not entertain thoughts like, "Oh there will be so many people and so many books opened, maybe my wicked deeds won't be noticed in the midst of the big crowd, especially since there are many people who did much more evil things than me." The omniscient eye of God sees every individual, and there will be no limit to the time God has to expose all darkness into the light. Each one of us will give and account of himself to God who sees every hidden thing. But it is also entirely likely that when each of us stands before God to give an account, all the rest of humanity and the universe will be watching.
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7. "Berkhof wisely point out that the final judgment is not for the purpose of letting God find out the condition of our hearts or the pattern of conduct of our lives, for he already knows that in every detail. Berkhof rather says of final judgment: `It will serve the purpose rather of displaying before all rational creatures the declarative glory of God in a formal, forensic act, which magnifies on the one hand His holiness and righteousness, and on the other hand, His grace and mercy. Moreover, it should be borne in mind that the judgment at the last day will differ from that of the death of each individual in more than one respect. It will not be secret, but public; it will not pertain to the soul only, but also to the body; it will not have reference to a single individual, but to all men.'" - Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, pg. 1146, including a quote from Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, pg. 731.
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8. "[The saints] are indeed to be judged (see Matt 25:31-41), but they may first be acquitted, and then advanced to the bench, to approve and applaud the righteous judgment of Christ both on men and angels. ... they have the honour to sit by, and see his proceeding against the wicked world, and approve it." - Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Cor 6:1-8
      I believe that the context in 1 Cor 6, as well as the other passages cited, requires an understanding that the saints will have a more active role in judgment than just sitting by, watching, and approving of His judgments. Nevertheless, for the sake of my current point in this article, it is sufficient to emphasize that at least this much is true.
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9. Many people have supposed that Galatians was the first Epistle Paul wrote. (See Barnes' Notes, Introduction to Galatians.) If that is the case, and since Paul had met James before writing Galatians, then that would mean that Paul had heard James before Paul wrote any of his letters that became part of the New Testament.
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10. Someone could oppose this interpretation saying it is unthinkable that Paul would suggest that anyone could boast about their justification in any sense of the word. Indeed, I don't think that Paul is implying that Abraham would truly ever want to boast about being justified by works in James' sense. But consider how Paul himself felt reluctantly forced to boast in 2 Cor 10-12 in order to combat the proud, false apostles. Likewise, Paul is saying that if Abraham was declared just in the sight of men by his works then he "has something" that he could boast about before men, even though it would never enter his mind to do so. In contrast, before God Abraham "has nothing" to boast about; even if (God forbid) he wanted to boast in the presence of God, he would be unable.
    Martin Luther, the great champion of the doctrine of justification by faith, saw in this passage that Paul was acknowledging Abraham's justification by works in the sight of men, and using it to contrast with Abraham's justification by faith in the sight of God. After quoting Romans 4:2-3, Luther says, "Here, too, please take note of Paul's distinction as he recounts Abraham's twofold righteousness. The one is of works; that is, moral and civil. But Paul says that this did not justify Abraham in the sight of God, even though it made him righteous in the eyes of men. He has glory before men by reason of that righteousness, but is yet without the glory of God." (Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will, translation by J.I. Packer and O. R. Johnston, James Clarke, London, 1957)
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11. For example, the Westminster Confession of Faith: "Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification: yet is it not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love."
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12. Romans 1:18-3:20 is a good example of how Paul would combat the notion that "God accepts decent people". Paul began his great exposition of the gospel with three chapters on the depravity of man. If we know the Law, it condemns us. If we don't know the Law, our own consciences condemn us. Paul knew that the fallen human nature will only appreciate the glory of the good news if it is first convicted of the bad news that we are not decent people and therefore we are not acceptable in God's sight. The Biblical response for someone who thinks he has lived good enough to be right with God is that his proud self-confidence in the face of the Holy One is the very thing that will rise up to secure his condemnation on the Day of Reckoning. (Prov 6:16-17, 16:5, Isa 2:11-17, 5:15-16, Dan 5:20-24, Mal 4:1, Lk 1:51, 14:11, 18:9-17, 1 Pet 5:5, etc....)
       The "God accepts decent people" heresy in the modern context is in some ways antithetical to the Judaizing heresy in Paul's context. The Judaizers would tell people who had trusted in Christ and were walking with Him that God still required more, they should receive circumcision, learn Levitical and Jewish traditional rules about what is clean and unclean, learn the Jewish festivals for every week, month, and year, etc. In contrast, the modern "decent person" notion says that as long as I haven't committed rape or murder then the big mushy teddy bear in the sky must be pretty happy with me. Perhaps if there actually is a Judgment Day then Santa God will give me a little nudge on the shoulder and tell me I was a bit naughty sometimes, but then of course he'll give me a big hug and say, "I'm so proud of you for not being a serial killer."
       The Judaizers of Paul's day and much of European Catholicism of the 16th century were teaching a salvation based on works. "Do this, do that, and even then, it might still not be enough." That's why the doctrine of justification with God through faith apart from works was received with such thankfulness in Paul's day (Acts 15:31) and during the Reformation. Romans 1:17 was exactly what Martin Luther and others, tormented by the demands of a perfectly righteous God, needed to hear. And it is exactly what anyone today who knows he can't approach God on his own merits needs to hear.
       However, I think it is completely wrong to think of the modern "God accepts decent people" notion as a type of works-salvation. On the contrary, it is a false and heretical conception of salvation by grace! Is there such a thing as a heretical salvation by grace? Of course! Any notion of salvation by grace that does not depend on Christ and the cross is false and heretical. Salvation can be for us by grace through faith only because it was purchased with the precious blood of Christ through His terrible sufferings of the wrathful punishment we deserve. The modern "decent person" idea however, views God as merely dropping or lowering any standards of righteousness He might have such that, without the vicarious suffering of the Perfect God-man, everyone is a good person in God's sight except perhaps for Hitler, Stalin, and a half-dozen others. This is clearly a false and heretical form of grace-salvation, not works-salvation, because it requires no form of works whatsoever. No works on our part, no works on Christ's part, just a God devoid of holiness.
       The Judaizers were trying to bring Gentiles, who had already died to the Law with Christ, under the Law. Paul wanted to declare to them that they had been set free from the demands of the Law, so that they might now serve God in the newness of life in the Spirit. But if Paul was faced with the modern "God accepts decent people" fallacy, I believe he would have actually responded with more Law. Paul knew that the Law had an appropriate, good and lawful purpose. (1 Tim 1:8-11) The Law is a tutor to bring us to Christ. It shuts everyone up under sin. (Gal 3:21-24) It closes every mouth so the world may become accountable to God. (Rom 3:19) It reveals our sin so that we are forced to flee to Christ. (Rom 7)
       People like many Americans today who say, "I think God will accept me because I'm not so bad," don't primarily need to hear that salvation is by grace. They already believe that! They need to hear the righteous requirements of God's Law. They need to hear that Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden for eating an illicit piece of fruit, Moses didn't enter the promised land because of a one time failure to honor God, that Israel failed to enter God's rest simply because they grumbled and complained and disbelieved Him, that Ananias and Sapphira fell dead for telling a lie, etc. Every act of sin and rebellion against God deserves an infinite punishment, and the Holy One absolutely does not lower His standards. Once they realize that we stand hopeless and condemned under the Law, then they can understand the salvation that truly is by grace for us because Christ purchased it with His very life.
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13. Someone might be tempted to try to simplify the interpretation of James 2:23 by saying that Genesis 15:6 was indeed a prophecy that Abraham would do righteous deeds. This article had consistently argued that those who are justified in the Genesis 15:6 sense will bear the fruit of good works. However, we must be careful not to think of God's reckoning of righteousness to Abraham as a prophecy, or certainly at least not merely a prophecy. Such thinking would imply a heretical view of salvation, that God considers our faith to be righteousness on the basis of foreseeing our future good deeds. No, when God "reckons righteousness" to someone a actual transaction from outside the man is occuring right then. God is counting Christ's righteousness to the person and the person's sin to Christ. So Genesis 15:6 is not a prophecy, it is describing something that actually occured at that moment. God does not merely declare what He sees will come to pass on its own, but because God speaks something therefore it comes to pass.
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14. The word "krisis" very well can, and often does, simply refer to judgment, as in the Day of Judgment. However, the prepositional phrase "eis krisin", into judgment, as appears in John 5:24, seems to always refer to entering into condemnation. For example, in John 5:29 there is a contrast between the good who enter into a resurrection of life "eis anastasin zooees", versus the evil who enter into a resurrection of judgment/damnation/condemnation "eis anastasin krisin". (See also 1 Tim 5:24, 2 Peter 2:4,9, 3:7) The consistent message of the New Testament, including John 5:24-29, is that everyone will have to give an account on the Day of Judgment. The joyful confidence we have in Christ is that we will not enter into condemnation.
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