Faith without works is dead! This truth is of utmost importance, as God emphasizes it through repetition in His Word. The apostle James clearly teaches that faith and works are inseparable, for faith apart from works is barren, unproductive, and ineffective. Meanwhile, the apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, declares that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works, lest anyone should boast. Yet, in the very next verse, Paul affirms that we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to walk in. There is no contradiction between Paul and James on this matter. Faith is required, and good works are also required. Doing good works in the name of Jesus Christ is a major part of the purpose for each true Christian's life; we cannot truly be Christians without them. Works toward God are to do His will, to perform His work, and to obey His laws. Works toward our neighbors are to serve them and to do good for them. Such works promote the growth of godly character and provide a shining example of true Christian living. Faith with works brings life—eternal life!

God's grace does not abolish His law, for the issue is not law or grace, but law and grace. His spiritual law coexists with His grace, and even blessing us with His law is an act of His grace. Faith does not replace good works, as works do not save us but are required as evidence of our faith. The issue is not works or faith, but works and faith, since faith without works is dead. We must do good works to be blessed with eternal life, and all who have eternal life do such works. Our Savior expects us to become coworkers with Him in our salvation, as well as the salvation of all mankind. It is a tragic error to believe that we need perform no works in our salvation, that Jesus will keep the law for us through the Holy Spirit. The purpose of His reconciliation and God's grace is to get us to quit transgressing His law, to stop doing bad works and begin doing good works, to quit practicing selfishness and start practicing godly love. He pleads with us, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Jesus tells us we must do something, not just believe, to gain salvation, instructing us to keep the commandments if we want to enter into life. God's goal is to bring all of us to the point where we cooperate with Him in our salvation, working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

There is no contradiction in the matter of salvation and works. We learn that there are two kinds of faith: a living faith and a dead faith. A dead faith, which many blindly trust in, will never save a single soul. James declares that faith without works is dead, emphasizing that Abraham was justified by works when he offered Isaac upon the altar. By works, faith is made perfect, and by works, a man is justified, not by faith only. We are not saved by works instead of faith. We are saved by faith, but faith must be accompanied by works to be made perfect. This is living faith. Salvation is needed because we have sinned, and the penalty of sin is death. Sin is the transgression of the law, as defined by God. Though some claim we are under grace and not under the law, the inspired Paul counters with a resounding, "God forbid!" We must not continue in sin, transgressing the law, under the guise of grace. The law holds power over the sinner, claiming the life of the transgressor. It is the sinner who is under the law. However, when the sinner repents and accepts the sacrifice of Christ as payment for the penalty of the law, he is pardoned under grace. The law no longer stands over him, claiming his life. Only those who, through repentance, obedience, and faith, turn from disobedience and keep the law are under grace. By the deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified in His sight, for the law provides the knowledge of sin. The purpose of the law is not to forgive or cleanse, but to reveal sin so we may turn from it. Only the blood of Christ can wash away sin. God's law is a spiritual mirror, showing the dirt on our hearts, but it does not cleanse—only Christ's blood accomplishes that. James explains that we must be doers of the word, not hearers only. He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues therein, being a doer of the work, shall be blessed in his deed. Some argue that no man can keep the commandments, claiming it is not humanly possible. Yet, Scripture answers, "God forbid!" Faith establishes the law, and by keeping it, faith is made perfect. Jesus Himself taught that to enter into life, one must keep the commandments. Though with men this is impossible, with God all things are possible. It takes faith in the power of God, coupled with diligent effort, to achieve perfect obedience. A living faith, the only kind that saves, is an active faith that trusts God to make obedience possible. God's law is perfect, holy, just, and good, standing fast forever. It is a law of love, the perfect way of life, given to make man happy. Human suffering and misery come from its transgression. Through faith and the gift of God's Holy Spirit, it is possible for man to keep His commandments. Whoever claims otherwise is called a liar by God. God's purpose in salvation is to rescue men from sin and its resulting misery and death. To repent of sin is the first step. Then, the blood of Christ, upon acceptance and faith, cleanses past sins. By faith, we are kept from sin in the future, resulting in righteousness imparted from God. We are not justified by the law, but by the blood of Jesus Christ. Yet, this justification comes only on condition that we repent of our transgressions of God's law. Thus, only the doers of the law shall be justified.

Works cannot earn salvation, yet they play many roles in the calling. Justification by faith in Christ's atoning blood makes one legally free to access God and to begin a relationship with Him. From that point on, works are absolutely required for sanctification unto holiness to the extent that not only is one's reward contingent upon them but also salvation itself. God will not reward one who can show no works at all or provide salvation to one whose faith is so weak it produces bad works. Such a person would be totally out of place and unfit for living eternally in the Kingdom of God. Even though one is saved by grace through faith, the very reason for creation is for good works that God Himself prepared beforehand for one to walk in. The gospel of the Kingdom of God provides the reasons for which works are required, the major one being to prepare one for living in God's Kingdom. God is not merely saving people. His purpose is far greater than that. Without holiness no one will see the Lord. While one is justified, one is also sanctified. Being set apart is an aspect of holiness. Yet the responsibility of pursuing remains because God wants holiness to be not a static state but a dynamic, living, practical, and working part of character. This character is built through experience after access to Him has been given. One must seek and build it through cooperative association with and because of Him and the Lord and Savior. If one is truly being sanctified, it will show itself in a habitual respect for God's law, most specifically the Ten Commandments. Habitually endeavoring to do Christ's will is a hallmark of one striving for holiness. Holiness starts in one's relationship with the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Justification through God's merciful act of grace opens the door of access to Him as well as the door to the Kingdom of God. Justification is entirely an act of God, a legal action on one's behalf that one accepts by faith. While sanctification unto holiness begins at the same moment as justification, it is a progressive, creative, time-consuming work of God within one. Unlike justification, sanctification cannot be hidden because it appears in godly conduct. By it a witness is made that God dwells in one. Where there is no holiness there is no witness to glorify God. Justification and sanctification are two separate matters. They are related and cannot be separated, yet the distinctions between them should never be overlooked. Christians cannot take sanctification for granted. One must pursue it until assured of being sanctified. The course is clear: one must go to Christ as a forgiven sinner, offering one's life to Him by faith and crying out to Him for the grace needed to overcome all flaws in character. Close communication with Christ is the source of the perception, motivation, and energy to discern flaws and overcome them. It is a biblical principle that whatever God requires He provides what is needed to accomplish it. Sinners one is when beginning, and sinners one finds oneself to be as one continues. One will be a sinner to the very end. Salvation is by grace. Absolute perfection will not occur until one is changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. While reaching for God's holiness, goals should never be anything but the highest. Earlier emphasis was placed on the importance of works because one will be judged according to them. Works are not unimportant. One of the kindnesses of God is that even in this life they pay off. This does not mean that one should work for God and holiness in order to be rewarded for them. Nonetheless a general biblical rule is that God blesses for obedience and curses for disobedience. Generally, sanctified people, those striving for holiness, are among the most contented and happiest of people. They have a sense of peace and well-being that unrepentant sinners cannot have due to it being a blessing from God. There is not only no time when one should b

Salvation cannot be earned by works, for no person is justified before God by his own efforts despite sincerity or sacrifice. Works are necessary for sanctification unto holiness without which no one will see the Lord. God works salvation in the midst of the earth, and both the Father and the Son actively labor to deliver people from sin. The gospel of the Kingdom of God reveals that a converted person must play an active part in the spiritual creation God performs in and through men. Release from sin begins another aspect of God's work with a person, and a great deal of labor lies ahead to reach the Kingdom of God as an objective. Between justification and resurrection stands the period of sanctification when God expects growth in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, overcoming, and testing. All the works in the world will not provide everlasting life, for it is a gift from God, yet God nonetheless requires works.

Salvation comes by grace through faith as a gift of God and not of works. This is stated in the perfect tense indicating that it occurred at a point in the past with the saved remaining in that state. Good works follow salvation because those saved are created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained. Works will not save yet only those who work will be saved because only the doers of the law shall be justified. There is no contradiction here because the Bible does not contradict itself. Good works are activities and conduct that are just like what God would do and that are motivated and empowered by the same spirit or nature. They are the effects of God sending forth His Spirit and delivering. Works are not the cause of deliverance. Salvation which means deliverance from is seen both as something already secured and as something in progress and therefore not yet completed. God is the active and dynamic force in salvation. He sends forth His Spirit and they are created. He renews the spirit of the mind and creates the new man after Himself in righteousness and true holiness. He causes His people to walk in His statutes and keep His judgments. He works in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Salvation is divine creation and a creative process. We are His workmanship created unto good works. We work out our own salvation by manifesting or expressing the salvation that we already possess. This is done with fear and trembling because the outcome depends on the power of God working within. Good works are the consequences of salvation and the purpose of salvation.

Salvation is a free gift from God that cannot be earned by any amount or quality of works, since no person possesses inherent immortality and the opportunity to inherit the Kingdom must be offered first. Yet works form a major part of Christianity because they demonstrate loyalty to God and His way after the gift has been received through faith and repentance. Loyalty appears in conduct, speech, use of time and energy, and the production of righteous acts that fulfill the commandments rather than human traditions. These works do not purchase salvation but meet the conditions on which the gift is granted and maintained, much as walking across a room fulfills the condition for accepting a freely offered sum of money without earning it. God requires such works because they prepare His children to be transformed into His image and to become holy as He is holy, moving from the glory of man to the glory of God. The process involves consciously choosing to live according to the Spirit instead of the flesh, overcoming the downward pull of human nature, Satan, and the world. Righteous acts therefore constitute the fine linen in which the bride makes herself ready for the marriage to the Lamb, proving love for Christ by keeping His commandments and remaining faithful to the covenant relationship. In the New Covenant the church is viewed as a bride still preparing, so that the weakness of the former covenant is resolved before the union occurs. Works of overcoming, rooted in the love God deposits through His Spirit, stabilize the relationship, produce character that survives the grave, and enable the right kind of witness as a natural outgrowth of holiness. Without these works the professed relationship with God becomes treacherous and unfaithful, yet even then repentance allows return because God's mercy remains available to those who turn back with the whole heart.