Another view, popular among most, is the idea that I can "make it up". You've seen this. "I did a bad thing; I admit it's bad. I'm going to do extra good to make up for it." You know, put in sufficient good to counterbalance the bad and come out even at the end. The idea in this one is that your own works, good and bad, are the standard by which you are measured. If you take all the bad and put it on one side of the scale and all the good and put it on the other and they balance out, you've succeeded. If the bad is heavier, you've failed. (And, it seems, most people really don't want the good to really outweigh the bad; just balance, you know? Don't want to do too much good.) In this version, then, the standard is your own choices and you can't really know the outcome until someone puts them on "the scales".
Even in Christianity where we all know "we are saved by grace through faith apart from works" there are those who still seem to hang on to works-based salvation. They (rightly) deny it in words but then stand back and point fingers worrying that he "isn't good enough" or she "is endangering her salvation if she doesn't repent" or the like. It is seemingly ingrained in our thinking. Be good or else.
There is a fundamental problem here. Oh, sure, we have Scripture that tells us we are saved apart from works, apart from merit, apart from what we do. But there is a logical problem. We don't usually see the logical problem because, well, we're fundamentally deceived. What is the problem? The problem is in the question: "Can you be saved by works?" Not the answer; the question. You see, "saved" has a meaning. It begs the question, "Saved from what?" It demands, "What do you mean by 'saved'? Why do we need to be 'saved'?" And that's where the whole "saved by works" problem breaks down. You see, the command is perfection (Matt 5:48). No violation of God's commands. No violation by commission; no violation by omission. Do everything right; do nothing wrong. So, there are two possibilities here. In one case, you do it all. You succeed at everything and fail at nothing. No error. In this case, there is no salvation. That is, if there is no sin, there is no judgment and no need to be saved. You don't earn salvation; you just succeed. In the other case, you fall short. Maybe just once. One short. But if the standard is everything right and nothing wrong, you've missed it. Doing everything right and nothing wrong from then on out will not recover the one short. You can't provide more than 100%. You can't make up the single error. In this case salvation is necessary (Rom 6:23). "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." (James 2:10) There is need, but there is no means of recovery. "Saved" exists -- is necessary -- but the "works" that are required are already lacking.
The Roman Catholics believe there is a "Treasury of Merit" where "goods" (the results of good deeds -- "merit") are stored up to be shared by all. There are the infinite merits of Christ, to be sure, but also of Mary and the saints, because they, apparently, have done more good than is required. We know that neither Mary nor the Roman Catholic saints achieved perfection, so they couldn't provide "merit". On the other hand, we know that God "made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor 5:21) Christ did achieve perfection to the highest degree, to the divine degree. We are, then, "saved by works", but not works that we do.
But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)Saved by works that we have done? Not a chance. Not remotely possible. Not even rational. We aren't saved by working toward nonexistent standards or by measuring ourselves with ourselves so that the top 50% will get in and sorry about the rest of you. There is no means to balance the good and the bad. And there's no coming back from less than perfection when perfection is the standard we must meet. But we are saved by the perfection of Christ applied to us on the basis of grace ... astounding grace. We go from the impossible -- no hope to be saved -- to the unbelievable -- declared perfect in Christ. "Saved by works" is not good news. "Saved by grace through faith apart from works" is stunningly good news.
6 comments:
Maybe outside the topic, but it seems like universalism is overtaking works as the non Orthodox option.
Well, I think that almost the whole world believes that what we do determines if we "make it", but I do agree that there is an interesting and puzzling rise in Universalism. The fact that much of it is showing up under the guise of "Christian" suggests that the primary factor for this rise is the current and ongoing attack on the value, reliability, sufficiency, and authority of Scripture, since the Bible is abundantly clear that "many" don't "make it."
I agree that the Bible is clear, and that most of the Universalism is coming from Christians. I’m just pointing out the rise.
Also, when you factor in the both Islam and Judaism are works religious systems, you’re right about the prevalence.
I agree with you about the rise. In my lifetime it was mostly obscure. Now it's more mainstream with the likes of Rob Bell and Brian McClaren.
Aren't the Catholics at least partially right in that our salvation is only obtained by grace through faith in the work of Christ's life, death, and resurrection? We are saved by works, just not by a work we could possibly do. Without the Resurrection, or the rebirth of our spirit, there is no salvation, both of which are works outside of human effort, so our individual salvation is through the grace given to those through the work done on our behalf.
Which is why I believe there are saved people in the Catholic Church. Unfortunately in Catholicism we are saved by grace (plus merit) through faith (plus works) in Christ (and the Church).
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