Do works matter?

Works are deeds done in accordance with Scripture such as serving the needy, giving alms, avoiding sin, studying Scripture, or attending fellowship with other believers. They are usually presented in contrast with faith and grace. Faith which means deep belief and confidence in Christ, and grace which means the unearned favor or blessing of God. When Evangelicals approach this question, we are usually motivated primarily by wanting to avoid any conclusion which indicates that people can deserve heaven or come to salvation on their own without the atoning work of Christ. Therefore, an emphasis on faith and grace as opposed to works emerges.

Clearly, Christianity holds that no person can be saved without faith and grace. The question is whether they are sufficient in the absence of any external evidence or behavior. So, do works matter? There are four ways of answering this question.

1. Works do not matter at all. They count for nothing here or later because Christ did it all.
2. Works matter only for rewards in heaven, not for salvation. You can get in without doing anything other than accepting Christ.
3. Works matter for more than heavenly rewards, but they aren't technically necessary for salvation. They are tremendously important, but lacking them won't keep you out of heaven.
4. Works are necessary for salvation. Without works that show the power of Christ in you, it simply cannot be the case that you have truly accepted Him into your life. Christ is not impotent. If He is in you, it can't not show.

All four of these views are held by born-again Christians. View 1 is probably fairly rare, but also Views 3 and 4 are more rare. But, as I spent two hours tonight explaining, I lean strongly in the direction of View 3 or 4 being the Biblical one. This despite ten years of being the sort of Evangelical who believed and taught that works are purely about rewards in heaven and unnecessary in any way for salvation. After reading the verses below, I have a different view. In short, fruitless faith is not faith at all. And if we aren't living a life that really shows Christ, it's likely because we don't have Him.

People often want to emphasize that we can't deserve our salvation, and of course I agree. We are constantly dependent upon Christ. But that's the point. It's not that I'm powerful enough to do good things and impress God. It's that the true Spirit of Christ is so powerful that once He is in me, I can't stop Him coming out. Unless I'm not really submitted to Him and He isn't really in me. In which case, the lack of external evidence of my salvation is easily explained. The mistake isn't in thinking that people are saved by works. The mistake is thinking that real faith can be separated from real works. It cannot. They are simply not two things necessary for salvation. They are one thing. But please feel free to read your Bible and explain your own perspective on this very challenging issue.

I know this is not an exhaustive list, but here are some Bible verses I found helpful in formulating my (still developing) view on this subject: Psalm 62:9-12, Prov 24:12, Matt 7:15-29, Matt 13:1-23, Matt 16:24-28, Matt 19:16-28, Matt 28:19-20, Mark 4:1-23, Luke 3:7-8, Luke 8:4-15, Luke 11:27-28, John 8:37-40, John 14:12-24, John 15:10-24, Acts 5:27-32, Acts 16:4, Rom 2:1-16, Rom 14:10-13, 1 Cor 3:1-17, 2 Cor 5:10, 2Cor 11:15, Gal 5:5-8, Eph 2:8-10, Eph 5:11, Eph 6:5-8, Phil 2:12-16, Col 3:22-4:6, 2 Thess 1:6-8, 2Tim 3:16-17, 2Tim 4:14, Titus 1:15-16, Heb 5:8-10, Heb 11, James 2:17-26, 1 Peter 1:14-19, 1 Peter 2:11-20, 1 John 2:1-6, 1 John 3:21-24, 1 John 5:1-5, Rev 2:20-23, Rev 14:12, Rev 18:6, Rev 20:11-15, Rev 22:10-15