If someone came up to you and asked the question “Is the Cross enough?” What would you say? There is an on-going debate between theologians that consists of whether or not works needs to be added to faith. The passage that most people when discussing this topic will bring up James: 2:14-26 which says…
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”
I do not believe that James is telling us that we need works to have faith. I believe he is telling us that the works are evidence of our faith, but even if we don’t have works, even if we don’t act like we are saved doesn’t mean we will lose our faith and it certainly doesn’t mean that we never had it in the first place. Think of it like this, you can have dead faith, but if it’s dead then it must have been alive at some point. It simply means that your faith isn’t active, but let’s make sure we remember that just because your faith is inactive doesn’t mean you never had it, it simply is inactive. There also comes a problem when we begin to think that you must have works to be saved is because salvation is a one time moment. It’s the term we use called Justification. Sanctification is the process from the moment we are saved till the day we die, and that’s where I believe “works” come into play. Justification and Sanctification are two separate milestones. Once they begin to mix that’s where you begin to combine works and faith. So for them to be separate we must believe that faith falls into the category Justification and works fall into another category called Sanctification.
See when someone says that you need works to have faith then they might as well say “the cross wasn’t enough” If we believe that what God did for us was sufficient then why would we have to “work” for salvation? Yes, I do believe that your life should transform into the likeness of Jesus Christ after you’re saved. But by no means is that transformation a monthly payment for that salvation. Our “works” can’t save us, the Cross does. The final words of Jesus says it all. “It is finished.” Those words do not mean that God’s part is done and now it’s our turn. It means that God did it all and He left nothing for us to do but simply have faith; we cannot add to the work of Christ so stop trying.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jas 2:14–26). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
