What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of 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 does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But some one will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.
James 2:14-26
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— not because of works, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Central to everything we do in the Orthodox faith is Christ. The central act of the church is the Eucharist, receiving Christ. We reach salvation through a combination of faith, works and grace. It is not faith alone, or work alone, or even grace alone that gets us to heaven, but a combination of the three.
Imagine for a moment that we have a cup, some rocks and a bottle of water. The cup represents faith, it is the structure of what we believe. A good cup is big, solid. Our faith has a solid history, and has solid theology and Tradition that has spanned the entire 2,000 year existence of the Church. However, a cup, no matter how beautiful, big, or solid, when not in use, is just an empty vessel, it doesn’t do much for us. This is what faith without works looks like. Faith, unsupported by works, is just empty faith.
The rocks represent our works. But if we pour out a pile of rocks on a table, they go everywhere, because they have no order, no structure to keep them organized. When we have works without faith, our works are disordered, and ultimately because narcissistic, they make us look good. Faith without works is dead faith. However, works without faith are dead works.
If we take the cup, the faith, and fill it with rocks, our good works, there are still empty spaces in the cup. It is not truly full. This is where the water comes in. We fill the cup with water and then it is truly filled. The water represents God’s grace, which comes to us through the sacraments, most especially Holy Communion. It is also taken in small amounts, on a regular basis. If a plant, as an example, requires five ounces of water a day to live, that is just over 14 gallons of water per year. If you pour 14 gallons of water on the plant on January 1, and then neglect the plant the rest of the year, the flood and the drought will kill the plant. It needs regular attention. It is the same with our sacramental life. We receive God’s grace one spoonful at a time when we receive Holy Communion. We receive God’s grace one prayer at a time. It doesn’t do much good to be inundated with Christ during Holy Week, or by going on a pilgrimage to Mount Athos, only to be away from Him for long stretches. This is why weekly participation in the Eucharist is so important, it keeps Christ in us at all times. No doubt that Holy Week will provide a needed booster as we have an intense experience of Christ each year during this special time. However, daily prayer, and weekly worship are needed to help us stay focused, and to fill the empty spaces which we all have, so that our cup stays full.
Oftentimes, outside of Orthodoxy, other denominations talk about being saved. I’ve been asked by other Christians if I am saved. The answer to this is that salvation is a continuous process. It is made possible for humanity because of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. It is made possible for the individual through baptism. However, baptism is not the end of a journey but rather the beginning. It is the day we enter into the army of Christ, and receive our Great Commission, to spread the Gospel to all nations. In this way, we can say “we have been saved.” Just like a person who is married can point to their wedding day and say “I have been married.” Salvation, like marriage, requires continuous action. Thus, today, I am working on my salvation. And ultimately, I will be saved (I hope) by an act of God’s grace. We cannot claim salvation. Nor can we say that someone cannot be saved. Salvation is an act of grace which is the Lord’s to grant. We cannot put ourselves on the judgment seat to place one in heaven or keep them out of it. In Ephesians 2:8-9, St. Paul writes For by grace have you been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast. If a certain amount of works was required for salvation, then there would be no faith element. We would merely check off the works and claim our salvation, just as people work a certain number of years and claim retirement. Faith requires work, it requires belief, but it also requires grace.
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have being. Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help. When his breath departs he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish. Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners, He upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, thy God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord! Psalm 146
Faith, plus works, plus the grace of God, are what is needed for the salvation equation to be complete.
0 Comments