Works or Faith

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

(Matthew 5:16).

Two extremes

The centuries-old dispute does not subside; Each of the belligerents is firmly entrenched in its positions and does not yield an inch. The Roman Catholic Church asserts that salvation is the merit of man. By his deeds and labors, a person can not only cover his sins, but also collect a surplus that can benefit others. In support of the correctness of their concept, they cite those passages of Scripture that speak of the need for good works, such as: "We are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has ordained for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). "I wish that ... those who believed in God tried to be diligent in good works: this is good and profitable for men" (Titus 3:8), and other quotations.

Rejecting this teaching, Protestants teach that all are saved by the merits of one Saviour. The gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life is received by faith alone, which is quite sufficient for salvation. No good deeds, feats or moral perfection are needed: just believe and you are already saved.

In support of the correctness of their concept, they refer to the following words of the Apostle Paul: "By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before Him; for sin is known by the law. But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has appeared, of which the law and the prophets bear witness, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ in all and on all who believe, for there is no difference, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely, according to his grace, through redemption in Christ Jesus, whom God hath offered as a propitiation sacrifice in his blood through faith, to show His righteousness in the forgiveness of sins committed before, in the time of God's longsuffering, to show His righteousness in the present time, that He may appear righteous and justifying him who believes in Jesus. Where, then, is there anything to boast about? Destroyed. What law? By the law of affairs? No, but by the law of faith. For we acknowledge that a man is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law" (Romans 3:20-28). And further: "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but only by faith in Jesus Christ, we also believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified" (Gal. 2:16).

Who is right when both sides have confirmations in the Holy Scriptures? It is a pity that sometimes even Orthodox theologians get entangled in an argument about how a person is saved, and in polemics with Catholics they cite Protestant arguments, and in polemics with Protestants they cite Catholic arguments. One gets the impression that Orthodoxy does not have an independent clear teaching about salvation and is something in between Catholicism and Protestantism. An ordinary Christian, listening to the arguments of both sides, may even doubt the truth of the Holy Scriptures. Perhaps, he thinks, the apostles did not understand something in the teaching of Christ, or failed to express His teaching clearly enough, or perhaps later heretical additions crept into the Scriptures, distorting its content. This opinion was held, for example, by Martin Luther and other Protestant theologians, who disputed the authenticity of the Epistle of St. Paul. James and the Epistles to the Hebrews on the grounds that they speak more clearly than in the other New Testament books about the need for good works.

Clarification of terminology

In fact, there are no contradictions in the Scriptures and there cannot be. The dispute between heterodox theologians is based on a misunderstanding due to the fact that the question of salvation from the spiritual and moral sphere has been relegated to the plane of formal legal categories. Salvation began to be understood not as the renewal of the sinful soul, as the acquisition of righteousness, but as the result of man's satisfaction of certain conditions - either good works (Roman Catholics), or faith (Protestants). If a person violates the required conditions, he cannot be saved.

In fact, the doctrine of salvation or the death of man is the result of the moral state of his soul. Paradise is not only a "place", but also a state of a renewed soul. Christ came to earth not in order to resettle us in more favorable conditions, but in order to spiritually revive us, to heal us from sinful corruption, to restore in us the beauty of the image of God, to make us children of God. "Whoever is in Christ is a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17).

And since the moral state of our soul depends on the direction of the will, it is necessary for a person to make an effort to correct his heart (Luke 17:20; Matthew 11:12). That is why the doctrine of salvation cannot be viewed in terms of do-not-do, but must be perceived as a spiritual process accomplished by the grace of Christ with the active participation of the person being saved. For some, this process takes place relatively quickly, as, for example, with the prudent thief who repented on the cross, while for others it is slow and tortuous. In addition, the spiritual requirements for a person, as well as the level of spiritual perfection that he can achieve, are individual, as can be seen from the parables of the seed and the talents (Matthew 13:1-23, Matthew 25:14-30).

To make sure that Scripture is free from any internal contradictions, it is necessary to clarify its terminology, namely, what it means by works and what by faith.