Faith and Works (Gal 3:8-12; John 8:35-39)

Justified by Faith. It’s a statement that so many of us have heard and argued about ad nauseum. Are we justified by faith alone, by works alone, by works through faith; how exactly do we do this and moreso, what does the answer look like in our personal and spiritual lives? From today’s reading, we ascertain an interesting perspective, beginning with St Paul’s letter to the Galatians. We actually need to begin with his previous statement in vs 6, though. “(6)Just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. (7)Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. (8)And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying ‘In you, all nations shall be blessed.’ (9) So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” This passage alone offers a lot of insight into the doctrine set forth concerning our calling. Many overlook the importane of the Old Testament in modern Christianity, claiming that Jesus erased the law with His coming, but that’s not what the Scripture tells us here. The “sons of Abraham” here are true Christians. The Jews saw Abraham as their father, but here, St Paul shows that Abraham’s righteousness here does not in fact come from keeping the law, but rather from his belief in God. “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” It was through his faith that he attained to that level of righteousness. However, that’s not to say that the law is in no way relevant at this point. In John 8:37-39, Jesus stands before the Jews, who are condemning Him, and states, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill me, because My word has no place in you…” to which they responded, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus’ reply is vital here, He states, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But you seek to kill Me now, because I have told you the truth.”He calls them out stating that by their actions, they can not be the sons of Abraham, because they weren’t following what Abraham had put out for them to do. In Luke, we see Jesus again teaching “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in in what is least is unjust also in much.” What we see between these two passages is that Abraham, who believed in the law, was not made rightful by the law, but by his faith, by his belief. And yet, those who proclaimed themselves to be the sons of Abraham were proven wrong by the fact of their actions not aligning with the teachings of Abraham. So, that begs the question, if Abraham believed the law and yet was found righteous because of his faith and not his adherence to the law, does that mean that the law doesn’t matter? It would seem that this would lend to faith being the only trait of salvation. And yet, the way that they could tell that the Jews were not “sons of Abraham” because of their actions. In his letter, St Paul quotes, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” He goes on to state that “no one is justified by the law in the sight of God for the ‘just shall live by faith.’ Yet the law is not of faith, but ‘THE MAN WHO DOES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.'” It’s important here to note, St Paul, who is writing to the Galatians, is writing to those who had embraced the true faith and then slowly slid back into the laws of Judaism. While the works of the law are good, simply keeping the law alone will not make someone righteous. Even on the Jews on premise, no one has ever kept all of the laws, thus their entire theology would implode on itself. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law…that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Eph 3:13-14). So, between the two, we seem to have a contradiction. In John, we see that the Jews were being judged based on their actions, that they were not consistent with what Abraham had taught, and even moreso, we are told that Abraham himself was made righteous by his belief. And yet, Jesus was able to tell that they were not of the same belief through their actions. St Paul, writing to the Gentiles who were slipping into the Jews belief in the law completely puts asunder the idea of following and maintaining the law, stating that no one is made righteous through the works of the law itself. The Judaizers, further, believed that they were progressing towards perfection through attempted obedience to the law, and yet Paul is arguing that it is only through the promise of the Spirit through faith that this can be attained. So, how can we apply this, in our terms? Obedience to the law will not make us righteous, salvation comes through faith in Christ, and the way to tell if someone truly has faith is through similarity of the works of the law with faith. Ultimately, it comes down to this question, what is faith? If faith is just saying “I believe,” then it evokes no change, no actions to partake of. To believe is a necessity, but to truly believe will evoke change. To have faith is to fully trust, and to fully trust is to believe when you are told something. See, in our generation, we tend to break things down into simplicity. We want everything to be black or white, good or bad. But that’s not the way faith works. Nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that you will have a great life here, that you will prosper, that you’ll be popular. Actually, it states the exact opposite. It states that if you have true faith, you will be hated. Matthew 10:22-23 warns us that “you will be hated for my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another.” This is not something that woud be relevant if it meant simply stating “I believe,” unless it evoked change in your lifestyle. Then would you be hated because you wouldn’t be like everyone else. When the apostles were sent out on the great commission, they weren’t told to “go out and get a bunch of people to say they believe,” they were told to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Disciple is literally translated as “one who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another, an active adherent.” To truly have faith in Jesus is to become a disciple of Jesus, per the great commission. It is to become, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, an active adherent to His teachings. Having faith is to allow the Holy Spirit to enter you and make those changes which Jesus has required of His disciples. To embrace the teachings of the Father, which will evoke change in the actions that you assume to undertake. Remembering that the Jews stated that they believed, that they were the “sons of Abraham,” but by their actions Jesus could tell that they were sons of the adversary instead. Seeking the death of the Son, in spite of His fulfilling of all of the prophecies laid out in the Torah, they said that they believed, but their actions told another story. Is it through faith or through works? Yes. It is through faith that we are able to acquire the intercessions and prayers of all the saints. It is through faith that we are able to attain the Holy Spirit. It is through faith that we are able to attain those things necessary to allow us to obey the works, the actions, necessary for us to attain to theosis. To feed the hungry, to give to the poor, to love one another, to put God first in our lives. To help one another. It is these and many other actions which don’t come naturally to a fallen people which are indicitive of the presence of the Holy Spirit. It isn’t just works, or adherence to a written law, which anyone could attempt to do on their own; neither though is it simply believing that God exists. It is the combination of doing good works as an “active adherent” to the teachings of our Lord. It is becoming a true disciple, which requires faith, especially in tough times, to cling to those teachings. It is to truly “repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). And to repent means to begin again, to put aside all those things which go against the teachings of the Father. Not just to say “oops, I’m sorry,” but to truly change. To truly abide by the lessons given us in the Gospel, and put those teachings to action in our lives. It is to do works, through Faith and the teachings of the Father, as well as the holy fathers of the Church. To make changes in your life, to take on certain works, in absentia of faith, will not lead us into salvation. We’re not meant to be slaves. To simply say you believe, or even deep down to actually believe, in absentia of the works and changes spoken of in the Scripture, also will not lead us to salvation. It is the combination of the two, it is becoming a disciple, an active adherent, to His teachings. It is works through faith, it is faith that leads to works, it is an active faith that leads us to truly repent, to change, and live the life that He has set out for us. In much the way as the Jews claimed to believe, but through their works, it was obvious that they didn’t, so also is the inverse true. If you’re just checking boxes on a checklist with no faith, then also will you not find what you’re looking for. Faith and discipleship must evoke works, but the two must be intertwined. Neither alone is enough.