Grace vs. Works

Some time ago, we received a statement by a Mormon splinter group which typified the way most latter-day saints view evangelical Christianity. This paper gave a detailed explanation with scriptures in support of the LDS view that it is not possible to be saved by grace through faith alone, but rather that we must "work out our salvation" by our own efforts through good deeds and obedience to God. The paper was probably very convincing to those who do not understand the marvelous grace and forgiveness of God. What follows is a letter I wrote in response. I believe that it gives a clear and representative explanation of how evangelical Christians understand Biblical grace.

Dear friends:

...First of all, like most Mormons you have made a giant leap in your assumptions regarding evangelical Christians. You assume that we teach that good works are not important, or that somehow it is not necessary for us to do good works. This assumption is flatly incorrect. We teach no such thing. As Paul said,

Rom 3:8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

In effect, you are "slanderously reporting" that we say, "Let us do evil that good may come." Your assumption is not the truth. We do not nullify God's commandments by any means. As Paul also said,

Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

You made the statement "Are you among the many so-called Christian churches which seldom quote the MASTER and choose rather to put their hope in a phrase or two they can twist of the follower?" This appears to be a confession that you do not accept all scripture as the word of God, but are willing to throw out the part you have difficulty with. Implicit in your statement is the belief that some scripture conflicts with other scripture. And implicit in that assumption is the idea that some scripture must be discarded. You imply that Paul's many grace passages are to be subjugated behind Jesus' law passages (as if Jesus did not emphasize grace and Paul did not emphasize law--which is not true). But all scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16). None of it is to be ignored.

It is obvious that this is your thinking, because you imagine that evangelical Christians discard the verses that speak of obedience to God's commandments. We do not. The law of God stands as God's standard of perfection. We do not make the law void. As you quoted Jesus,

Mat 5:17-18 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

We believe this. We accept it as truth. And as far as it goes I think we are in agreement on this point. The fact is, we agree with the truthfulness of all the Bible scriptures you quoted (although I notice that you have left out a portion of the passage in a number of instances).

Allow me to reinforce a few of your points, rather than disagree:

Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

In a technical sense, the Pharisees were the most righteous of all the Jews. They lived the letter of the law and then some. Then Jesus went on to discuss sins of the heart such as lust and anger which He said God sees as adultery and murder. This is a very high standard indeed. In verse 48 Jesus went on to say "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." James wrote (James 2:10) "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." Presumably, in LDS theology the "kingdom of heaven" refers to the celestial kingdom. So this all makes sense since no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of Heavenly Father.

Other verses you quoted add emphasis to this point. God is holy, and He demands perfection. He does not grade on a curve, accepting the top 10 or 20 percentile, but requires that we be completely clean and perfect in His sight. "Be holy for I am holy!"

Now let me ask you a question. Have you done all this? Are you obedient to all God's commandments? Perhaps you have attempted to repent. The LDS definition of repentance requires that you stop all sin, for if you continue to sin, you have not truly repented. So have you stopped sinning--including sins of the heart, sins of the mouth, sins of omission? Are you perfect? Don't tell me you are trying. Jesus did not say to become perfect some time in the future; He said "be" perfect. That means now. Spencer W. Kimball, in the Miracle of Forgiveness, p.164 said "Trying is not sufficient. Nor is repentance complete when one merely tries to abandon sin." He also said "The forsaking of sin must be a permanent one. True repentance does not permit making the same mistake again." My friend, your religion is a failure, because neither you nor anyone else holding to your religion has succeeded in perfecting themselves as Christ requires. Following Christ indeed. You preach a nice goal, but because you do not preach all the scripture, you preach utter hopelessness. Your religion is powerless to save you. By your own beliefs you are condemned to be removed from the presence of Heavenly Father for all eternity. I don't have to argue scriptural interpretation with you, because even if I agree totally with you I see that you have nothing. No hope. No righteousness.

Take another look at the story of the rich young ruler:

Mat 19:16-26 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

First of all, what was the question asked of Jesus? "What good thing shall I do?" Jesus saw into this young man's heart and immediately saw that he thought he was pretty deserving of eternal life. He wanted to know what actions he could take to save himself, assuming that Jesus would acknowledge his righteousness. Of course Jesus knew that the young man did not know that He was the Son of God, so He made an immediate point: "There is none good but one, that is, God." My friend, that includes you. You are not good. Not by Christ's definition of righteousness. His standard is perfection.

So Jesus went on to teach the young man about his unrighteousness using the law. First He listed a number of commandments related to the second great commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. The young man claimed that he kept these. Mormons emphasize these commandments too. Many of them are not that difficult, relatively speaking. The young ruler boasted how well he was doing on these things. But then Jesus shook him to the core. He brought up the first and greatest commandment: to love God first and foremost above all else. The rich young ruler did not love God as much as he loved his possessions. Jesus found him out. The young man was not perfect after all.

As his disciples observed all this they were amazed with the impossibility of gaining eternal life by the means the rich young ruler had assumed: "What good thing must I do?" Surely being perfect is impossible! But Jesus gave hope: "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." WITH GOD.

Your gospel is incomplete. You do a good job explaining how to gain eternal life by doing good things through our efforts. These things are true. If we could do them, we would obtain eternal life by them. But with men it is impossible! The part you ignore is the good news: With God all things are possible.

You quoted Matthew 7:21, but you failed to include verse 22:

Mat 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Jesus says that not every one who says "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom. Some will, but not everyone. In verse 22 He clearly describes the ones saying "Lord, Lord" who will not enter the kingdom: They are the ones who also say, "Have we not prophesied in thy name? [Mormons?] and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" The ones who will not enter the kingdom are those who think they should gain entrance due to their own "wonderful works!" Such people could not possibly know the Lord, otherwise they would know how impossible it is for men to be worthy of Him by their own efforts. But with God, He has provided another way to make it possible to be worthy.

He said those who say "Lord, Lord" in accordance with "the will of my Father which is in heaven" are those who will enter the kingdom. What is His will?

John 6:28-29 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Notice that this is the Master speaking, not the disciple. Thus, the passage in Romans 10 is in perfect agreement with Matthew 7:21:

Rom 10:8-13 The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

This is not talking about general salvation (immortality) according to LDS theology, because the salvation in this passage is only for those who believe, and your "immortality" is said to be for everyone regardless of belief. It is eternal life, or exaltation. "But," you ask, "what happened to God's requirement for being perfect that you say you agree with." Good question. Here is the answer. The Lord knew that "with man it is impossible" so He provided another way to be declared worthy and legally perfect before God's law: a way to forgive (pardon) sinners of every sinful deed and thought without tainting His own righteous justice in the process.

Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

I am legally perfect--totally clean--because I am sanctified (set apart) by my faith. By one offering upon the cross... Not by many experiences with eternal progression... By one offering He has perfected me. I did not perfect myself. He perfected me. With God it became possible. He paid a debt He did not owe because I had a debt I could not pay. He perfected--past tense--already done. He perfected me forever! Not just cleansing me of past sins, but of future sins. I am legally perfect in His sight for eternity. And in verse 17: "their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."

Paul explained even more clearly in Romans how important it is to be counted as legally righteous in God's sight.

Rom 4:3-5 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

This is not a contradiction of the words of Jesus, but a perfect agreement. Our faith can be accounted to us as righteousness. Jehovah declared that Abraham was righteous because of his faith in Genesis 15. James chapter 2 points out that God's acknowledgment of that faith was "fulfilled" in Genesis 22 when he acted upon the faith that had already saved him, raising the knife over Isaac. But Abraham was not a perfect person in the way he lived. Perfect righteousness as to the law of God is required, nay demanded, by the Lord. Every statement to this effect that you have quoted is absolutely true. But the key question is how can that ever be possible? Answer: By trusting the promise of God and having our faith counted in our record book as perfection.

You said, "Clearly Christ's interpretation of the word 'believe' is to do the work!!!" This is an overstatement, though I understand what you are getting at. Believing will result in action; it is not itself the action. The verse above plainly says: "to him that worketh not... his faith is counted for righteousness." This is not to say that Paul does not want us to do good works. Obviously he does. But those good works are not the thing that saves us. They may indeed be an evidence of faith, but not necessarily. Yes indeed, faith without works is dead. But it is equally true that works without faith is just as dead. The Pharisees had plenty of works that did not spring from faith. They did them no good. Paul said "for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." (Rom 14:23)

The words of the Master:

John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

Do you believe this promise? Do you believe Christ's promise to you? Do you know that you already have eternal life in the celestial kingdom with Heavenly Father? (The footnote in the LDS Bible declares "everlasting life" in this verse to be exaltation.) Do you believe the words of Jesus here? Are you completely confident that you are forgiven, cleansed, pardoned, and legally perfect before God, and thus fully worthy of celestial glory? Or not? If you do not know you are now forgiven, then you do not believe. You do not have faith in Him. Oh, you may believe He exists, but even the demons believe and tremble. If you do not believe His promise as Abraham did, then all the works in the world will not save you. They are dead.

God wants us to have an assurance based upon our trust in His promise.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life...

So if you do not know that you have eternal life, then you are not trusting His promise. Surely one of the works of faith is that you will at least demonstrate confidence in His promise.

Now, what about works? Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15) What is the first and greatest commandment?

Matthew 22:36-40 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

All the law hangs upon these two commandments. I think it is fair to say that even the second commandment hangs upon the first. It was this first and greatest commandment that the rich young ruler did not obey. I want to explain something to you about how to keep this commandment by using a story that Jesus told. Remember what you said: "Are you among the many so-called Christian churches which seldom quote the MASTER and choose rather to put their hope in a phrase or two they can twist of the follower?" Listen to the Master:

Luke 7:36-50 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. 37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. 40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. 44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Who is it who loves God the most? The one who is forgiven the most. I have been forgiven of all my sin. Past, present and future. I am clean. I have been pardoned. I know this on the authority of scriptures already quoted, and my belief in His promise. Do you have any idea what effect this forgiveness has had upon me? That unconditional love has transformed my life. It has not necessarily eliminated all my human weaknesses, but it has changed my heart. My motives are changed. I love God above all else. Not because I'm good, but because He is. He has forgiven me. And when I do anything that is a good work, I now do it out of thanksgiving for what He has already done for me, not out of a selfish motive to earn God's approval or His forgiveness. It is mine already. I do now keep the spirit of the whole of God's law, despite my failures in the letter: I love Him. And a total love can only come out of a total pardon. Thus saith the Lord in the passage above. Notice what Jesus said to the woman. "Thy faith hath saved thee"--past tense. Her salvation and reconciliation with God is already accomplished even before she has had a chance to go forth and live her life of good works.

Colossians 2:13-14 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

The handwriting against me has been blotted out, and nailed to His cross. I am a new creature because I am completely reconciled to God because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. So now I have been liberated to truly do good works that spring from my faith and love for Him, not out of some fear that maybe I'm not really forgiven. That is the good fruit that can only come from a good tree.

No, God's law stands as the measure of His righteousness. It has never been abolished. But the legal penalty demanded by my sin has been paid. There is no more debt, when a debt has been forgiven. When Jesus died on the cross, he cried out a Greek word Tetelestai which has been translated "It is finished." It is an accounting term which was used in the business world of that day which literally means, "debt paid in full." That is precisely what Jesus did. Now I am free to keep God's greatest commandment to the fullest.

You can also have the assurance of complete forgiveness now. God does not want you to be uncertain of your home with Him. The gift is free, if you will receive it. Free, but not cheap. It cost the Most High God the lifeblood of His only begotten Son. There could be no higher price. But it bought God the right to offer you legal righteousness as a free gift. But as with any gift, it is not forced upon you. It is offered in love.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Only to those who believe in His name. I know it seems too easy. But trusting is not easy. Our prideful hearts keep us from admitting that we need Him, and that we can do nothing to save ourselves. You are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean trying to swim to save yourself. You can be the greatest swimmer in the world, but you will never make it. You must confess that with man it is impossible, but with God it is possible. Reach out and accept that life-ring that He has placed in front of you. You will never be the same.

Faith is a decision to trust. It is not a feeling. It is the same way that love is received in any relationship. Decide to trust. Then tell God that you need Him and accept the gift of forgiveness that was purchased upon the cross of Christ. It's a prayer that is that simple, but it is more than mere words. It is a true decision. Forget church. Forget religion. It is a person, not a church, that you must believe. Open up, and accept that love. That is my prayer for you.

In Christ's infinite love,

Mark D. Champneys, Ex-Mormon