<> Ask the Pastor Pastor Walter Snyder Comedian Flip Wilson told a story years ago. It's still appropriate today. The preacher was trying to get his people to be more enthusiastic about their church, so he said in his sermon, "If this church is going to get anywhere, it has to learn to crawl." And the people said, "Let it crawl, Rev. Let it crawl!" Then he said, "And after it learns to crawl, it has to learn to walk." And the people said, "Let it walk, Rev. Let it walk!" Then he got excited and said, "After this church learns to walk, it has to learn to run! And if this church is going to run, it's going to take MONEY!" And the people said, "Let it crawl, Rev. Let it crawl!" No wonder pastors still need to preach about stewardship. Q: There is a lot of debate about faith vs. works, and which one we are saved by. James 2:20 states, "But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" In Matthew 7:21 Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Yet in John 3:16, He says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-10, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." What do you think Jesus says about this issue? A: You've pretty much summed up what Jesus said. Sometimes he speaks the Law to those who are secure in their own righteousness. When someone asks how he might "earn" salvation, Jesus gives a tremendously difficult task, such as "Sell all you have, give it to the poor, then follow me." For those who are troubled by their own unworth and knowledge of their sins, he speaks as he did to Nicodemus in John 3. Not only does he speak of how we are saved (God's love in Christ), Jesus also tells of the rebirth that comes through baptism and the Holy Spirit. This is the way to heaven. This is the Gospel. The Father's will is shown in John 6:28-29: "They said to him, 'What must we do, to be doing the works of God?' Jesus answered them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.'" We can't buy or obey our way to heaven. As you quoted from Eph. 2, salvation "is the gift of God." We appropriate this salvation by God- created faith. Martin Luther spoke of this in his explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed, which speaks of the Holy Spirit: "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith...." Thus, the "work" of belief in John 6 is seen in the light of the Scriptures to be not our work, but God's work in us. The person who thinks that he can save himself is mistaken. He calls God a liar, for God's Word says, "There is no one righteous; no, not one." He says that Jesus' work of redemption was useless, since Jesus came to suffer and die for sinners, claiming that his own "good" works atone for his own sin. One of our Lutheran writings, The Augsburg Confession, says in Article IV: "[Our theologians] teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Rom. 3 and 4." Still, there is a time for good works. That time is the Christian's entire life on earth. After Paul speaks of our salvation being freely given us by God, he tells us in Ephesians 2:10 what we do now that we are saved: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Works flow freely from the new relationship we have with God in Christ Jesus. They do not save us; they bear witness to our being saved. They show that our faith is alive. Until next week, when, Lord willing, we enjoy more of your questions, remember to "Ask the Pastor" at P.O. Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; E-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or catch me around town. Pastor Snyder serves St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches, Jasper and Woodville, Texas and is the coauthor of "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1997 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.