14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
When works, which means doing good, are mentioned in some Christian circles, eye-brows are raised and the subject carries with it a stigma and a large amount of prejudice. Grace is the redeeming battle cry of many and they simply refuse to consider salvation outside that context. It is believed that works, when factored into redemption somehow diminish what the Savior did for us. That somehow, if a person believes that good works may be important, they are less Christian or their faith less anchored in the Lord. Many even take talk such as this personally feeling that to speak of these things is blasphemous. That grace and grace alone is all there is.
There are indeed scriptures which could lead one to believe that works were entirely irrelevant to salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:20-24, 28). But honestly, what does your gut tell you? Do you really believe that a person can profess the Lord with his mouth alone and that this is sufficient to secure his salvation? How can that possibly be when the Lord himself constantly pleaded with us to keep His commandments and to follow His example which was rich with good works. And what of the scripture above from James? Surely there is a way to make these two philosophies harmonize. The Bible simply can't be that far out of tune.
James seems to indicate that faith in the Lord is inextricably linked to works. The language he uses is graphic and suggests that our faith is ineffectual and perhaps even extinguished unless fortified by good works. So if it is our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which is our salvation, then how can works be denied...how can too much be said of works? Our faith should be a living testament of the Lord. Our faith should be used to bless the lives of others in a ways which point back to Christ and His good works. Not only our mouths should testify of the Lord, but our very lives should do so as well. Isn't this what the Lord was inviting His disciples to do when he taught them in the Sermon on the Mount that they should let their light shine before men that all men might see their good works and glorify God (Matthew 5:14-16)?
And what of the parable of the good Samaritan? The Lord gave that parable when a man asked Him who his neighbor was after the Lord had instructed him to love God with all his heart and to love his neighbor as himself. When He finished the parable, He posed the question back again to the man who had originally questioned Him and asked in Luke 10:36-37:
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Please note that Jesus instructs the man to Go, and do thou likewise. The full parable of the good Samaritan can be found here Luke 10:25-37.
So what then of grace? Does the talk of good works really detract from the gift of grace freely given and purchased with the precious blood of the Lord? The answer to this question is a resounding no! Of course not. Without the Lord, none of this matters. Grace is the key to our salvation and none of us will be saved without it. Our works are pitiful next to the Lord's mighty works of grace and salvation and don't pay even the smallest portion of the debt incurred by our sins. They pay for none of our sins. It took the Lord and His sacrifice to achieve that Godly work. Our works are insignificant next to God and none of us will ever be saved without the mighty power of God's saving grace.
But works are still important. They minister to God's children here in the earth and the Lord Himself has said that inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25:31-46). How can we ignore that? Our humble acts of faith and charity bless not only those around us, but are looked upon, by the Lord, as acts of kindness to Him. It seems to me that the Lord looks upon our acts in a very personal way. The Lord has done so much for me...for all of us, shouldn't we be anxiously trying to find ways to show the Lord our gratitude and love for Him. Works of kindness allow us that opportunity.
And our works, though they be small in comparison to God's might and power are enlarged and magnified by Him. The Lord notices our meager attempts to follow Him and blesses those efforts, and through our small efforts, many can be relieved of their burdens because God's power is manifest through those humble acts of kindness. The Lord has said that where two or three are gathered in His name, that there He would be in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20, Doctrine and Covenants 6:32).
The power to do good is within each of us (Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-28). We can use our power of choice to choose to do good. Our power to choose is of central importance to the atonement because it is only through the atonement that we can choose at all. Without that selfless and charitable act which purchased our right to choose, our choices would inevitably have lead to our downfall and destruction. But, because of the atonement, we can choose to do right and be redeemed despite the fact that our attempts are imperfect, flawed, and marred with sin and error. That is the grace that God offers us, His children through His son Jesus Christ.
Our righteous choices leave their mark on our souls and on our lives. When we choose to obey God, our life is colored by God's spirit and enlightened by His knowledge and filled with the joy His spirit and that knowledge bring. When we choose to obey God's commandments we are made free through the atonement from the bondage of sin and the guilt and despair sin brings. Peace enters into our hearts and minds which passeth all understanding (Philippians 4:7). Following God fills us with hope and courage as we come to feel, and know that He stands by us and with us as we make our way through this life. In short, our lives are transformed and become living testaments of God and our faith in Him springs to life as our small works are magnified by His mighty power.
Our works do not diminish God or His role in our salvation through His abundant grace, but testify of Him and help to bring others to a knowledge of that amazing, incredible gift of grace He has given all who will accept Him their Savior through not only word, but also through their actions.
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