Photo Credit: “[Mother and children reading bible]” by Library of Congress is marked with CC0 1.0.
A review of the scholarly literature reveals that most scholars believe that one’s earthly conduct, that is, one’s deeds while one is here on earth, to some extent play a role in determining whether or not one is saved for all eternity. For instance, in one of the leading scholarly texts on the subject, Four Views on the Role of Works at the Final Judgment, Contributors Robert N. Wilkin, Thomas R. Schreiner, James D. G. Dunn, Michael P. Barber, General Editor Alan P. Stanley, Zondervan 2013, three of the four contributors opined that one’s salvation at the Final Judgment depends to some extent on works. There were subtleties among their views. One contributor noted that works will confirm the believer’s salvation at the Final Judgment by providing evidence of faith. Another argued that works will merit salvation at the Final Judgment because of our union with Christ by grace, while a third was of the view that salvation at the Final Judgment will depend, to some extent, on works, but just how much is impossible to determine. Only one of the contributors, Robert Wilkin, advanced the position that believers’ works play no role at the Final Judgment, but even he argued that Christians will be judged according to their works at a separate Rewards Judgment. All agreed, however, that one cannot be saved by works alone, and that faith is the primary determinant; and yet all agreed that works come into play one way or another.
For my review of Stanley’s book, see this link: https://www.thetwocities.com/biblical-studies/book-review-and-essay-on-the-role-of-works-at-the-final-judgment-edited-by-alan-p-stanley/. For another review of this book, this one published on the Two Cities Blog some years back, see the following link: https://www.thetwocities.com/book-reviews/review-of-the-role-of-works-at-the-final-judgment-edited-by-alan-p-stanley/.
The importance of works to salvation is not isolated to the contributors to Mr. Stanley’s book. A sampling of some of the leading commentaries on 2 Corinthians found only two whose authors seemed to believe that works play no role in one’s eternal salvation. For example, in Harris, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, p.408-409, we read: “Since, the tribunal of Christ [2 Cor. 5:10] is concerned with the assessment of works, not the determination of destiny, it will be apparent that the Pauline concepts of justification on the basis of faith and recompense in accordance with works may be complementary;” while another respected commentator, Furnish, II Corinthians, p. 305, notes: “It is the final judgment of all believers that is in view here [2 Cor. 5:10], not a universal judgment…, and the issue is not salvation or damnation (as in 2:14. Rom. 2:5-11, etc.) but whether, as a Christian, one has been committed to the Lord.” Unless otherwise noted, for complete citations of the works mentioned herein, see the bibliography of my exegetical article on 2 Cor. 5:10 at the following link: : https://www.thetwocities.com/biblical-studies/the-judgment-seat-of-christ-revisited-2-corinthians-5-10-full-exegetical-article/.
The majority opinion, however, seems to fall more in line with Martin, 2 Corinthians, p. 114: “Though the Christian’s future is secure no matter what his state as at the Parousia, Paul writes against false security. (The first readers would be aware of 1 Cor. 9:27, which suggests that the Christian could be ‘rejected’ on the basis of conduct)”; while Guthrie, 2 Corinthians, p. 289, Garland, 2 Corinthians (1999) p. 266-267, and Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians (1997) p. 277, all endorse this view: “The sure prospect of the judgment seat reminds the Corinthians—and all believers—that while they are righteous in Christ by faith alone, the faith that justifies is to be expressed by love and obedience (Gal. 5:6; rom. 1:5), and by pleasing the Lord (v.9). Our confidence that we will be ‘with the Lord’ (v.8) is to be held in tension with the ‘fear of the Lord’ (v.11) from which we serve him. Confidence, while real, does not empty service of sobriety.”
Even more to the point are the commentaries of Thrall, 2 Corinthians 1-7, p, 395: “[O]ne cannot rule out the possibility that Paul envisaged an adverse, punitive recompense for sinful Christians which might conceivably threaten their salvation. Salvation is a matter of grace, not to be secured by good works, but grace may be received in vain;” and Plummer, II Corinthians, p. 158: “Works are needed as well as faith and it is habitual moral action (πράσσειν), rather than mere performance and production ποιεῑν), that has weight.” Finally, in what has come to be regarded as the seminal work on this epistle, in Windisch, Der zweite Korintherbrief, p. 171, the author writes: “über den Vollzug des Gerichts gibt der angehängte Finalsatz drei Bestimmungen; 1) jeder Einzelne wird zur Rechesſchaft gezogen; 2) es gibt zwei Möglichkeiten der Entscheidung: 3) die Entscheidung hängt ab von den Taten des irdischen Lebens,” which roughly translated provides: “Over the carrying out of the judgment seat there are three determinations set out in the final sentence [that is, 2 Cor. 5:10]: 1) each person is judged individually; 2) there are two possible decisions; 3) the decision depends on each believer’s earthly deeds.”
This linking of works with eternal salvation for the believer seems at odds with the current opinion, at least in Evangelical circles, that salvation is by grace alone through faith, which is itself the gift of God. Eph. 2:8-9 (NIV): “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” While I share that view, yet for all the occasions where I have heard it preached both in person and on television that one is saved by faith alone, I have yet to hear the necessary corollary; that is, once people come to faith in Christ, they will be saved no matter how badly they behave from then on out. What then is the reason for this discrepancy? If works play no role in one’s salvation, then immoral, indeed despicable, behavior cannot, by definition, disqualify one from eternal salvation, and yet preachers seem loathe to say so.
To be fair, there are Biblical passages that must be considered here, and we will touch on them below; but for now, I would like to posit a purely psychological and sociological explanation for this reluctance to completely divorce works from salvation. Preachers, scholars, and Christians in general no doubt fear that by proclaiming that works are irrelevant to one’s salvation, they will be giving an implicit license to their listeners and readers, indeed providing them with encouragement, to engage in bad and even immoral conduct of all kinds. If it is true as the Baptists say, once saved, always saved, (Four Views on the Role of Works at the Final Judgment, p. 147), it follows that salvation cannot be forfeited by bad conduct. No doubt then, the well-intentioned fear among preachers and scholars alike is that people upon hearing this will too easily reach the conclusion: Why not engage in unethical and immoral behavior if that is what suits my inclinations and self-interest as I conceive it? In other words, why not have a “good time” in a less than Godly way, or at least indulge my most base passions, while I still can if I will be saved anyway? The possibility of being deprived of “heavenly rewards” (note Wilkin’s view above of a separate heavenly Rewards Judgment), even if there is such a tribunal where eternal distinctions are made among believers (see below for a brief discussion of this topic), does not appear to be regarded by most authorities as a sufficient disincentive for bad behavior.
Now to all this talk about the irrelevance of works to salvation, however, one might reasonably shout to the heavens, Not So Fast, while pointing to passages like these; Col. 1:22-23: “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel; Hebrews 3:14 (NIV): “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first”; 2 Tim. 2:12 (NIV): “if we endure, we will also reign with him”; 1 Cor. 15:2 (NIV): “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain“; and 1 Thess. 3:5 (NIV): “For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and that our labor might have been in vain.” (Emphases Added).
These and similar passages have led some scholars to conclude that salvation once received through faith can be forfeited by immoral conduct, or through a simple lack of perseverance in the faith. For example, Thomas Schreiner writes in Four Views on the Role of Works at the Final Judgment, p. 91:
“Paul clearly argues that good works are necessary for eternal life. Only those who sow to the Spirit will enjoy eternal life, and those who practice evil will not inherit the kingdom. James also teaches that justification is by works. No one will be justified if he or she fails to do good works. Such works are not autonomous but are the result of the new covenant work of the Holy Spirit. Nor are the works perfect. Believers still sin regularly, so that the good works constitute a new direction or a new orientation in their lives. Believers inhabit the already but not yet, and live, as some have said, ‘in an eschatological war zone.’ Hence, the power of the Spirit is evident in their lives, but they still struggle against sin.”
Similarly, the late James Dunn in the same volume stresses the importance of the believer’s perseverance in the faith to his or her ultimate salvation, p. 125-126 and 127:
“A disturbing feature of Paul’s theology of the salvation process is the degree of hesitation and concern he shows that it might not be completed—disturbing at least to anyone brought up theologically within a Calvinist systematic theology, as I was, where the perseverance/preservation of the saints is a fundamental tenet. The disturbing feature is that Paul regarded the possibility of apostasy, of failing to persevere, as a real danger for his converts.”
“In the face of such a catalogue of concern, it is hardly possible to doubt that part of Paul’s pastoral theology was his all-too-real concern that faith could once again be compromised and cease to be simple trust, that commitment could be relaxed and resolve critically weakened. The result would be an estrangement from Christ, a falling away from grace, a reversion to life solely ‘in accordance with the flesh,’ and the loss of the prospect of resurrection life.”
In contrast, other scholars have argued that such passages do not refer to one’s ultimate salvation, but rather to one’s “temporal salvation.” In other words, the concern expressed in these passages is for believers’ fruitful and joyous experience of their union with Christ in this life, a union that may be damaged by the believer’s poor choices, but that such malign behavior does not call into question their eternal salvation through faith alone. For example, Robert Wilkin in that same volume, p. 101-102, and p. 104, responds to Shreiner’s argument in this way:
“Schreiner reads the New Testament somewhat monochromatically. For instance, he usually interprets the words save and salvation as though they routinely refer to eternal salvation from hell. But why think that? The vast majority of biblical references to salvation have nothing to do with hell or regeneration at all, but refer instead to deliverance from enemies (Ps. 18:2–3), trouble (50:15), poverty (12:5), death (Matt. 8:24–25; 14:30; Acts 27:31), persecution (Phil. 1:19, 28), illness (Matt. 9:21), false teachers (1 Tim. 4:16), and many other calamities. Salvation is a fully orbed concept, and it can apply to many different kinds of afflictions. So while it is true that Paul teaches both salvation (justification) by faith apart from works and salvation by faith plus works, it is clearly not true that he is speaking about the same kind of salvation in both instances. Paul’s thought only seems contradictory if we assume that he has only one kind of salvation in mind, namely, salvation from hell. The truth is, hell is not the only calamity we need to be saved from. There are many different kinds of salvation available to the Christian, and while salvation from hell is by faith alone apart from our works, deliverance from temporal troubles often requires repentance and perseverance in good works.”
“Rather than accepting an impossible contradiction, we should embrace the free gift of everlasting life by faith alone apart from works and the related yet distinct promise of eternal (and temporal) recompense for work done. Jesus promised that the one who believes in him ‘shall not come into judgment’ concerning his eternal destiny (John 5:24). It really is that simple.”
How then should we resolve (or can we) these competing views of the durability of salvation through faith alone? Can it be forfeited by subsequent bad behavior, or in the alternative by failing to endure to the end in one’s faith?
Now we come to the linchpin of this discussion. It is a rather simple and direct proposition and goes something like this. Our faith, and indeed our salvation, begins and ends with Christ. This means that once Christ has entered our life through simple faith in him, he will ultimately not let us fall away. This notion of the permanence of one’s salvation through Christ’s perseverance on our behalf is best expressed in Jude 25 (NLT): “Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.” (Emphasis Added.) Other passages expressing this same sentiment include 1 Cor. 1:8-9 (NLT): “He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns”; and 1 Thess. 5:23-24 (NLT): “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.” (Emphases Added.)
While Paul and other New Testament writers may have worried that some of their converts might permanently drift away from the faith (Hebrews 2:1 (NIV): “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away”), ultimately Paul can say with assurance that Christ will not fail those who have trusted in him at any point in their lives, Romans 8:38-39 (NIV): “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, / neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Emphasis Added.)
The permanence of one’s salvation through faith alone, however, should not be taken as a license to behave in contradiction to Christ’s purposes for us, not because we will thereby forfeit our eternal salvation, but because Christ Himself will ensure that His purposes for us in this life are served and fulfilled, despite how hard we might try to take another path. Scripture is clear that whatever it takes, and for however long it takes, perhaps an entire lifetime, Christ will pull us back to him when we go astray. John 10: 28-29, for example provides: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (Emphasis Added.) This Jesus does out of love, for he wants the best for us, not only in the world to come, but in this life as well, and he will not allow our misguided musings or behaviors to get in the way. Thus, we read in 2 Cor. 1:3-4 (NIV): “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God”; and 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV): Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (Emphasis Added.)
The experience of Jonah is instructive. Jonah tried his best to thwart God’s purposes for him, but in the end, it was to no avail. When Jonah finally came to his senses after a series of jarring events, such as being tossed overboard into a raging sea and spending three days in the belly of a huge sea creature, not to mention being vomited up onto shore, God did not scold or lecture him, or admonish him or even criticize him. Instead, God simply repeated the very same, simple instructions that he had originally given Jonah, Jonah 3:1 (NIV): “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” This time Jonah obeyed. The overall message here is clear. Let us focus our lives around Christ and his purposes for us so that we may “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18.
A brief word seems appropriate about Galatians 6:8 (NIV), a passage that often comes up in these debates: “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Schreiner argues (p. 82 and 83) that this passage reinforces the idea that believers who engage in fleshly pursuits may lose their salvation:
“Believers are called upon to walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16), be led by the Spirit (5:18), march in step with the Spirit (5:25), and sow to the Spirit (6:8), and thereby to manifest the fruit of the Spirit (5:22–23). ‘The one who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit’ (6:8). The contrast between ‘corruption’ (pthoran) and ‘eternal life’ (zōēn aiōnion) shows that eschatological salvation is at stake in whether one sows to the flesh or sows to the Spirit. The phrase ‘eternal life’ represents the life of the age to come. It will hardly do to say that eternal life refers to ‘rewards’ here. Such an interpretation betrays special pleading, which does not accord with the way the term is used elsewhere (Rom. 2:7; 5:21; 6:22–23; 1 Tim. 1:16; 6:12; Titus 1:2; 3:7). Sowing to the Spirit and walking in the Spirit are not optional, for the one who fails to do so will experience eschatological judgment and destruction. It is hard to imagine a statement that could be clearer than this: those who sow to the flesh will not experience final salvation. We find a similar statement in Galatians 5:19–21, which features ‘the works of the flesh.’ After listing the works of the flesh, Paul makes a most interesting statement in 5:21. ‘I am telling you in advance, just as I told you before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.’
“Practicing the works of the flesh is not a minor matter, for those who pursue evil will not enter the kingdom.”
Note here that Paul makes a similar statement regarding our physical bodies, 1 Cor. 15:50 (NLT): “What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.” Thus, contrary to Schreiner’s extravagant reading, taken together, these two passages simply remind us that sowing to the flesh is sinful, and that “the wages of sin is death [that is, the ultimate “corruption from the flesh” experienced by both believers and non-believers alike], but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23, NIV (Emphasis Added.)
The analysis outlined above severing eternal salvation from works holds true whether believers are judged before an apocalyptic tribunal, which represents current conventional thinking, or whether believers appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ in this life, which is the far more logically consistent and scripturally sound approach. For a thorough exploration of the issues surrounding the judgment of believers, see the full exegetical article noted above. Articles on this and related topics can also be found by scrolling down under the Biblical Studies link of this blog. Readers should be aware that there are numerous relevant posts, so that they may need to scroll through several screens to see them all.
Finally, I would like to point out an interesting article that also relates to the topic of the role of works in the Christian life, but from a slightly different vantage point. In Blomberg, Craig L., Degrees of Reward in the Kingdom of Heaven?, JETS 35/2 (June 1992) 159-172, the author makes a strong case against a so-called heavenly “Rewards Judgment” [a view advocated by Wilkin above], arguing that (p. 260) “any [such Biblical] formulation that differentiates among believers as regards our eternal rewards” is not only scripturally unsound but, if acted upon consistently, this unfounded doctrine “can have highly damaging consequences for the motivation and psychology of living the Christian life.” The author summarizes his views in this way (p. 172):
“The greatest danger of the doctrine of degrees of reward in heaven is that it has misled many people into thinking that the very nominal professions that they or their friends have at one time made will be sufficient to save them, even if they fail to receive as high a status in heaven as they might have. This is in no way to argue for works-righteousness. It is merely to remind us of the consistent Biblical theme that true, saving faith does over time lead to visible transformations in lifestyle and to growth in holiness (Matt 7:15–27; Gal 5:6, 19–24; Jas 2:14–26; 1 John 3:4–10). Without such evidence that God’s Spirit has truly taken up residence and begun to work within a person, Biblical Christianity is absent. But even with the help of God’s Spirit, no believers ever so approach the standards of God’s holiness that it would make sense to eternally reward them differently from their Christian peers. May all evangelicals recover this precious legacy of the Protestant Reformation and do away with the depressing and damaging notion of eternal degrees of reward in heaven once and for all.”
Dr. Blomberg thus disagrees with the notion advocated in this article of Once Saved, Always Saved, and seems to require for eternal salvation not only “visible transformations in lifestyle and … growth in holiness” (see above), but also perseverance in faith until the end (p. 172): “God assures salvation only to those who presently believe in Jesus as Son of God (1 John 5:13). Claims of commitment, long since abandoned, may not be salvaged by any appeal to a category of ‘carnal Christian,’ though Paul does use that term for those who continue to believe but remain unduly immature in their faith (1 Cor 3:3).” (Emphasis Added.)
Here, I would respectfully suggest that Christ is fully capable of guiding his followers to eternal salvation, and that our well-meaning efforts to establish spiritual and behavioral hurdles that must be overcome in order for believers to be admitted to that blessed state are ultimately misguided and unproductive. Let us trust Christ. He is, and has been, shepherding billions of people into his Kingdom. He knows what he is doing. Let us not put up unhelpful roadblocks in an effort, no matter how well-intentioned. to coax out what we might regard as “acceptable” Christian behavior. Let Christ alone be the judge of what is necessary for eternal salvation as he continues to administer this process of redemption and forgiveness for those who believe, or who have ever believed, in him by means of his close and ongoing interaction, whether we are always conscious of it or not, with each of us in this life.
Summary. Once Saved, Always Saved, and if we stray from Christ’s purposes for us in this life, Christ will rein us back in, perhaps gently, or as in the case of Jonah perhaps not so gently; so let us diligently pursue our relationship with him in this life so that we “will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand, a peace that “will guard [our] hearts and minds as [we] live in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:7 (NIV).
Isaiah 46:4 (NLT): “I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.”
Phil. 2:13 (NIV): “[I]t is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
Leave a Reply