This question has divided Christians for centuries. Some have placed more importance on saving one’s soul over doing good works. But being saved and following the example of Jesus are two sides of the same coin. You cannot separate one from the other.
Martin Luther didn’t want the Letter of James in his New Testament because there is a great emphasis on works. Luther believed strongly that salvation was achieved only by faith alone. He found that in Paul’s Letter to the Romans.
Many theologians over time have generally agreed with James that “faith without works is dead.” So it is not a question of which is more important. It is rather an inseparable bond of the two. You can’t flip the coin and say, “Salvation, I win. Works, you lose.”
Matthew 25 has the marching orders for the followers of Jesus. We are told in very clear terms that when we help “the least of these” it is as though we are helping Jesus himself. He takes on to his very person the sick, the hungry, the homeless, the naked, all those who were marginalized in his day.
Those same people—all children of God—are marginalized today. Those same people are still the favorite of Jesus and the faithful followers of Jesus must respond as Jesus would want us to.
When one has chosen to follow Jesus and the example he left us, one cannot help but be motivated to build up God’s kingdom here on earth. One cannot help but follow the words of Jesus to feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked and visit the sick, not because it’s the way to salvation but because it’s what Jesus called his disciples to do.
Jesus spent more time including people at the table than he did teaching about what was the right thing to believe in order to be “saved.”
Please e-mail On Faith if you'd like to receive an email notification when On Faith sends out a new question.
Email Me | Del.icio.us | Digg | Facebook
