Faith is one of the most important aspects of godly living. Faith is capable of moving mountains (Matt. 17:20). Faith overcomes the world, bringing those who are born of God out of the bondage of sin (1 John 5:4). Faith is able to save the soul from death (Eph. 2:8). Is there anything faith cannot do? Yes. Faith cannot save without works.
In Matthew 17:14-21, the apostles were unsuccessful in casting out a demon. Jesus explained that their weak faith was not enough. Jesus tells them that they could only cast this demon out by prayer and fasting (v. 21). The apostles couldn’t rely on their faith alone. They needed to put in some work. In 1 John 5, verses 1-3 explain that those who are born of God are those who “…love God and keep His commandments.” It is not good enough for us to simply believe God in our minds. True faith requires us to act on it. As James 2:18 says, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
There are many, however, that will say Paul contradicts this in Ephesians 2:4-9. He states in verses 8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” So how could you conclude that faith cannot save without works? If you continue reading, Paul says in verse 10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Paul, speaking to the Ephesian church, described how God, through Christ, took them out of a life of sin while they were yet sinners (v. 4-5). They were not deserving of God’s grace, but He offered it freely. But, they had to accept His offer. Then, faith brought them out of the bondage of sin and cleansed them before God. Paul says they became a new creation.
By faith, we repent of our sins (Acts 3:19), confess our faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9), and enter the waters of baptism to become that new creation (Col. 2:12-13). Paul is telling us that that creation was made for good works. What if it ceased to do the work it was made for? If a clock was made to tell time but its batteries are not replaced or if the owner fails to sync it properly, the clock ceases to be a clock. It is a useless creation. “What does it profit, my brethren if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?…Thus also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (Jas. 2:14, 17).
Faith is powerful. But faith alone is of no use. Faith must have works. We must put that faith to work and truly be new creatures born from the waters of baptism.