Important Clarification:
The orthodox Protestant stand on the doctrine of salvation is and has always been unrelentingly clear — Salvation is by faith alone (see Eph 2:8 for biblical evidence). Protestants DO NOT preach that salvation is by a combination of faith and good works.

Main Text:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph 2:8)

Reference Text:
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:14-25)

Review Text (from last week’s message):
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Cor 3:18).

Pertinent Questions:

1. How should we understand Ephesians 2:8?

Salvation is received, through faith, as a free gift from God. No one can earn salvation though good deeds or good works.

2. What is a common charge against the Christian doctrine of justification by faith alone?

The charge is this: It is unfair and unjust that Christians (those who profess faith in Jesus Christ) are saved even though they persist in lowly character, engage in evil deeds and at the core of their being, are loveless and selfish. Why should such unrighteous people be saved just by professing believe in Christ Jesus?

3. Is this charge valid?

No. The charge itself is doctrinally flawed. True Christian cannot stay persistently untransformed. 2 Cor 3:18 tells us that a true Christian will be progressively transformed to Christ-likeness through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that indwells a true believer will see to it that we will gradually conform to the image of Christ. Those who show no evidence of transformation (no good fruits) must be understood that they are not truly Christians. These false Christians are the ones spoken of in Matt 7:13-23. Their destiny would be eternal damnation.

4. How should James 2:24 be understood? Doesn’t it conflict with what Paul said in Eph 2:8?

What apostle James was saying it that a person is justified by what he does and not by dead faith alone. Faith that does not result in good deeds is by no means true faith. So no, it does not contradict with Eph 2:8. In fact, James was affirming what Paul says since James was actually saying something like, “For it is by grace that we have been saved, through true faith, not by phony faith!”

5. So what is the conclusion?

The conclusion is very clear. The bible DOES NOT teach us that man can earn eternal life on the basis of works. What the bible does teach us is that God will take the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) and the good deeds by which the light of our faith shines (Matt 5:16), and he will accept them as corroborating evidence of the genuineness of our faith. Good fruit and good deeds do not earn us salvation; they are in fact the result of our salvation, not the cause of it.