ing the kingdom. But Revelation 21:7 – 8 makes the meaning of these verses indisputable: "He who
The Gospel According to the Apostles
Paul was denouncing the notion that the unregenerate can buy merit with God through works. James was condemning the idea that the true believer might fail to produce good works.
The saving faith described by the apostle Paul is a dynamic force that inevitably produces practical righ teous ness. He did not accept dead, lifeless "faith" entirely devoid of good works. After his discourse on justification by faith in Romans 3 – 5, He wrote, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" (Rom. 6:1 – 2).
Paul viewed the believer as dead to sin and alive to God (6:11). He saw it as a contradiction in terms for a Chris tian to yield to sin's control: "Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righ teous ness?" (v. 16). He saw all believers as essentially obedient — not free from sin or sinless, but free from the tyranny of sin and servants of righ teous ness. He wrote, "Though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righ teousness" (vv. 17 – 18).
Paul himself struggled greatly with sin in his life. Romans 7:7 – 25 chronicles his ongoing battle against sin. Yet in the midst of that struggle, he repeatedly affirmed his yearning to obey (vv. 15 – 16, 18, 21 – 22; see also chap. 18, n. 13).
Paul did not see God's grace as a static attribute whereby He passively accepts sinners. Rather, he described it as a dynamic force that transforms thought and behavior: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righ teously and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:11 – 12).
If you think Paul's doctrine of justification by faith makes it possible for people to lay hold of Christ without letting go of sin, consider these passages:
Do you not know that the unrigh teous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor eff eminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor. 6:9 – 11)2
2. I am aware of Zane Hodges' view that to "inherit the kingdom" is somehow diff erent from entering the kingdom. But Revelation 21:7 – 8 makes the meaning of these verses indisputable: "He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fi re and brimstone, which is the second death."
Appendix 1
Th e deeds of the fl esh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal. 5:19 – 21)
Th is you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (Eph. 5:5)
Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I oft en told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction. (Phil. 3:17 – 19)
God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctifi cation. Consequently, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you. (1 Th ess. 4:8)
For Paul, perseverance in the faith is essential evidence that faith is real. If a person ultimately and finally falls away from the faith, it proves that person never really was redeemed to begin with: "He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach — if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister" (Col. 1:22 – 23, emphasis added).
Paul regarded those who fell away — such as Hymenaeus, Alexander, and Philetus — as unbelievers (cf. 1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 2:16 – 19). This did not contradict his teaching on the eternal security of salvation. Those men were never saved to begin with. Their faith was a sham. They were false prophets whose motives from the beginning were suspect (cf. 1 Tim. 6:3 – 5). Although they had once professed to know the truth, they "did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved" (2 Thess. 2:10).
Paul preached the gospel according to Jesus. In fact, his defense of his apostleship was based on the claim that he received his gospel directly from Jesus (Gal. 1:11 – 12). He summarized his entire ministry with these words: "I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance" (Acts 26:19 – 20; cf. 20:20 – 27).
The Gospel According to the Apostles
Jude
Jude likewise warned those who professed to know Christ but failed to live accordingly. Having set out to write his epistle on the subject of salvation, he was constrained instead to warn about the danger of apostasy (Jude 3 – 4). He portrayed apostates as those who claim to live under grace but live in immorality, rejecting Christ's lordship: "Ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" (v. 4). Their end, Jude said, was destruction by eternal fire (v. 7). His point was that all who deny the lordship of Christ are damned.
Peter
Preaching the first sermon of the church age, the apostle Peter concluded, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:36, emphasis added). The Christ Peter preached was not merely a Savior with open arms, but also a Lord who demanded obedience. "He is Lord of all" (Acts 10:36). "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31).
Thus Peter called for repentance before he preached the good news of forgiveness; his invitations to the lost started with repentance (cf. Acts 2:38; 3:19). Yet he saw all of salvation — including repentance — as a work of God, not an effort of man (Acts 11:17 – 18). The new birth as he described it was a work of God (1 Peter 1:3), who sovereignly elects sinners to salvation (1 Peter 1:1 – 2; 2 Peter 1:10). Here is how Peter described God's saving work: "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3, emphasis added). Yet he taught that the proof of faith's reality is the virtue it produces in the life of the believer (vv. 5 – 9). He wrote, "Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you" (vv. 10 – 11).
The standard of righ teous ness Peter held up was the same he heard from Jesus: "Like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy' " (1 Peter 1:14 – 15; cf. Matt. 5:48).
Appendix 1
James
We have seen already that James denounced faith without works as dead and useless (James 2:17, 20). His entire epistle consists of tests of true faith, all of which are the practical fruits of righ teous ness in the believer's life: perseverance in trials (1:1 – 12), obedience to the Word (vv. 13 – 25), pure and undefiled religion (vv. 26 – 27), impartiality (2:1 – 13), righ teous works (vv. 14 – 26), control of the tongue (3:1 – 12), true wisdom (vv. 13 – 18), hatred of pride and worldliness (4:1 – 6), humility and submission to God (vv. 7 – 17), and right behavior in the body of believers (5:1 – 20).
One of the most comprehensive invitations to salvation in all the Epistles comes in James 4:7 – 10. While James directs most of his epistle to genuine believers, it is also evident that he is concerned about those who are not genuine. He wants no one to be deceived regarding true salvation, so he calls for a real, living, saving faith that is distinct from the dead faith of chapter 2. He states his objective in 5:20. It is to see "the sinner converted from the error of his way and his soul saved from death."
The invitation in 4:7 – 10 is directed at those who are not saved — guilty, wicked hearers of the Word who are not doers (cf. 1:21 – 22); who are still captive to dead faith (cf. 2:14 – 20); who are bitter, selfish, arrogant liars whose "wisdom is not what comes from above but is earthy, natural, demonic" (3:15); who are loving the world and thus are the enemies of God (4:4); whose inner spirit is still dominated by lusts (cf. 4:5); and who are proud and self-sufficient (cf. 4:6). They are in desperate need of God's grace. But since God only "gives grace to the humble" (v. 6), James calls these "sinners" (a term used in Scripture only of the unregenerate) to turn from their pride and humble themselves. Ten imperatives delineate the commands in James's call to sinners: submit yourself to God (salvation); resist the devil (transferring allegiance); draw near to God (intimacy of relationship); cleanse your hands (repentance); purify your hearts (confession); be miserable, mourn, weep, and let your laughter and joy be turned to gloom (sorrow). The final imperative summarizes the mentality of those who are converted: "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord." All this is a work of God, who gives His more abundant grace (4:6).
John
The apostle John also wrote an entire epistle about the marks of a true believer (cf. 1 John 5:13).3 His counsel to those struggling with assurance was not that they should pin their hopes on a past incident or a moment of faith. He gave instead a doctrinal test and a moral test, and reiterated them throughout his first epistle. The moral test requires obedience: "If we say that we have