SALVATION BY WORKS, A CRIMINAL DOCTRINE – Charles Spurgeon
SALVATION BY WORKS, A CRIMINAL DOCTRINE
“I do not frustrate the Grace of God: for if righteousness comes by the Law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Galatians 2:21.
I. THE INSINUATION OF SALVATION BY WORKS
The idea of salvation by the merit of our own works is exceedingly insinuating. It matters not how often it is refuted; it asserts itself again and again, and when it gains the least foothold, it soon makes great advances. Hence, Paul, who was determined to show it no quarter, opposed everything which bore its likeness. He was determined not to permit the thin end of the wedge to be introduced into the Church, for well he knew that willing hands would soon be driving it home! Therefore, when Peter sided with the Judaizing party and seemed to favor those who demanded that the Gentiles should be circumcised, our brave Apostle withstood him to his face. He always fought for salvation by Grace through faith and contended strenuously against all thought of righteousness by obedience to the precepts of the ceremonial or the moral Law. No one could be more explicit than he upon the doctrine that we are not justified or saved by works in any degree, but solely by the Grace of God. His trumpet gave forth no uncertain sound, but gave forth the clear note—“By Grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Grace meant Grace with Paul, and he could not endure any tampering with the matter, or any frittering away of its meaning. So fascinating is the doctrine of legal righteousness that the only way to deal with it is Paul’s way—stamp it out! Cry war to the knife against it! Never yield to it! And remember the Apostle’s firmness and how stoutly he held his ground—“To whom,” he says, “we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour.”
II. THE DANGER OF SALVATION BY WORKS
The error of salvation by works is exceedingly plausible. You will constantly hear it stated as a self-evident truth and vindicated on account of its supposed practical usefulness, while the Gospel doctrine of Salvation by Faith is railed at and accused of evil consequences. It is affirmed that if we preach salvation by good works we shall encourage virtue—and so it might seem in theory—but history proves, by many instances, that as a matter of fact where such doctrine has been preached, virtue has become singularly uncommon and that in proportion as the merit of works has been cried up, morality has gone down! On the other hand, where Justification by Faith has been preached, conversions have followed and purity of life has been produced even in the worst of men. Those who lead godly and gracious lives are ready to confess that the cause of their zeal for holiness lies in their faith in Christ Jesus. Where will you meet with a devout and upright man who glories in his own works? Self-righteousness is natural to our fallen humanity and, therefore, it is the essence of all false religions. Be they what they may, they all agree in seeking salvation by our own deeds. He who worships his idols will torture his body, will fast, will perform long pilgrimages and do or endure anything in order to merit salvation! The Roman Catholic Church holds up continually before the eyes of its votaries the prize to be earned by self-denial, by penance, by prayers, by sacraments or by some other performances of man. Go where you may, the natural religion of fallen man is salvation by his own merits. An old Divine has well said every man is born a heretic upon this point and he naturally gravitates towards this heresy in one form or another. Self-salvation, either by his personal worthiness, by his repentance or by his resolves is a hope ingrained in human nature and very hard to remove. This foolishness is bound up in the heart of every child and who shall get it out of him?
III. THE ROOTS OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
This erroneous idea arises partly from ignorance, for men are ignorant of the Law of God and of what holiness really is. If they knew that even an evil thought is a breach of the Law and that the Law, once broken in any point, is altogether violated, they would be at once convinced that there can be no righteousness by the Law to those who have already offended against it. They are also in great ignorance concerning themselves, for those very persons who talk about self-righteousness are, as a rule, openly chargeable with fault. And if not, were they to sit down and really look at their own lives, they would soon perceive, even in their best works, such impurity of motive beforehand, or such pride and self-congratulation afterward, that they would see the gloss taken off from all their performances and they would be utterly ashamed of them! Nor is it only ignorance which leads men to self-righteousness—they are also deceived by pride. Man cannot endure to be saved on the footing of mercy—he hates to plead guilty and throw himself on the favor of the great King—he cannot stand to be treated as a pauper and blessed as a matter of charity! He desires to have a finger in his own salvation and claim at least a little credit for it. Proud man will not have Heaven, itself, upon terms of Grace! As long as he can, he sets up one plea or another and holds to his own righteousness as though it were his life. This self-confidence also arises from wicked unbelief, for through his self-conceit, man will not believe God. Nothing is more plainly revealed in Scripture than this—that by the works of the Law shall no man be justified—yet men, in some shape or other, stick to the hope of legal righteousness! They will have it that they must prepare for Grace, or assist mercy, or in some degree deserve eternal life. They prefer their own flattering prejudices to the declaration of the heart-searching God! The Testimony of the Holy Spirit concerning the deceitfulness of the heart is cast aside and the declaration of God that there is none that does good, no, not one, is altogether denied.
IV. THE EVIL OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
Is not this a great evil? Self-righteousness is also much promoted by the almost universal spirit of trifling which is now abroad. Only while men trifle with themselves can they entertain the idea of personal merit before God. He who comes to serious thought and begins to understand the Character of God, before whom the heavens are not pure and the angels are charged with folly—he, I say, that comes to serious thought and beholds a true vision of God, abhors himself in dust and ashes and is forever silenced as to any thought of self-justification! It is because we do not seriously examine our condition that we think ourselves rich and increased in goods. A man may fancy that he is prospering in business and yet he may be going back in the world. If he does not face his books or take stock, he may be living in a fool’s paradise, spending largely when on the verge of bankruptcy. Many think well of themselves because they never think seriously. They do not look below the surface and, therefore, they are deceived by appearances. The most troublesome business to many men is thought—and the last thing they will do is to weigh their actions, or test their motives, or ponder their ways to see whether things are right with them. Self-righteousness, being supported by ignorance, by pride, by unbelief and by the natural superficiality of the human mind, is strongly entrenched and cannot readily be driven out of men. Self-righteousness is evidently evil, for it makes light of sin! It talks of merit in the case of one who has already transgressed and boasts of excellence in reference to a fallen and depraved creature. It prattles of little faults, small failures and slight omissions and so makes sin to be a venial error which may be readily overlooked. Not so faith in God, for though it recognizes pardon, yet that pardon is seen to come in a way which proves sin to be exceedingly sinful.
V. THE DANGER OF THE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION BY WORKS
On the other hand, the doctrine of salvation by works has not a word of comfort in it for the fallen. It gives to the elder son all that his proud heart can claim, but for the prodigal it has no welcome. The Law has no invitation for the sinner, for it knows nothing of mercy. If salvation is by the works of the Law, what must become of the guilty and the fallen and the abandoned? By what hopes can these be recalled? This unmerciful doctrine bars the door of hope and hands over the lost ones to the executioner in order that the proud Pharisee may air his boastful righteousness and thank God that he is not as other men are! It is the intense selfishness of this doctrine which condemns it as an evil thing. It naturally exalts self. If a man conceives that he will be saved by his own works, he thinks himself something and glories in the dignity of human nature! When he has been attentive to religious exercises, he rubs his hands and feels that he deserves well of his Maker—he goes home to repeat his prayers and before he falls asleep, he wonders how he can have grown to be so good and so much superior to those around him. When he walks abroad, he feels as if he dwelt apart in native excellence, a person much distinguished from “the vulgar herd,” a being whom to know is to admire. All the while, he considers himself to be very humble and is often amazed at his own condescension. What is this but a most hateful spirit? God, who sees the heart, loathes it! He will accept the humble and the contrite, but He puts far from Him those who glory in themselves.
VI. TWO GREAT CRIMES OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
At this time I desire to shoot at the very heart of that soul-destroying doctrine, while I show you, in the first place, that two great crimes are contained in the idea of self-justification. When I have brought forth that indictment, I shall further endeavor to show that these two great crimes are committed by many and then, thirdly, it will be a delight to assert that the true Believer does not fall into these crimes. May God, the Holy Spirit, help us while meditating upon this important theme.
VII. THE CRIME OF FRUSTRATING THE GRACE OF GOD
The first crime is the frustration of the Grace of God. The word here translated “frustrate” means to make void, to reject, to refuse, to regard as needless. Now, he that hopes to be saved by his own righteousness rejects the Grace, or free favor, of God! He regards it as useless and in that sense frustrates it. It is clear, first, that if righteousness comes by the Law, the Grace of God is no longer required. If we can be saved by our own merits, we need justice, but we certainly do not need mercy. If we can keep the Law and claim to be accepted as a matter of debt, it is plain that we need not turn suppliants and crave for mercy. Grace is a superfluity where merit can be proven. A man who can go into court with a clear case and a bold countenance asks not for mercy of the judge, and the offer of it would insult him. “Give me justice,” he says! “Give me my rights,” and he stands up for them as a brave Englishman should do. It is only when a man feels that the law condemns him that he puts in a plea for mercy. Nobody ever dreamed of recommending an innocent man to mercy. I say, then, that the man who believes that by keeping the Law, or by practicing ceremonies, or by undergoing religious performances he can make himself acceptable before God, most decidedly puts the Grace of God on one side as a superfluous thing as far as he is concerned! Is it not clearly so?
VIII. THE CRIME OF MAKING CHRIST’S DEATH INEFFECTIVE
And is not this a crimson crime—this frustration of the Grace of God? Next, he makes the Grace of God to be at least a secondary thing, which is only a lower degree of the same error. Many think that they are to merit as much as they can by their own exertions and then the Grace of God will make up for the rest. The theory is that we are to keep the Law as far as we can and this imperfect obedience is to stand good—as a sort of compromise—say a shilling in the pound, or fifteen shillings in the pound—according as man judges his own excellence. And then, what is required over and above our own hard-earned money, the Grace of God will supply—in short, the plan is every man is his own savior and Jesus Christ and His Grace just make up for our deficiencies.
Whether men see it or not, this mixture of Law and Grace is most dishonoring to the salvation of Jesus Christ. It makes the Savior’s work to be incomplete, though on the Cross He cried, “It is finished.” Yes, it even treats it as being utterly ineffectual since it appears to be of no use at all until man’s works are added to it. According to this notion, we are redeemed as much by our own doing as by the ransom price of Jesus’ blood—man and Christ go shares, both in the work and in the glory! This is an intense form of arrogant treason against the majesty of Divine Mercy! This is a capital crime which will condemn all who continue in it. May God deliver us from thus insulting the Throne of Grace by bringing a purchase price in our own hands as if we could deserve such peerless gifts of love! More than that, he who trusts in himself, his feelings, his works, his prayers, or in anything except the Grace of God, virtually gives up trusting in the Grace of God altogether!
IX. THE DANGER OF A MIXED SALVATION DOCTRINE
There’s another form of this crime, that when men preach up human works, sufferings, feelings, or emotions as the ground of salvation, they deny the sinner confidence in Christ, for as long as a man can maintain any hope in himself, he will never look to the Redeemer. We may preach forever and ever, but as long as there remains latent in any one bosom a hope that he can effectually clear himself from sin and win the favor of God by his own works, that man will never accept the proclamation of free pardon through the blood of Christ! We know that we cannot frustrate the Grace of God—it will have its way and the eternal purpose shall be fulfilled. But as the tendency of all teaching which mixes up works with Grace is to take men away from believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, its tendency is to frustrate the Grace of God and every act is to be judged by its tendency even if the Lord’s Divine power prevents its working out its natural result.
X. THE TRUE BELIEVER’S RESPONSE
The true Believer is also free from the second crime—he does not make Christ to be dead in vain. No, no, no! He trusts in the death of Christ! He puts his sole and entire reliance upon the great Substitute who loved and lived and died for him! He does not dare to associate with the bleeding Sacrifice his poor bleeding heart, or his prayers, or his sanctification, or anything else. “None but Christ, none but Christ,” is his soul’s cry. He detests every proposal to mix anything of ceremony or of legal action with the finished work of Jesus Christ. The longer we live, I trust, dear Brothers and Sisters, the more we see the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ! We are struck with admiration at the wisdom of the way by which the Substitute was introduced—that God might smite sin and yet spare the sinner—we are lost in admiration at the matchless love of God, that He spared not His own Son! We are filled with reverent adoration at the love of Christ, that when He knew the price of pardon was His blood, His pity never withdrew. What is more, we not only joy in Christ, but we feel an increasing oneness with Him. We did not know it at first, but we know it now, that we were crucified with Him, that we were buried with Him, that we rose again with Him! We are not going to have Moses for a ruler, or Aaron for a priest, for Jesus is both King and Priest to us! Christ is in us and we are in Christ and we are complete in Him and nothing can be tolerated as an aid to the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ our Lord! We are one with Him and being one with Him we realize more, every day, that He did NOT die in vain!
XI. THE ASSURANCE OF GRACE AND SALVATION
The death of Christ has bought us real life! His death has already set us free from the bondage of sin and has even now brought us deliverance from the fear of eternal wrath. His death has bought us eternal life, has bought us sonship and all the blessings that go with it which the Fatherhood of God takes care to bestow! The death of Christ has shut the gates of Hell for us and opened the gates of Heaven! The death of Christ has worked mercies for us—not visionary or imaginary but real and true—which this very day we enjoy and so we are in no danger of thinking that Christ died in vain. It is our joy to hold two great principles which I will leave with you, hoping that you will suck marrow and fatness out of them. These are the two principles. The Grace of God cannot be frustrated and Jesus Christ died not in vain. These two principles, I think, lie at the bottom of all sound doctrine. The Grace of God cannot be frustrated! Its eternal purpose will be fulfilled, its Sacrifice and seal shall be effectual—the chosen ones of Grace shall be brought to Glory! There shall be no failures as to God’s plan in any point whatever! At the last, when all shall be summed up, it shall be seen that Grace reigned through righteousness unto eternal life and the top stone shall be brought out with shouts of “Grace, Grace unto it.” And as Grace cannot be frustrated, so Christ did not die in vain! Some seem to think that there were purposes in Christ’s heart which will never be accomplished. We have not so learned Christ. What He died to do shall be done—those He bought, He will have—those He redeemed shall be free. There shall be no failure of reward for Christ’s wondrous work! He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied. On these two principles I throw back my soul to rest. Believing in His Grace that Grace shall never fail me. “My Grace is sufficient for you,” says the Lord and so shall it be. Believing in Jesus Christ, His death must save me. It cannot be, O Calvary, that you should fail! O Gethsemane, that your bloody sweat should be in vain. Through Divine Grace, resting in our Savior’s precious blood, we must be saved! Joy and rejoice with me and go your way to tell it to others! God bless you in so doing, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.