Works of the Law verses Works of Faith

     There has been confusion about the idea of works and faith for well over 1900 years  because in some places in St. Paul's writings it seems that he was saying that one only need have faith alone, but St. James comes in and says faith without works is dead. It turns out Paul wasn't talking about the works of faith we find as taught by our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul was talking about the rituals of the Old Testament such as circumcision, sabbath keeping, ritual washing, avoiding what's ritually unclean, etc... doing these things were proper to do, before the New Testament, and part of the full body of those works required by God, but these things were really outward expressions, shadows of the true essences of the Law. The true essence of the Law is to love God, by loving those made in his image, including oneself. The commandments in the Sermon on the mount, all have to do with unselfish Love for one's neighbor, there is little mention of outward rituals there. Every commandment is a work that actually requires faith to do, i.e. Works Of Faith, and is an expression of love toward another. Not that the works of the O.T. weren't works of faith, if the person's heart was in the right place. For example, who would believe they needed to be circumcised to please God and do it without some measure of faith? But the Jews put too much emphases on these outward expressions of faith, works that would tend to give a public display of their piety, rather than the more important matters of love for neighbor, their hearts were in the wrong place. Because of this, their faith was tainted by selfish motivation, and not only for rewards from God, but from men who saw what they did. Now the Jews have a dilemma, an enormous leap of faith is required of them. They must honor and worship, as God, a man who died and was resurrected and is now in Heaven, a place they have no access to, not even in their own Earthly temple. Moreover, to worship a dead Jew on a stick, as some of them told me, would be idolatry, according to the Law. But just as the serpent on the pole was also an idol commanded by God to be made and looked upon for healing, after God commanded no idols to be made, in the same way those Jews who confess Jesus Christ as LORD, will be set free of the deadly curse of sin. Honoring Jesus Christ as God, takes precedence over all the other commandments. So an interesting concept of the kind of faith based works taught in the N.T. is the purity in the person's motive doing them as Jesus taught, the works become works of faith, because it requires faith to do them. It's not that people didn't believe in God in those days, they just didn't really put all their faith in the Almighty. 

   Let me give an example, suppose you have a paying job, and you the reader would like to advance in your career. You do whatever the person paying you says (i.e. your boss, master, lord, customer), plus some, and when he sees that you are a faithful hard working, innovative, motivated worker, you hope he will give you a good report, right? Very well, but this situation is a purely selfish one. The reason is, you have proof of the rewarder, the lord, the boss, the paying customer, and you only need put faith in that person's word to pay you and to give you a good report for advancement. 

   So what about an atheist, who doesn't even believe in God? This is also a good answer for an atheist, who wants proof of a God. If we had proof that God existed, or could empirically prove that Jesus Christ is LORD, then the works we did for God might also be tainted, by possible selfish motivations. Because we can't prove God exist, although we do the good works commanded by God for a later reward, and of course to avoid punishment, there's nothing to substantiate that motivation other than faith.  And because there's no way to substantiate our motivation, aside from blind faith, it cannot be selfish, given we do the commandments as Jesus taught. This is perhaps why God does not give us explicit evidence of himself, and requires us to have faith, it's for our own protection, and of course, to teach us to rely on his invisible help through difficult situations. It also teaches us that loving others unselfishly is so much better than being selfish, and hopefully in time, this loving behavior becomes second nature, not something we have to fight ourselves with, just to attempt.

Romans 3:31 GNB  Does this mean that by this faith we do away with the Law? No, not at all; instead, we uphold the Law.

Romans 13:8-10 GNB  Be under obligation to no one---the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has obeyed the Law.  9  The commandments, "Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not desire what belongs to someone else"---all these, and any others besides, are summed up in the one command, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."  10  If you love others, you will never do them wrong; to love, then, is to obey the whole Law.

So then what can be meant by Paul when he says that it was imputed to Abraham as righteousness, when he believed God's promise to him? It was a kind of verbal agreement that would later require a test, and that test did come. The test was God's request of Isaac as a burnt offering. 

Below is a list of "Works Of Faith" in the Sermon on the Mount from the Good News Bible, notice they have to do with LOVE for neighbor, in a pure unselfish way.  

Matthew 6:1-8 GNB "Make certain you do not perform your religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly, you will not have any reward from your Father in heaven. 2 "So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. 3 But when you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not know about it. 4 Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you. 5 "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. 6 But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you. 7 "When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6:30 GNB It is God who clothes the wild grass---grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have!

Matthew 5:38-48 GNB "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But now I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too. 40 And if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well. 41 And if one of the occupation troops forces you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles. 42 When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him. 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your friends, hate your enemies.' 44 But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. 46 Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that! 47 And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that! 48 You must be perfect---just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Luke 12:4-5 GNB "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot afterward do anything worse. 5 I will show you whom to fear: fear God, who, after killing, has the authority to throw into hell. Believe me, he is the one you must fear!

Matthew 10:26-30 GNB "So do not be afraid of people. Whatever is now covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known. 27 What I am telling you in the dark you must repeat in broad daylight, and what you have heard in private you must announce from the housetops. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell. 29 For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's consent. 30 As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted.