It’s a debate as old as time.

Does one earn or keep their salvation through faith, or does it require work?

Are faith and works diametrically opposed? Do we have to choose one over the other, or is it a combination of both?

Christians especially seem to lead toward faith over works. After all, didn’t Jesus rebuke the Pharisees for demanding their people adhere to impossible traditions (see Mark 7)? Did he not say in one of the most famous verses that all we need to do is believe in Jesus and we will have eternal life (John 3:16)?

Others in favor of works also recite scripture to back up their claims such as, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17, ESV); “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48); “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:14)

I’m of a seemingly shrinking group where it’s a combination of faith and works.

Yet with a caveat so no one is confused.

Works will not earn you salvation. In fact works alone may not even turn God’s head.

He looks to the heart first. Does our heart belong to him in entirety, or does it lean toward something else?

Another caveat: We will not lose our salvation if we don’t work as hard as we or others think we should. We are his regardless. Now, that’s not to say the Holy Spirit won’t convict us for not acting when we should (see last verse below).

Faith, dedication, adoration, praise in and toward him, now that will get God’s attention.

When we love someone, we show it with our actions. In fact, we often can’t help ourselves. A wife will listen to her husband to figure out his favorite meals and wait upon him when he’s ill. A husband will watch his wife to find out how best to show her his love and affections, sometimes with specific gifts or making sure she has the home she always dreamed of. Parents both listen and watch their children to make them happy, help them grow, and keep them safe.

Loving God is no different. If we truly love and adore him, we will act in accordance to his will.

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:14-17)