Conversation 3

Mr. Works—How are you, Neighbor Wright, this pleasant morning?

Mr. Wright—I am well, thank the Lord, and saved by the grace of God through faith. And how are you both, Mr. Works and Mr. Truman?

Mr. Truman—I am quite well, thank you; but I cannot say that I am saved. However, if I should base salvation on the same conditions as Neighbor Works here does, I believe I could say as truly as he that I am saved.

On the way over here this morning, he was telling me why he believed he was a Christian. He said that he was careful to keep all his promises to his neighbors, that he paid all his debts as promptly as possible, that he helped the poor as much as he well could, that he visited the sick, that in the selling of a horse or a cow, he was careful not to misrepresent it, and that when selling grain, he always heaped up the half-bushel, etc. He also said that he was a member of the church and gave to the preacher and to missionary work.

Mr. Works—I certainly cannot believe that our kind heavenly Father will permit a man to be lost who lives as I told Mr. Truman that I live.

Mr. Truman—Just as Friend Works says he lives, so do I live, only I am not a member of any church, and he admits that joining church will not save anyone. I live as he says he does and yet I cannot feel that I am saved. I read in the Bible last night that “though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”* (1 Corinthians 13:3)

Mr. Works—Well, I believe that I love God.

Mr. Truman—It means much to love God as the Bible says we should. If we love God, we shall carefully obey all He says. Jesus, when talking to one of the Jewish rulers, said that “except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”* (John 3:3) Then the Scriptures speak of being made “a new creature”* (2 Corinthians 5:17) in Christ and of being “delivered us from the power of darkness, and… translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son,”* (Colossians 1:13) and of “[passing] from death unto life.”* (John 5:24) Now it does seem to me that such experiences must be instantly wrought and by some power outside of ourselves. But I must have a care lest I become teacher rather than learner. I am still puzzled, Mr. Wright, about those texts Neighbor Works quoted as we were leaving the other evening.

Mr. Wright—It was the second chapter of James, I believe that he quoted: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works?”* (James 2:21) And “ye see then how that by works a man is justified.”* (James 2:24) He did not quote all those texts. The words, “and not by faith only,” are added.

Remember, my friends, that I admit that there is a salvation by works. We are to “work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling.”* (Philippians 2:12) And, oh, I fear there is not near enough “fear and trembling” in these days of cold formality. If we do not pay our debts when we can, if we do not give of our means as we can, if we do not visit the sick when we have opportunity, if we do not deal honestly and truthfully in our business-relations with men, we shall not be saved, for God commands us to do those things. To refuse or to neglect to do them is disobedience, and if we disobey, we cannot keep saved. But the doing of those things alone will not save us. There is sin upon the soul of every unregenerated man, and no good works that man can do will ever cleanse it away; yet, unless it is cleansed away, no man can enter the pearly gates of heaven.

Mr. Truman—What were the works by which Abraham was justified?

Mr. Wright—He simply obeyed God. He offered up Isaac as God told him to do. We must obey God or else we cannot stand justified in His sight. No man can get to heaven without doing good works, and yet the doing of good works does not save us.

The offering up of Isaac did not make Abraham a man of God; he was a man of God long before that act of obedience. There is a sense in which we as individuals are justified by works. If I do a good deed, God justifies me in the act. If we have faith in God, we shall prove it by our works. If a man believes in God, he will obey all he knows of the teachings of the New Testament. It is folly for a man to say he has faith in God when he will not obey God’s Word. This is all that is meant by the words of James.

Mr. Works—Oh, I supposed you would have some way of explaining it.

Mr. Wright—I have merely given you the true meaning. “Faith,” he says, “without works is dead.”* (James 2:26) Faith and works go together in the Christian life. We see too many people today who are not proving their faith by their works. They say they trust in God, that they love their neighbors, etc., but their life does not say so.

Mr. Truman—That is certainly true.

Mr. Wright—It is positively true that no amount of good works will ever bring us into spiritual life. Life can come only from some preexisting life. The life of Christ is brought into the soul of man by an act of faith, and in no other way. Let me quote you a text that fully explains the whole matter: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”* (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Mr. Truman—Surely, Mr. Works, this text is plain and positive enough to convince you that salvation is not by good works.

Mr. Works—Well, I believe I am a Christian. I have belonged to the church for years and have dealt uprightly with all men.

Mr. Wright—We do not go to heaven because we have joined some church or because we give good weight and measure, but because we have believed on Jesus Christ. The text I just read to you says that we are saved by grace through faith. We can get our sins forgiven and get Christ into our hearts in no other way. It is, as you can plainly see by the text, by faith that we are saved from sin and by faith that we are created in Christ. A Christian is a new creature, as you can read in 2 Corinthians 5:17. He is God’s workmanship and not a product of his own good deeds. There is no such thing as a self-made Christian. He is created in Christ by the Spirit of God, but remember, he is created unto good works. No good works can make a man a Christian, but after he is in Christ, he must do good works; he must obey all the Word of God or Christ will not abide in his heart.

Mr. Works—Do you mean to say that there is not anything a man can do whereby he can help to save himself?

Mr. Wright—There is positively nothing for a man to do that will save him or help to save him, but there is something for him to do in order for Christ to save him.

Mr. Truman—Now you are coming to the point. Please make that clear and plain to me.

Mr. Wright—I can make it plainest to you both by giving you an illustration. We will suppose a ship has sunk at sea. Its mast is projecting above the water. A man in the water is holding to the mast, but he is perishing. If he lets go of the mast when no one is at hand to save him, he will be lost. If he holds on to the mast, he is holding himself in the very element that is destroying him. Now a man comes to save him, but that man cannot save him so long as he is struggling and trying to save himself. He must cease his struggling—he must give up. Then, not only must he give up, but he must let go of the mast.

Mr. Truman—I believe I see the point. Don’t you see it, Mr. Works? It is beautiful.

Mr. Works—No, I do not see it; let’s hear Mr. Wright make the application.

Mr. Wright—A sinner is in a lost state; he is perishing. He is holding on as best he can to himself, or to life. It is impossible for him to save himself. There is only One that can save him, and even He, Christ, cannot save him unless he will give up all. He must cease all efforts to save himself, and he must let go—let go of self, sin, and the world. So sure as he will come to the end of self, forsake all, throw himself helplessly into the arms of a loving, merciful Savior and believe, then the gloom of death, the wretchedness of darkness, will be driven out of his soul, and innocence, light, and life from heaven will come streaming in.

Mr. Truman—And he will know he is saved?

Mr. Wright—Know it? Surely; when a sin-ladened soul finds rest in Christ, he will know it.

Mr. Truman—It is just such an experience that my soul is longing for. I want rest. I want to know in my heart that I am the Lord’s.

Mr. Works—I am willing to take my chances. If I deal uprightly with all men, I do not believe God will suffer me to be lost. But I cannot stay longer today.

Mr. Wright—We need not take chances. Let us do as Peter exhorted us—“make [our] calling and election sure.”* (2 Peter 1:10) We must be like Christ, in nature, when He calls for us or He cannot take us into heaven. There is nothing we can do that will make us like Christ, but when we believe the promises, we are made “partakers of the divine nature.”* (2 Peter 1:4)

Mr. Works—I am satisfied to go on in my way.

Mr. Truman—I could have taken my way long ago, but I want to find the Bible way.

Mr. Wright—Jesus says, “I am the way.”* (John 14:6) Taking Christ is the only way to heaven.

Mr. Truman—I heard Mr. Waters say that he was coming over to have a talk with you, Mr. Wright; I shall try to come with him. It is clear to me that salvation is not by works. Mr. Waters believes that baptism is a saving ordinance, and he certainly does give some very plain Scriptural proof.

Mr. Wright—I shall be pleased to have him and you come.

And you come again, Mr. Works. Goodbye.