What is more important for salvation – what we believe or what we do? I’m not trying to slice a false dichotomy or find a strawman to punch down; I think we’ve grossly underestimated the need for right living, replacing it with a fear of legalism and the band aide of right belief. Or, to say it another way, Christ might be far more interested in how we live and what we do than what we believe or what we merely confess.
A caricature of modern evangelicalism – the particular flavor of Christianity I swim in – will tell someone steeped in worldliness and sinful living that if they simply confesses Jesus as Lord and pray for the forgiveness of their sins, Christ will claim their soul at time of death and they’ll enjoy eternity in heaven. The assurance of this salvation lessens the longer life change isn’t shown – actions and deeds are viewed as evidence of repentance and life change. So, someone who lives wantonly, confesses and then immediately dies will almost assuredly be assumed to have been truthfully converted. Someone who confesses, lives in willful rebellion for a decade and then dies will instill less confidence – but their confession will certainly be a central point of their funeral. In both cases, the focus is on right belief – or right acknowledgement – that leads to an eternal hope. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,” as Paul told the Philippian jailer.
A number of books have recently challenged this notion from a variety of perspectives. Particularly, Scot McKnight’s King Jesus Gospel and Gospel Allegiance by Matthew Bates have pushed against modern evangelicalism’s reductionistic focus on, “believe and you’re in.” But I want to focus on two passages of Scripture that have been particularly challenging for me as I’ve processed belief and action. This processing has largely come from reading The Patient Ferment of the Early Church by Alan Kredier – which I’ll review and backlink later.
The first passage is well known and inspiration for many Christian songs – not least of all the kid’s song The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock. Jesus finishes his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:24-27 by contrasting one who foolishly ignores Jesus’ words and one who makes them the central part of their life. This passage has often been used to describe the Christian who holds fast to their convictions and beliefs, despite the storms of life swirling around them. “Continue to trust! Continue to believe!”
And yet, the Sermon on the Mount isn’t about belief at all – it’s about action. The Sermon itself is a recapitulation of Saini and the law. It’s an expansion of the moral code of Moses. Jesus’ own words in Matthew 7:24 push against a belief narrative – the confident person is “everyone who hears these words of mine and does them.” It’s about action, and lifestyle. It’s about doing and living the gives confidence – not right belief. In fact, the foolish builder also hears the words of Jesus – ostensibly, they also believe! But they haven’t been doing the stuff of Jesus, and as a result, “great was the fall” of their life. Right actions matter more than right belief.
The second passage is the one immediately before – what has been described as the most fear-inducing passage in Scripture. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” There could be a lot more parsing of this passage, but to show my cards quickly – this should not be a fear inducing passage. It’s not a ‘gotcha!’ line that will be sprung on otherwise faithful believers at the Great White Throne. Instead, this passage must be read in the context of Matthew 7:15-20 and the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, which remind us that intention and heart posture matter and the product of our actions will bear fruit in line with our heart. That is to say, many actions are not inherently good or bad but rather colored by intention. The means don’t justify the ends, but someone can be engaged in philanthropic work for purely selfish reasons, and this is not the work Jesus wants. One thinks of Simon the Magician in Acts 8 – he wanted power of the Spirit as a means to an end of self empowerment.
All of this leads to a picture of a ‘believer’ who is going through the rote motions – even believing the right things about Jesus’ death and resurrection – but without any desire for a relationship or friendship to Jesus. He’s not serving to serve God, he’s serving to advance his own means. And so it’s no wonder that Jesus would respond to him, “Away – I never knew you.” Jesus’ response is essentially, “You didn’t want anything to do with me in your lifetime – what makes you think you’d want anything to do with me for eternity?” And I’m convinced that those who hear that response won’t leave disappointed or feeling like they were tricked – they’ll respond with, “Oh, right. Yeah. I’d rather be where you’re not.”
Which returns to the main point. Those who walk away at that point may have fully believed in Jesus’ death on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins – they may even have a complex soteriology and knowledge of Scripture – but they want nothing to do with knowing or being like Jesus. They don’t do the things that Jesus commanded. And as a result, they’re not Christian. They might believe the right facts – but they don’t want Jesus.
We’re not saved by right actions – Scripture is clear on that. You can’t ‘do’ your way into heaven. But we’re also not saved by right belief. We’re saved by Jesus, and reclaiming that distinction and then parsing it into my life and ministry is an expansive goal as I move forward.
Questions and Follow-up:
Content for future posts:
What is the nature of justification? How does that dovetail with right living?
What are the implications for the actions of the church? Should right living is prioritized and not right belief? Does one follow the other; does one take precedence? Or is it both/and? Is this just a chicken and the egg dichotomy?
What’s the nature of assurance of salvation? How should we trust God for eternity? When are we “in”? Does that matter? Is there clarity in Scripture?