The Bible makes it abundantly clear that salvation is not of works. I dare not quote proof texts here, as you would have read some of those scriptures a thousand times over, by the end of this website\eBook. Instead, I would point you to the The Gospel which lays out some of the sayings from the Bible that emphatically declare salvation by faith alone, in the Grace of Christ alone.
With that said, this section is to discuss the reasons why it is so. Why it makes sense that salvation would be by grace, without regard for man’s works or righteousness.
The reason is because of who God is. God is perfection, without any imperfections at all. He is the personification of purity, in that there is no “spot or blemish” with any of God’s characteristics or attributes (1 Peter 1:19). God is the qualitative infinite, in that regard. Unreachable by finite beings, and untouchable. Therefore, God is not a petty god who notices differences between men. He cannot. Though a man were to exceed his peers in perceived goodness; that man (on his own) would still be unacceptable to God.
The Bible says, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). And what are his ways? “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:11-12).
God’s way is to have mercy on those that believe him. Jesus Christ, who is the way, is the Grace of God that is offered to all men (John 14:6). He won’t compare men against men. That is man’s ways. The Bible says, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Corinthians 10:12). It makes no sense to judge anyone’s goodness against other people, because any such judgement would be subjective and meaningless. The problem isn’t between comparing man against man, it’s about whether God is able to accept man’s works at all.
The Bible says that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11). He cannot accept man’s works, because if he did, he would then be an unrighteous, partial, and even evil god. Why? Because only a weak, partial god would rank men. What kind of “god” would he be if a man were able to raise himself up to a level that would make god take note? That god must be very low indeed, fallible, and made like unto corruptible man (Romans 1:23). That god must be very reachable. But we know that God is not approachable; in fact, God “dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16). Therefore, salvation could never be by works.
Works is Moral Relativism, Moral Relativism is Antinomianism
For example, let’s assume for a moment that we were able to rank man’s individual goodness. We would factor in thoughts, words, and deeds, and amalgamate all these things into a single metric. Let’s crunch all these factors into a percentage of goodness for each person. There are some at 0% and some up to 99%+, theoretically. Now, let’s assume that God arbitrarily draws the line for admission into Heaven at 80% “goodness.”
First of all, why would he do that? Why is the cut off at 80%!? This level of “goodness” is completely whimsical. This minimum entry requirement is unacceptable, given the harsh consequences of denial (Hell). Imagine those at 79% goodness. Are those people to be rejected on the basis of that cut off point?
79% is closer to 80%, than 80% is to 100%. Therefore, these men are 20 times closer in likeness to each other, than any of them are to God. And let’s not stop there, because man is not merely 20-fold less than God, man is infinitely removed from God’s level of goodness. In respect to this point, the Bible says that “all men fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict. Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart (Job 37:23-24). Man’s differences vanish in juxtaposition to God.
If God were to bend the law for some and not others, or weigh the hearts of men in accordance to their works, he would then be partial. God’s grace would be unjustified in having preference for some arbitrary level of goodness. If the only reason for lowering the requirement for Heaven is his mercy and grace (and that’s what most believers say) then there is no good reason to not lower the bar all the way to 0%.
Consider if God maintains 80% goodness as minimum requirement. If this were true, we would have grounds for dispute. Especially for those that fall just shy of that required level of goodness (i.e. 79.9%). If only God would lower the requirement by a smidgen, he could save untold millions more people from Hell. And because the level of goodness he chose is not based on any concrete requirement, he would have no good reason to not lower the bar, to accommodate additional people. After all, the whole point of mercy is to accommodate people. And the whole reason why he chose 80% to start with, is mercy. And so, he does: the acceptable level is now set at 79%…but wait…what about those at 78%? If we are to assume a bell curve for the distribution of man’s goodness, there is an even stronger case to lower the requirement just a bit more; seeing that there is likely to be many more people at 78% than there were at 79%. And God was willing to lower the requirement for those at 79% on the basis of his mercy. Where, then, is his mercy for the 78%? Has his mercy run out? No? Well then, he lowers the bar again. And the dominos continue to fall.
No, this is not how God judges. The scenario above is called antinomianism. There is no law to speak of, if God were to respect man’s works. The law becomes meaningless, and man would be right to argue God all the way down to 0% goodness. “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Romans 3:19). So, we know that nobody will have grounds to argue, every mouth will be stopped.
God Offers Perfect Grace Universally, Without Partiality
That is why it doesn’t make any sense for God to draw the line at any subjective level of goodness. The real line is drawn at perfection. The same line that Jesus stooped down to draw on the ground, when questioned about the woman caught in adultery:
John 8
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers?
Jesus asked the mob, are any of you perfect? And if they are not perfect, then they are just as guilty as the woman in adultery. “For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law” (James 2:11). Jesus wrote in the ground with his finger, which hearkens back to Exodus when God wrote the “two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18). Almost as though he had personal knowledge of that event, which of course he had. The two tables of testimony were the 10 commandments. The law upheld with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:9). The law that God gave to Moses. The same law these men appeal to saying, “Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned.” Therefore, the only way to uphold the law is to judge without partiality. And because God is good, God has to offer salvation to every single human being by grace, without regard for works. “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (James 2:12-13).
That is why in John 3 it says,
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
People are condemned because they refuse to come to the light. Christ is the light, and you cannot come to the light without admitting that your works are as filthy rags (Isaiah 6:46). Jesus Christ is the standard that will “bring to light the hidden things of darkness” (1 Corinthians 4:5). To come to the light is to admit that all are under sin, not just any particular individual. For “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). Therefore, it’s not as though God has to take account of your life, of your works, to know that you come up short. Instead, the judgment is that you are already condemned, if you have never believed in the only begotten Son of God. But if you have believed, then you can never be condemned.
That’s why salvation is obtained by grace from God. That’s why it says, “he that doeth truth” comes to the light. Notice how it does not say “he that doeth good works,” but rather, “he that doeth truth.” Furthermore, notice how those that love darkness do not want their deeds to be reproved. They would much rather “compare themselves among themselves” and to “commend themselves,” as it says in 1 Corinthians 10:12. But those who trust in the righteousness of God come to God to obtain a good report: good works imputed to their account. And this is righteous, because it is by grace, therefore available to anyone and everyone.
Besides, we are not even able to compute people’s works in this manner. And even if one did behave well, it is only as result of their privileged stature and ability. Some people are too poor to do good deeds unto others. That is why the Bible says for “who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Just like the passage from Luke 21 where Christ “saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.” And then a poor widow cast in her two mites. Nominally, the men who are rich put in more. But the Bible says that they “of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God.” Just like those who like to perform good deeds, they are only able to do so because of the advantageous hand they were dealt. Therefore, it is wrong to judge on nominal performance, as circumstances between people are different.
This point is further exemplified by Christ, for whom it is impossible to sin. Because he cannot sin, he was destined to be perfect in this world. This is by his very nature, he is who he is. “I AM THAT I AM,” he says (Exodus 2:14). And again, “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). And so, God can only do good. Contrariwise, man is predisposed to sin, and cannot do otherwise. Even those good deeds that people do amount to nothing. An entire life of good works is completely undone by one, single, unitary act of sin (James 2:10).
Because, once again, it’s not about the performance. Instead, it is about who you are. Who you are is made manifest by the works of your hands. The entire human race sins, that is why everything we do is sin. The only thing that man can do is believe on Jesus Christ, and trust him for salvation. Because he is the only one who is good, therefore he is the only one that can do good. In order for a man to do good, he would have to be good. But man is not good. We may rank men based on their outward conduct and appearance, but compared to God, no man is good. Therefore, the law was given so that we can know who we are. Man is sinful. God is pure goodness. It is impossible for God to sin. The law reveals that we are not like God at all. We cannot keep the law, we cannot be good. We must come to the light and recognize that we are not gods, despite what the devil said in the garden (Genesis 3:5). We cannot do good, because we are not good. There “is none good but one, that is, God” (Mark 10:18).
John 8
23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Nobody is good enough to ascend into Heaven. Only Christ is good enough, because He is God, who came down from Heaven.
This is exemplified again by the parable of the good tree. Where Jesus said, “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18). He is saying that it is literally impossible for a good tree to put forth any evil fruit, whatsoever. So, if a tree looks like it brings forth both evil and good fruit, you are being deceived about the so-called “good fruit.” If you see even 1 evil fruit, that is evidence that you are looking at a corrupt tree. That is why Christ is the only good tree; every other tree is an evil tree. We are the branches of that good tree, faith is our fruit. We do not commend ourselves. We commend the gospel of Christ, who is that good tree. If we state that our works are our fruit; James 2:10 says that if we sin once, we’ve sinned against all 10 commandments. Therefore, that one bad fruit, that one bad work, means we are in an evil tree. The good tree is Christ, and there is only one type of good fruit: faith in Jesus Christ.
That is why the greatest law is:
Matthew 22
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
The reason why this the first and greatest commandment is not for wrought obedience and worship. Instead, the Bible says, “herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). And “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). God loves the world.
Luke 7
41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
In the parable above, Christ is saying that in order for us to love God more, we have to be forgiven more. In order to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, requires God to forgive you of all your sins. The more he forgives you, the more you will love him. It doesn’t matter how you feel, it matters whether you admit that Christ has utterly redeemed you. And he Has. Thus, to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind is to fully accept that God has washed us thoroughly from all our iniquities: past, present, and future, forever. Just like the woman who wept at his feet.
Luke 7
44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
That’s how we love God, by honoring what he has done for us. We honor him by accepting his forgiveness.
John 5
22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Works-Based So-Called “Salvation” Is Self-Defeating and Hypocritical
Another reason why partiality is evil is because for a man to be relatively “good” only means that he is good relative to another man. This must mean that there are those who are relatively “bad.” Thus, in order for moral relativism to be true, God would have to guarantee a certain subset of people to be evil, by definition. God would have to guarantee that some be damned, in order to consider some of man’s works as good. This is evil.
Instead, God takes on the punishment on behalf of man. God created the world, and his goodness is such that he is willing to bare the burdens of the evils that he allows man to create.
Isaiah 46
3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:
4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Therefore, He suffered the consequences of our evil, so that he could save the whole world. It could have been that every human being is saved. God paid for the sins of the whole world. It’s a matter of believing the gospel, to have that benefit accrued to your account.
Anyone who has attended college understands that most classes are graded at a curve. This is done to guarantee a distribution of students across a certain grade point average. That is what Heaven and Hell would have to be like, if works are involved. You are guaranteed a certain portion of people to go to Hell. Works for salvation is a mentality wherein no regard is paid, whatsoever, to the wellbeing of your colleagues. Hence, to work your way to Heaven is hypocritical because it comes at the cost of your fellowman.
And that is why we have the second greatest commandment of the law:
Matthew 22
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? It means to believe that they can be saved by grace, just like you. That is why you cannot have subjective morals in your so-called “gospel.” You cannot have moral relativism (works) because if you are willing to throw your friend under the bus to get into Heaven, you are not loving your neighbor as yourself. God would “have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). God would not put you in a works based system that would incentivize you to devour one another (Galatians 5:15). God is not a hypocrite, and he will not accept the works of a hypocrite. That is why salvation is by grace through faith, made available to anyone who wants to believe.
That is why John says if “a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” If you do not care for your own brother, then you have not received the true love of God. The grace God gives us is as James describes: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17).
To have hypocrisy and partiality is against the gospel. Which is why James tells us to not have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with respect of persons (James 2:1). That is why he tells us to do the works of the faith, which is to believe the gospel, without hypocrisy. This means that anyone can believe and be saved (John 6 29; James 2:26). Jesus said that to die for our friends is the greatest love one can display (John 15:13). It stands to reason that to hate your brother\neighbor would be to do the opposite of the greatest love: deny that your fellowman can have eternal life. That is why we have to do the works of God, which is to believe that anyone can be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
That is why in Exodus, Moses asked God not to blot out the names of those who transgressed the Lord by saying, “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” (Exodus 32:32). This is self-sacrifice, a shadow of what God would do for all.
Lordship Salvationists and Works-Based Preachers Are of the Devil
But works salvationists, and lordship salvationists are not so. They are pleased to damn the souls of their brethren, on the basis of carnal works. They love to act as “lords over God’s heritage,” when they ought not (1 Peter 5:3).
That is why works salvationists and lordship salvationists alike, are evil to the core. Because they are murderers at heart, and take no thought for their own brother. They have not accepted the mercy of God. There is only 1 kind of mercy that God has: and it’s made available to all by grace (Titus 2:11). That is why they do not love God. It does not matter how many good works they attempt to do “in the name of Jesus.”
2 John 1
8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed
Do not be tricked. They come to you with sheep’s clothing, but they destroy your faith. The reality is that they do not love God, and they do not love you. It does not matter if they say they love God, it does not matter if they seem to love the Bible.
It’s like a game of chess. You are willing, at times, to lose pawns, rooks, knights, and even bishops; if it means winning the game. You could lose all your pieces, and still win if you get checkmate. Likewise, works salvationists do good things for others with the mentality that they would be justified thereby. They “help” you, so that they can get credit for helping you. They do it to go to Heaven, knowing that you are too poor to do the same. Knowing that you would go to Hell, because you can’t do good works. I hate to sound cynical, but this is the truth. They “make merchandise of you,” as Peter says (2 Peter 2:3).
It does not matter if they say they like you, if they smile, if they act like they are interested in you. It does not matter how they appear. If they refuse the grace of God, they are not of God.
Matthew 15
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Jesus has given us a preview of the fate that is awaiting those that are of the lordship\works salvationist bent:
Matthew 7
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Works and lordship salvationists will be surprised on that day. They will be told that Christ never knew them. Not that Christ had known them once and they were lost. Not that their works weren’t up to snuff; that their works aren’t of an accepted caliber. No, the reason they are rejected is because they have not believed the gospel of grace; therefore, God does not know them. They are not born again. They have always adhered to the false gospel of works, after the commandments of men. You know this because their defense is: “haven’t I done this? haven’t I done that? haven’t I done these good works in your name?” They think that they did many good works. That is why Christ says that they are workers of iniquity. He tells them that they are workers of iniquity only because they themselves were convinced that their works were good works. When in reality, their works only looked good in comparison to the drunkard, or the homeless, or whoever else. So, Christ has to tell them that their works are not good. They never did what Christ told them to do, therefore Christ never knew them. They never did the will of the father in Heaven:
John 6
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
The will of the father in Heaven is that everyone that sees the son may choose to believe and live (John 3:14-15). And because they sought righteousness as it were by works, they do so at the detriment of their own neighbor, of their own brother.
Paul says that the one who works for their salvation expects salvation as their wage. “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt” (Romans 4:4). If a pastor or teacher is a lordship salvationist, or a works salvationist, they are called “an hireling.” They do what they do because they must, they have to “bear fruit unto God” … as they say…to avoid Hell. To this, Christ says:
John 10
11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Works salvationists are hirelings. They do not care for the sheep. They work because they think that they will go to Hell if they don’t. They think eternal life is their reward, their wage. That’s why their peace of mind, and knowledge of salvation, is contingent upon “bearing fruit.” I keep putting that statement (bearing fruit) in air-quotes, because nobody really knows what that even means. These lordship salvationists in Christendom keep saying that phrase as though it means something. They put you on a wild goose chase. They hang eternity over your head and tell you to go do something, but they are unable to define what that something is. They do this to lord over you, and slip in any commandment of men they want. It’s a loose term to fit any scenario.
The real fruit of salvation is faith. The work of Christ on the cross begets faith in the heart of those that believe.
John 6
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
God is looking for faith in Christ, for the blood on the door post (Exodus 12:7). That is why the hirelings will not stand with the sheep when the day of trouble comes. They will leave them to be scattered. Hirelings are there for their wage, they don’t care about anyone else’s wellbeing.
Old Testament Examples of Evil Works
The idea of throwing your fellowman under the bus is demonstrated in the story of Noah and his sons. Consider the following excerpt from Genesis:
Genesis 9
20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
When Noah was uncovered in his tent, Ham saw. Instead of covering his nakedness, he instead told his brothers. This was done to expose his father. But his brothers covered Noah, instead of taking part in shaming him. This is all an allegory of sin. In the garden, when Adam and Eve sinned, they knew that they were naked. Nakedness is symbolic of sin. In Isaiah, it is written that Christ is our covering, he clothes us in righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). To be naked, is to be exposed, it is to be in sin. Ham is like a works salvationist, who reveals and compares sins among the people; even though works salvationists cannot keep to the law themselves. They are hypocrites of the highest order. Instead of covering sin, he is exposing it. This is the work of the devil, because the devil is the “accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). And Peter says that love and “charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). And James says that if you convert a sinner, “know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:20). So hiding sins is the goal of the gospel, because Christ paid for all sins. That is why Ham’s progeny is cursed, because, “cursed is everyone who continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law” (Galatians 3:10). The gospel is the covering of sin.
That is why in Habbakok 2 it says
10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.
11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
You cannot do good works to get into Heaven. Because your “good works” are done out of a hypocritical disregard for your fellowman. You think that your works will justify you more than the next guy. That “next guy” is your neighbor. This is wrong. You are building your house with blood by “cutting off many people.” You have to accept the gospel, that it is for any man and everyman. Irrespective of works.
Finally, the clearest example of works being denied by God is from the book of Genesis. The old story of Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel were brothers, sons of Adam and Eve. Most people read this story without any knowledge or depth as to it’s true meaning. People think that Cain was evil, and jealous, and so he killed his brother. If that’s the meaning of that story, then why is it that God rejected Cain’s offering? Cain offered God his best crops. Why would God reject Cain’s offering? Especially since he meant well, and offered it before lashing out and killing Abel? Exactly. Therefore, behold the story of Cain and Abel.
In this story, it is important to keep in mind that these were the first human beings on the planet. And this is the very first account of people offering things to God. So, this will set the precedent for the rest of scripture.
Genesis 4
1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
Eve considered that her son Cain came directly from the Lord. This is important, because procreation represents life coming directly from God. God is the one who “hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). Adam saw firsthand how God created man and beast. Life begets life, God creates man and beast.
Genesis 4
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Cain was a tiller of the land. This is important to note, because we know that the ground is cursed, as a result of the fall:
Genesis 3
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
The ground is cursed, which means it takes effort to grow crops. God said that “in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” Anything that is grown out of the ground is a product of hard work. It is symbolic of works.
Genesis 4
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.
Abel offered unto God a lamb. This is the first account of a sacrifice being offered to God. But this isn’t something that came from Abel to God. No, Abel viewed the firstlings of his flock as coming from God; just as Eve viewed Cain as being a man that the Lord had given her. Living things come from God. Abel offered unto God that which he received from God. This is a shadow of Christ, who is the “lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Christ is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Abel’s offering honors God’s character by reflecting how God is not in need of anything. Note that John the Baptist said that Jesus is the lamb of God. He is of God: He is from God and offered to God. This is the spirit behind Abel’s offering, not of works, not of man. This honors God’s majesty.
Hebrews 11
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Genesis 4
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Cain, on the other hand, thought that God would receive his works. Cain wasn’t a bad guy in any obvious respect, other than his willingness to work to please God. But this is a fatal error. We cannot offer anything to appease God, as though God needed appeasing. God didn’t ask them to offer him anything. All the Bible says is that “in process of time it came to pass” that they offered things. It may have come out of their own volition, out of their own need to pacify their own consciences. Like the fig leaves Adam and Eve wore. In any case, Cain’s offering was done in ignorance.
God could not respect Cain’s offering. He cannot accept things from man. God is not needy, he is not a pauper. He needs nothing from us. And if God were to respect man’s subjective works, it means men are graded at a curve. Anytime a curve is introduced, anytime the law is deviated from, it guarantees death for some. Some people must be considered evil, that some may be considered good. And all that subjective, moral relativism for the sake of a lie. What lie? I said that they would be “considered” either good or evil. But as previously established, all are evil, all have fallen short. That is why it is a lie.
God will not guarantee some people to be damned, in order to uphold a subjective standard. Because neither man is any closer to God than the other, regardless of works. God is infinitely above his creation. Our differences approach zero, as our perception of God’s holiness approaches infinity. And if God were to respond favorably to Cain’s hypocrisy, then God would be partaker of his evil deeds (2 John 1:11). God cannot rank men, because his greatness is blind to any distinctions between men. For we are all diminishingly similar in our fallen state. Cain’s works-based efforts illustrate his willingness to step over his brother.
This illustration is even more clear once we see Cain slay his brother Abel.
Genesis 4
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
And to drive home Cain’s utter disregard for his brother, God asked him about Abel.
Genesis 4
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
That is why when we offer things to God, we do not give God things from our hand. No, we can only give God those things, that he has already given each one of us. That is why “saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). Like Caesar’s Denarius, legal tender is a representation and store of value. The value being man’s products, services, and time. It represents works. Works belong to this world. Faith belongs to God.
Jesus Christ is “true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). That is why faith in God is the only thing that God can accept. Because faith is without hypocrisy, it is available to every man. Everyman has an opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ, the only wise God, that dwells in absolutes. He is not like man, he does not regard man’s person. That is why salvation is by grace through faith, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). That is why salvation could never be by works. That is why faith in Christ, is the only righteous thing that man could do. Not that faith is meritorious, but that it is not hypocritical, it is not of sin. For “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).
That is how God can be just, and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus.
Romans 3
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.