Did Jesus Teach Salvation by Works? The Role of Works in Salvation in the Synoptic Gospels
Ebook
Jesus teaches that regardless of one's profession, if one does not demonstrate a changed life produced by God, one will not enter into heaven. Such a judgment will be made when Jesus returns and judges every person according to his or her "works." While this may seem contradictory to some more well-known passages ruling out the role of works in salvation (e.g., Rom 3:21-4:25; Gal 2:16-21; Eph 2:8-9), there is every good reason to understand that Jesus' teachings complement such passages. The works that admit one into heaven are not works produced by the flesh before conversion but works produced by God after conversion. They will fundamentally be characterized by a life of discipleship, love for others, and endurance in faith and obedience, and will therefore serve to confirm that one indeed did have a relationship with God during one's life.
"A New Testament study that is worth pondering...Stanley's study
shows how...God's grace is even greater than we have imagined,
covering not only our justification, but our sanctification as
well. Any work that shows the depth of God's great grace is worth
commending. This is such a book."
--Darrell L. Bock, from the foreword
"This study is notable first for its nuance. It does not shy away
from apparent biblical contradictions but arrives at carefully
balanced explanations that make sense of the writers' various
voices. A second virtue of the book is its scope: it pretty much
covers the waterfront, both of biblical teachings and of modern
understanding of them. Of course no book can cover all the evidence
and discussion surrounding such a foundational Christian doctrine.
But Stanley has omitted little of substance and importance. (I
admit that he goes a little too light on the Old Testament for my
taste.) A third strong point of the book is its timeliness. The
'salvation by works' issue is of course perennial and therefore
always before us. But this is particularly true at present, where
doctrinal fuzziness and even erosion abound and where boundary
lines between Protestant understanding of the gospel, on the one
hand, is being conflated with the teaching of ancient Judaism as
well as contemporary Catholicism, on the other. Stanley's study
commends itself to us, therefore, not only because it is sound and
wise, but also because its conclusions are currently urgent."
--Robert W. Yarbrough
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Product Details
- Title : Did Jesus Teach Salvation by Works?: The Role of Works in Salvation in the Synoptic Gospels
- Authors:
- Stanley, Alan P.
- Baker, David
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Publication Date: 2006
- ISBN: 9781498276399
Alan P. Stanley teaches at Mueller College of Ministries in Queensland, Australia.