Salvation and the Vindication of God’s Character
by Theodore Turner

Scripture Reading:

Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

A Seeming Contradiction
Have you ever felt stupid for not noticing something that was so obvious yet it puzzled you for years?

That happened to me last year during a sermon by Arthur Kiziak. He was talking about the apparent contradiction between Paul’s statements that we are ‘saved by grace’ and yet judged by works. He took the usual stance that we all do -- balance. As he was speaking it dawned on me that we had been missing something. As we so often do, he had started with an assumption that these two concepts were just different ways of expressing the same thing -- opposite sides of the coins of truth , as it were. Yet, what if these statements are talking about to two different things and not dealing with the same topic at all?

I spent some time studying, thinking and praying about the idea. I even mentioned it to a few people but they just nodded their head and gave me a blank stare as if they didn’t really know what I was talking about.

The following study takes a fresh look at the verses in question and is an attempt to generate some discussion on the issue.

Judged by Works
The most famous verse that relates mankind being judged by works is in the final chapters of the Book of Revelation.

Revelation 20:12, 13 "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."

It can easily been seen that in the final judgment of the wicked they are judged by their works. It has been assumed by some that, based upon this verse, only the wicked are judged by works -- the righteous are not judged by works but rather saved by God’s grace ( I even entertained this view for awhile). This conclusion is untenable when viewed under the light of all scripture.

Solomon has something to add to this debate. After displaying the futility of man trying to find truth and meaning by observation alone (‘under the sun’ -- humanistic science), he states one of the most simple and profound ‘observation’ in all of scripture.

Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

Solomon does not intimate that there is a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, but includes "every work... whether... good or evil" Unless Solomon is a Catholic, and thinks that we are saved if our good works ‘outweigh’ our evil works, the good works talked about could only be those of the righteous.

Jesus even states it more plainly

Matthew 12:34 - 37 "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

He plainly says that our words can otherwise justify or condemn us -- and this happens in the day of judgment. Both the righteous and the wicked will be judged by their works. Solomon says this earlier in Ecclesiastes 3:17, "I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work."

Paul himself describes the judgment that will take place in the last days and includes both the righteous and the wicked, with their attendant works, in that judgment.

Romans 2:1-10 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, [they shall receive] indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

Saved by Grace
This statement of Paul’s occurs one chapter before this next statement:
Romans 3:19-26 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. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 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: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 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; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Does Paul not see the contradiction in his own words? Maybe that is why Peter states, "in all his [Paul’s] epistles... [are] some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:16

Actually Paul is trying to make himself understood in the clearest terms. Notice in the first passage, Paul is talking about the judgment. It is a future event. It is "the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." In Chapter three, he is talking about ‘redemption’ which happens ‘at this time’. The justification that Paul is talking about here refers to the persons present standing before God. All of us are sinners. All of us stand outside of salvation because "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." In order for man to stand as righteous in the judgment, something must have to happen between now and then.

Saved by Grace and Judged by Works
John is very clear on this point. He describes, in beautiful metaphor, the condition of mankind apart from God and what happens to man once Jesus performs the work of salvation.

John 3:17-21 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 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. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Obviously then, The work of salvation is transforming in its power. He that rejects light -- a light that does not only reveal sin but also its remedy -- will remain in his sinful state and be unprepared for the judgment. [ note: He is already condemned because of his sin. The rejection of light does not make him condemned.] The one ‘that doeth truth’ accepts light. He has been transformed by it. This is revealed by his deeds that are ‘manifest, that they are wrought in God’. The righteous are righteous because they have allowed God to work righteousness upon them. Their righteousness is not inherent.

Conclusion
It should now be obvious that the work of salvation and the work of judgment are two different things. They happen at different times and have a different purpose. The purpose of salvation is to restore the individual in a right relationship with God and prepare the individual for the judgment. In this way there is a relationship between the two acts. In my next Sermon we shall examine more deeply the purpose of the judgment.