Paul says, “one is justified by faith apart from works” (Romans 3:28). Which works?
- Does he mean faith apart from repenting and turning to Christ?
- Does he mean faith apart from obeying Christ?
Neither this passage nor its context defines “works” that way. To rule out repentance would be a mistake, for Christ Himself requires it as part of our faith-response (Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38; 3:19). To exclude obedience would prove disastrous, for Christ Himself makes it fundamental in Matthew 7.
So, let’s listen to Paul more carefully. Let’s complete the quote from Romans 3:28: “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” Paul states plainly that he means “works” of a legal system, namely Moses’ law (Romans 2:17- 18; 3:21; 5:13-14, 20; 7:7; 9:4; 10:5; Galatians 3:10, 17, 19, 23-24; 4:4-5, 24).
To re-define “works” is to twist Paul’s message.
To insert other definitions for “works” is to twist Paul’s words out of their context. Paul says, “And to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Romans 4:5). Does Paul mean that God justifies a wicked man who never turns to follow God? Define work as anything a human “does,” and you might get such ideas. But that is not Paul’s definition, and such ideas are foreign to his writings. In this context, Paul has just defined what he means by “works.” They are works of law that attempt to earn righteousness as wages and boast about it (Romans 4:2-4).
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due (Romans 4:4).