Good Works Cannot Earn Salvation

A central tenet of evangelical theology upholds salvation as an unearned gift of God’s grace, received through faith alone. Good works play no role in securing justification or redemption. However, when surveyed, only 28% of Americans overall affirm this doctrine that good deeds cannot earn salvation. More troubling, even among individuals identifying as Christian, less than half – just 47% – concur that works contribute nothing to salvation.

This signals that a theological works-righteousness pervades much of American Christendom. By believing righteous acts somehow supplement faith in obtaining divine favor, nearly 53% of Christians embrace a gospel contrary to evangelical orthodoxy. This relies partly on human effort to merit eternal life rather than solely on Christ’s atoning sacrifice. It muddles categories of sanctification with justification.

Several factors may underlie this theological confusion. Some Christians may experience pressure to interpret “faith without works is dead” in James 2 to mean works secure justification. Others perhaps absorb cultural assumptions that good behavior merits reward. Pluralism and therapeutic spirituality promote the idea that all ethical religions please God. And the influence of other world faiths advocating works-salvation could foster syncretism.

In any case, the 20 percentage point gap among Christians concerning faith versus works for salvation reveals flawed theological formation. It indicates even regular churchgoers imbibe contradictory gospels – Paul’s gospel of grace toward sinners, but also the default religiosity of earning divine acceptance. Without grounded teaching on justification and atonement, Christians get distracted by spiritual self-effort aimed at eliciting God’s favor.

These statistics should spur intensified evangelical discipleship and catechesis on the doctrine of justification. Christians require thorough biblical literacy regarding humanity’s dilemma, Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice, and salvation entirely by God’s grace through faith. As believers grasp that moral exertion gains no standing before God, more may abandon works-righteousness to rest solely in Christ’s finished work. This firmer theological foundation can buoy assurance of salvation. As the church clearly teaches evangelical distinctives, Christians can grow in properly relating faith and works.