This post became necessary in the context of extended comments attached to Hugh Hewitt's blog post entitled Erick Erickson And The First Rule Of Holes  posted Friday, March 30, 2007. It seems that most politically conservative LDS and evangelical Christians recognize that they make for natural and effective political allies, and friends. (E.g., LDS supported Bush II, an evangelical, more consistently I think than any other demographic group. Similarly, see http://www.evangelicalsformitt.org.) But certain few evangelical posters have made it a point to insist and prove that Mormons are not Christian. Poster "amillenialist" cites a few biblical verses and his understanding of them, then says, "you see, you don't believe the same, so you aren't Christian." The implication is that Mormons are merely to be tolerated, at best, in the political sphere. I have chosen here to make the case that LDS teaching on faith and works is not so easily dismissed by that technique. LDS belief on that and other doctrines is consistent with biblical teaching. Other Christian friends needn't have any apprehension when Mormons join them in community service or in principled, political alliances. What follows is my own personal understanding, and not official LDS Church views.

Anybody who insists Mormons aren't Christian because they believe A and we believe A-prime or B instead needs to remember the important differences between all the other Christian churches and creeds. One unpersuasive  tactic is to sweep such differences aside and reduce the core requirement to belief in the Nicene creed, or one of its offshoots. As long as you accept such a creed, the argument goes, you're a Christian, and if you don't, you're not. I think that is nonsense, not least because differences amongst the faiths on other points of doctrine have enormous impacts on the ways in which church members live their lives. How Christian, for instance, is it to enslave a fellow human being? Confederate President Jefferson Davis justified the perpetuation of slavery using his understanding of biblical teaching. He thought himself a Christian. Confederate pulpits were aflame with biblical justification of slavery. And such teaching had nothing to do with core creeds on the nature of God. Yet I would venture to say that such behavior as enslaving a fellow child of God is the very antithesis of the sine qua non of Christanity--"A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another even as I have loved you." (John 13: 34.)  One of the reasons Missouri evangelicals turned violent on Mormons in the 1830's was because Mormons couldn't be counted on to support the perpetuation of slavery. Who was more Christian?

On to faith and works. Grace-only adherents tend not to recognize the LDS belief in God's overarching purposes, not only to save humanity from death and sin, but eventually to sanctify the willing that we might someday become like Him and His Son. Understanding the role of works as it relates to grace cannot properly be grasped apart from a correct understanding of this true, Biblical concept of Eternal Life. If the Lord would have us become like him, rather than rescue us and stop there, then belief in the necessity of works makes sense as part of a very long-term program of character formation. Works, however, remain grossly insufficient to attain salvation. It is mistaken to suppose Mormons believe in salvation by works alone. As another poster has explained, we believe in salvation by grace, after all we can do. (2 Nephi 25:23.) That is, we pay the few pennies in our pocket because it's good for us to do so, and because not to do so would be a mockery of Christ's sacrifice (see Gal. 6:7), but then Christ pays the rests of our very large individual accounts. We are saved by Grace, but our miniscule efforts remain required. However infinitesimal works are as part of the salvation equation alongside Grace, the scriptures teach they are necessary.

Right there in the Sermon on the Mount the Lord says: "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." (Matt. 7: 21) This verse is followed by the recognition that there will be those who claim to have prophesied in the Lord's name and to have done wonderful works, but nevertheless will be rejected of Him. This rejection will occur not because they have done works in general or tried to get into heaven by doing righteously (although such would be insufficient alone), but because the works done were not done according to the Lord's will. "Therefore whosoever heareth these  sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man" . . . (Matt. 7: 24) Of course, he that "doeth them not" is likened unto a foolish man. (Matt. 7: 26.) Right here, in the conclusory verses of the Sermon on the Mount, would have been a wonderful place for the Lord to have taught "saved by faith unto grace alone" had that been a correct doctrine. Instead, He emphasized doing His will. That humans fall short is a given; still, we are to try as a necessary condition for grace. Otherwise, what sense would this verse have made, also from the Sermon on the Mount: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt. 5: 48.) Nowhere in scripture is mere belief or faith equated with perfection. After all, even the devils believe and tremble. (James 2: 19.)

James, whose teachings emphasize doing and the symbiotic relationship of faith and works, was one of he original Twelve and presumably spend the better part of the Lord's 3-year ministry with him, whereas Paul was a replacement Apostle who was saddled with having to constantly correct various congregations' creeping heretical teachings. He wouldn't be gone long before local leaders would come up with some strange new notion that Paul would have to correct. Paul's teachings on the primacy of grace were correct and Mormons believe them. We do not believe, however, that Paul taught that works were unnecessary, or that true faith automatically manifests itself by works. Many a man has received testimony of the Lord only to not act on it--to their condemnation. Again, even the devils know the Lord is Lord. The lazy Christian who knows the Lord is his Savior may ultimately receive a measure of grace, but he certainly won't receive the same reward as those who hear the sayings of Christ "and doeth them." Paul taught we reap what we sow. (2 Cor. 9: 6; Gal. 6: 7.)

Ecclesiastes 12: 13 says that fearing God (faith) and keeping his commandments (works) is  "the whole duty of man.) This Old Testament verse appears to retain complete vitality as it is consistent with the Sermon on the Mount and with James' explanations.

Then there is the tandem references of Matthew 10:33 and Titus 1: 16. Matthew warns that whosoever shall deny Christ before men, Christ will deny him before Father in Heaven. How can someone deny Christ before men? Paul, in Titus, says they do so by abominable works and by disobedience, regardless of professing to know God.

And how does one come to know God? Jesus says in the great Intercessory Prayer that knowing God and Christ is the very definition of eternal life. How can one know them without sharing their thoughts, and without feeling the same way they do about things? How can one partake of such high and holy thoughts in the least degree without sharing their holy character? If Peter, for example, who already had received witness by the Holy Ghost that Jesus was the Christ and the Son of God (Matt. 16: 16-17), was already saved by such faith unto grace, why would Christ have prayed (according to John) that Peter and the rest would come to know Him so that they might yet obtain eternal life? Because there is more knowledge to be obtained upon righteous living and the incremental bestowal of grace that attends it. Joseph Smith taught that a man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge, "knowledge" meaning knowledge of the Lord as recorded in John. There is no way humans can truly know the Lord and partake of eternal life unless they become like Him.  No human is quite like the Lord, even those with strong faith in him. Thus Mormons believe that salvation by grace is a process in this life and maybe for a very long time thereafter, not a single, sudden event. Hence, Peter's admonition to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3: 18.) There would be no need to grow in grace if it were a one-shot, "now I'm saved" deal. Likewise, there would be no need to grow in knowledge if grace only were necessary. There is a need for divine knowledge because God stands revealed or he remains forever unknown to fallen man--and knowing God is the essential element of eternal life. I may get back to this subject, in another post, depending on how this is received.

Let's consider a few verses on the final judgment, which logically should inform one on how to live. In law school, the key to doing well on an exam is to scour the professor's old tests. What is he looking for? What does he want me to study and learn? God, being far more fair than any earthly professor, indeed as our Father yearning for our successful return to Him, announces clearly and often what he is looking for. "For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." (Matt. 16: 27.) Paul declared to the Corinthians that "...we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2 Cor. 5: 10.) John wrote, "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. (Rev. 20: 12.)  Mormons do not seize on these verses and those like them to give short shrift to grace. Still, given these verses in plain language about being judged by our works, any discussion of being saved by grace must account for such teachings.

Paul told the Romans that God would 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: (Romans 2: 5-7) Again, "[G]lory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." (Rom. 2: 10.) "(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.)" Why, if grace alone saves me, should anyone patiently continue in well doing? Why are we again and again and again taught to be doers of the word? Of course we fall short and of course we are saved by grace, but we're supposed to at least try--try to follow the Savior's example. Didn't he say, "Come, follow me?" Why follow Him if all one need do is believe? Good works, however feeble and faltering, however inconsistent, are a necessary condition before Christ will dispense His full measure of grace.

Mormons do not believe they earn their way to heaven. They believe they are saved by grace, triggered upon effort. Let me illustrate. Suppose fallen mankind is trapped at the bottom of a deep pit in need of rescue. Only Jesus Christ has not fallen into the pit. He alone can rescue us, but rather than snatch us up he makes mild demands. He lowers the ladder of gospel living and holds it steady. He coaches us with his word. But he requires we get on the ladder. He requires we take steps, or at least try. He requires that we help others get on the ladder. Yet we struggle and cannot make it out of the pit by climbing all the way... the pit is just too deep. Christ sees we'll never make it, so once he sees the required efforts, he pulls the ladder up the rest of the way. There is no point in quantifying the works-to-grace ratio when in this scenario the "works" of getting on the latter and the nominal climbing clearly do not save. For even the most faithful and eager disciple to boast of his climbing higher than any of his neighbors would be an absurdity. Christ saves, and Mormons believe it. The works are required because the Lord wants us to become more like Him so we can eventually know Him and know His joy. The works of Christ make us better people for doing them. Works are also required to prevent mockery of His supreme sacrifice.

This is why Mormons cherish the prophet Nephi's saying that we are saved by grace, after all we can do. (2 Nephi 25: 23, Book of Mormon.) It very plainly and succinctly reveals and harmonizes the teachings on grace and on works. "All we can do" is not much. Another Book of Mormon prophet, King Benjamin, proclaimed that if we were to labor with all our mights the rest of our days, we would still remain "unprofitable servants" unto the Lord. (Mosiah 2: 21.) Anybody who things Mormons believe in some sort of graceless brownie point system for getting into Heaven must not have read or understood the Book of Mormon.

In Romans 6: 15-16, Paul asked whether "we shall sin because we are not under the law, but under grace?" The answer is a resounding, "God forbid." (Why would Paul say God forbid if there were no choice in the matter, or if there were no Divine expectation to try to live a little better each day?) Paul continues, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of  sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"  Here Paul's teaching is consistent with Nephi's harmony of the two doctrines. Although we are under grace, we must yet obey God. Again, we are to do this "in patient continuance" because the fulness of the reward doesn't come all at once.

I pause here to ask another question: why would Paul and the other apostles give direct commandments to the church members to do anything other than believe in Christ and have faith in him if good works automatically followed all those who believed? Why would Jesus himself order his disciples to "love one another, even as I have loved you?" Why not just say, "Believe, believe! And ye shall enjoy the fruits of belief." Why are we told to continue patiently in well doing? What about other specific commandments, such as to repent and to be baptized? (Acts 2: 38.) Why the affirmative commandments to continue avoiding specific sins? (Eph. 5: 1-7.) Because initial testimony comes as a gift by grace, usually to the sincere, but then the recipient is expected to exercise that gift and do something with it. Assuming that is done, further witness comes, ratifying that such person is on the right course, doing God's will, however paltry and anemic an attempt. Faith increases, leading to incremental growth in righteousness. Repentance, of course, is a daily part of the formulla, being made possible by Christ's sacrifice.

Back to Paul. "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed?" (Romans 13: 11.) Wait. How could anyone's salvation possibly be "nearer" than when he believed if belief in Christ is sufficient unto saving grace? Verses like this bespeak the incremental process of grace-works-faith, more grace, more works and more faith, etc., etc..... The devils also believe, and tremble. (James 2: 19.)The difference is the Lord leads  along the willing faithful to become better, and thus happier, people. He wants us to become ever more like Him so that we can know Him as he prayed for. Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little (Isaiah 28: 10, 13.) Hopefully, this process continues until the perfect day. (Matt. 5: 48; Proverbs 4: 18.)

Galatians 6: 7 explains another reason I believe works are required. It says: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."  (So far as I know, the LDS church are some of the few Christians who truly believe this plain verse, that a man shall reap what he sows. This principle implies that Lifesaver thieves and axe-murderers shall have different punishments because some sins are more scarlet than others, and likewise, that there will be varying rewards for varying degrees of righteousness. The converted-but-lazy will not be found in the same mansion as the martyrs-in-Christ. This is why Mormons believe in various degrees of heaven and hell. The highest degree is reserved for those whose sins are completely cleansed in the blood of the Lord.) Paul knows here, that although his teachings on grace were necessary to change some minds stubbornly clinging to the notion that the law of Moses would save, that psychologically humans would be tempted to regard grace as a license to sin-for-free. That is the mockery he warns against. Christ dying on the cross so the converted can party without consequence? Hardly. That the converted can set their testimony aside and intentionally sin is  affirmed by scriptures warning not to do so. This necessarily means that good works are not merely a sign of faith unto grace, although they often follow. Good works are a choice to exercise one's faith. One must constantly choose to do something with the grace one receives. In Paul's words, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." I don't know about you, but I believed in Christ a long time ago and never got close to fainting from that belief. Exercise of that faith, my conscious choosing to help others in self-sacrifice, THAT wearies me. That gets me close to fainting. Yet Christ keeps us going, unweary in doing good. There is no need for teachings like this if mere belief unto grace is sufficient.

At last, for now, we come to James. It will not do to call his plain teachings on faith and works "clumsy," as some have done in the Hugh Hewitt blog post mentioned in the first paragraph. James teachings are true and plain. (Because of the specific tasks Paul was burdened with--constant checking of apostasy and heresy, his teachings are the ones we must approach most prayerfully, and with care, not those of James. (2 Peter 3: 16 [Peter's warning to be careful with Paul's teachings].)) James plainly taught that faith without works is dead. (James 2: 17.) It is not sound to say that faith is merely manifest by works... that is not what James meant. Works are no mere sign. It is somewhat circular to argue that grace saves and that a sign of saving grace is good works although works are not required, and then to explain away the converted-but-lazy as not having true faith. James cut off that notion when he said the devils believe, and tremble. (James 2: 19; e.g., Mark 5: 7.) When God gives us the baton of faith, we had better run with it. We had better love our fellow man, we had better forgive them and serve them, and obey the Lord in all other respects. Grace it is that saves, but the Lord has conditioned it on leveraging our faith. We have to try. We fall and we fail, but then we must repent and try again. This is the commandment. (Matt. 5: 48.) This is the goal. (John 17: 3.) And this is how we can, someday, come to know God and "see him as he is." (1 John 3: 2.)

I believe that most Christians in quiet moments of reflection know these principles are true. They know that each good work is a choice, an exercise of faith, and they feel joy after doing such. They also know that sins of omission needn't occur. They know that procrastination is one of Satan's most effective temptations and feel badly when they succumb to it. "I could have done better." "If only I had done x, or y, or z." But sins of omission do not necessarily cut short our testimonies of Christ; indeed, those testimonies are the measuring stick by which we know we fall short. "I'll do better next time. I'll feed the hungry. I'll forgive more quickly." Grace doesn't put one on an autopilot of good works. We know we are supposed to act and that we can act. We are commanded to act and are told we'll be accountable for acting, or not.

To conclude. The real point here, if not apparent already, was not so much to proselyte or to prove Mormons are Christian, but merely to show a cogent case that the LDS position on faith and works is consistent with Biblical teaching. I have quoted from all over the New Testament, including from Paul's epistles. One faced with the apparently conflicting doctrines of faith and works have only two options. He can believe the one and disregard the other. Or he can try to learn how the Lord harmonizes them. Mormons have a sensible, Biblically-rooted and consistent position that harmonizes the two doctrines. (Again, we are saved by grace, after all we can do.) Other Christians may have different views, and they may have cogent, biblically-rooted cases for those views. But so do Mormons.

P.S. Even if the LDS position on grace and works is in error, what is the practical result of their belief in that position? Lots of Mormons running around trying to be better people, better citizens, neighbors and friends.