Tanto la teología como la filosofía tratan de explicar qué sucede después de la muerte. Básicamente todos o la gran mayoría dan por hecho que existe la salvación y la condenación. Luego de innumerables explicaciones acerca de cómo salvarse, vemos en la actualidad una división que parece irreconciliable: unos que dicen que la salvación se alcanza mediante las buenas obras y otros que afirman que el hombre se salva única y exclusivamente a través de la fe. Es necesario que se le ponga fin a ese divisionismo a través de una explicación clara y verídica que nos permita conocer el papel que juegan la fe y las obras dentro del plan de salvación de Dios para la humanidad.
En primer lugar es importante señalar que la fe y las obras no son enemigas ni rivales, sino por el contrario, cuando ambas se fusionan, forman en las personas un carácter puro y agradable a los ojos de Dios, así como también una vida virtuosa delante de los hombres y de quienes nos rodean. Lamentablemente algunas religiones se han enfocado o solo en la fe o solo en las obras, como si la una fuera el antónimo u opuesto de la otra.
Santiago 2:18 nos muestra que la fe y las obras no deben verse como contrarias:
“Pero alguno dirá: Tú tienes fe, y yo tengo obras. Muéstrame tu fe sin tus obras, y yo te mostraré mi fe por mis obras.”
Como vemos, las obras dan testimonio o revelan el grado de sinceridad de nuestra fe.
Existe también una razón muy importante que no se debe dejar de mencionar, y es que quien da la salvación es Dios, por lo cual no debemos ver ver a la fe ni a las obras como autores de la salvación, sino como copartícipes de ella.
Así como el amor se manifiesta dando, la verdadera fe se manifiesta por las buenas obras, sin que esto signifique una oposición entre ambas.
Abraham es conocido como “el padre de la fe”, pero eso no significa que no haya tenido buenas obras, pues cuando Dios le dijo que sacrificara a su hijo Isaac, estuvo dispuesto a hacerlo, poniendo de manifiesto que su fe era genuina y que no había en él hipocresía.
Personalmente he podido darme cuenta de los dos extremos respecto a la relación entre la fe y las obras. Por un lado aparecen los que dicen que tienen fe y eso les sirve de excusa para cometer todo tipo de inmoralidades y para desobedecer desenfrenadamente a Dios. Por otra parte están aquellos que creen que por su generosidad, posición social y riqueza, pueden negociar con Dios la salvación, considerándose a sí mismos merecedores de la vida eterna, lo cual es completamente falso porque un solo pecado nos pone en la lista de pecadores. Ambos extremos son igualmente erróneos.
Algunos han querido ver a las obras como un complemente de la fe, pero lo correcto sería decir que la fe genuina se manifiesta en buenas obras, y no que las obras son un complemente de la fe.
En el peor de los casos, muchos han ocupado este tema como motivo de división, atacando el valor de la fe o la importancia de las obras y logrando con ello únicamente generar confusión en las personas.
La salvación proviene de Dios, la recibimos por fe y la manifestamos a través de las buenas obras. Es necesario comprender que Dios se agrada de que creamos en lo que Él ha prometido así como también quiere que le obedezcamos. ¡La fe y las obras son grandes amigas!
BIBLIOGRAFÍA
La Santa Biblia. Versión Reina-Valera 1960. Santiago 2:18 y Romanos 4:1-3 (del porqué a Abraham se le conoce como “el padre de la fe”).
Jaime Montoya
jaimemontoya@jaimemontoya.com
www.jaimemontoya.com
Saturday, April 7, 2007
The eternal dilemma between faith and works
Both Theology and Philosophy try to explain what happens after death. Basically everyone or the great majority of persons recognize that there exist both salvation and condemnation. After countless explanations about how to get salvation, we can see nowadays divisions that seem to be not reconcilable: Those who say that salvation is reached through good works and those who say that men can get salvation exclusively through faith. It is necessary to give a stop to this divisions through a clear and true explanation that let people know what both faith and works do in God's salvation plan for human beings.
First of all, it is important to say that faith and works are not enemies nor rivals, but it is the opposite, when they both get together, they make people to have a pure character that pleases God, as well as a virtuous life to those who are around us. It's sad that some religious are focused only on faith or only on works, making things as if faith and works were enemies.
James 2:18 says: "Bus someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."
As we can see, works give testimony or reveal the level of sincerity of our faith.
There also exist a very important reason that we need to mention, and it is that God is who gives salvation, so we don't have to see faith nor works as authors of salvation, but as participants of it.
Just as love is shown giving to the one that we love, real faith is shown by good works, and it does not mean opposition between faith and works at all.
Abraham is known as "the father of faith", but it does not mean that he did not have good works, since when God asked him to sacrifice his own soon Isaac, he was willing to do it, showing that his faith was real and that he did not have hypocrisy.
Personally I have been able to realize about both extremes of the relation that some people give to faith and works. On one side we find those who say that they have faith and that's the excuse that they use to make any immoral act and for disobeying completely to God's commands. On the other side there appear those who think that because of their generosity, social position and wealth, they can trade salvation with God, considering themselves worthy of eternal life, what is completely false because just one sin make us be in the list of sinners. Both extremes are the same wrong.
Some have tried to see works as a complement of faith, but what is correct to say is that real faith is shown with good works, and not that works are a complement of faith.
The worst situation is that some persons or religions have used this as a motive for divisions, attacking the value of faith or the importance of works and gaining from that only to confuse people.
Salvation comes from God, we receive it by faith and we manifest it through good works or good deeds. It is necessary to comprehend that God loves when we believe in what he has promised just as he loves that we obey him. Faith and works are the best friends!!!
Jaime Montoya
jaimemontoya@jaimemontoya.com
www.jaimemontoya.com
First of all, it is important to say that faith and works are not enemies nor rivals, but it is the opposite, when they both get together, they make people to have a pure character that pleases God, as well as a virtuous life to those who are around us. It's sad that some religious are focused only on faith or only on works, making things as if faith and works were enemies.
James 2:18 says: "Bus someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."
As we can see, works give testimony or reveal the level of sincerity of our faith.
There also exist a very important reason that we need to mention, and it is that God is who gives salvation, so we don't have to see faith nor works as authors of salvation, but as participants of it.
Just as love is shown giving to the one that we love, real faith is shown by good works, and it does not mean opposition between faith and works at all.
Abraham is known as "the father of faith", but it does not mean that he did not have good works, since when God asked him to sacrifice his own soon Isaac, he was willing to do it, showing that his faith was real and that he did not have hypocrisy.
Personally I have been able to realize about both extremes of the relation that some people give to faith and works. On one side we find those who say that they have faith and that's the excuse that they use to make any immoral act and for disobeying completely to God's commands. On the other side there appear those who think that because of their generosity, social position and wealth, they can trade salvation with God, considering themselves worthy of eternal life, what is completely false because just one sin make us be in the list of sinners. Both extremes are the same wrong.
Some have tried to see works as a complement of faith, but what is correct to say is that real faith is shown with good works, and not that works are a complement of faith.
The worst situation is that some persons or religions have used this as a motive for divisions, attacking the value of faith or the importance of works and gaining from that only to confuse people.
Salvation comes from God, we receive it by faith and we manifest it through good works or good deeds. It is necessary to comprehend that God loves when we believe in what he has promised just as he loves that we obey him. Faith and works are the best friends!!!
Jaime Montoya
jaimemontoya@jaimemontoya.com
www.jaimemontoya.com
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