LE RÔLE DE LA FOI ET DES BONNES ŒUVRES DANS LE CONTEXTE DU SALUT DE L’HUMANITÉ

CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION

DIMANCHE 4 MAI 2025

Sermon by Pasteur MARC SIMEON

LE RÔLE DE LA FOI ET DES BONNES ŒUVRES DANS LE CONTEXTE DU SALUT DE L’HUMANITÉ

THE ROLE OF FAITH AND WORK IN THE SALVATION OF MANKIND

Ephésiens 2:8-10 Car c’est par la grâce que vous êtes sauvés, par le moyen de la foi. Et cela ne vient pas de vous, c’est le don de Dieu.

 9 Ce n’est point par les œuvres, afin que personne ne se glorifie.

 10 Car nous sommes son ouvrage, ayant été créés en Jésus-Christ pour de bonnes œuvres, que Dieu a préparées d’avance, afin que nous les pratiquions.

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Jacques 2:14-20 ¶ Mes frères, que sert-il à quelqu’un de dire qu’il a la foi, s’il n’a pas les œuvres? La foi peut-elle le sauver?

 15 Si un frère ou une sœur sont nus et manquent de la nourriture de chaque jour,

 16 et que l’un d’entre vous leur dise: Allez en paix, chauffez-vous et vous rassasiez! et que vous ne leur donniez pas ce qui est nécessaire au corps, à quoi cela sert-il?

 17 Il en est ainsi de la foi: si elle n’a pas les œuvres, elle est morte en elle-même.

 18 Mais quelqu’un dira: Toi, tu as la foi; et moi, j’ai les œuvres. Montre-moi ta foi sans les œuvres, et moi, je te montrerai la foi par mes œuvres.

 19 Tu crois qu’il y a un seul Dieu, tu fais bien; les démons le croient aussi, et ils tremblent.

 20 Veux-tu savoir, ô homme vain, que la foi sans les œuvres est inutile?

Jas 2:26 Comme le corps sans âme est mort, de même la foi sans les œuvres est morte.

Jas 2:14 ¶ What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,

 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble!

 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

INTRODUCTION

• Today by the grace of God, I will tackle a delicate subject that has caused a lot of confusion within the body of Christ.
• We Christians know that our salvation is solely rested upon the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary.
• God leaves no one any room to boast for his or her salvation.
• Yet, the bible puts a heavy emphasis on the importance of good works that must be evidenced in the life of the believer in Christ.
• In many places in the bible, the disqualification of a prospect is based on his deeds rather than his faith or doctrine.
• While in a mission trip in Haiti, my job was to translate for an American missionary during our street evangelism.
• He had a set of questions that he would ask that were twisted enough to lead him to conclude that everyone we talked to were not yet saved, or should I say (not properly saved).
• When asked, “How do you know you are a Christian?” Most of the people could not give him the exact answer he was looking for.
• Some of the people would stress on the day of their conversion, their church attendance, their church involvement, and their abstinence from sin as evidence of salvation.
• He ruled them out to have had a work based salvation instead of faith based salvation.
• Culturally, for Haitians, being converted is all of the above: grace, faith and good work.
• When asked to narrate their salvation experience, they explain the transformation that salvation has produced in their lives.
• We Baptists stress so much on faith alone and grace alone, leaving good works in the lower shell of the salvation experience.
• All the religions of this world, save Christianity have some sort of work based salvation.
• In Islam for instance, faith has no bearing upon one’s salvation. If your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, the scale is what determines your eternal fate.
• Today, our aim is to find the balance between deeds and faith in our relationship with God.

• THE PURPOSE OF FAITH
• When it comes to faith and work in the concept of salvation, we are dealing with a coin with two faces.
• (Tonton / palmiste), (head / tail), (front / back)
• It takes both sizes to validate the authenticity of the coin.
• In dealing with God, faith and work are indissoluble.
• A person who accepts Christ on his death bed is saved based on the conviction of his heart in the same manner of the criminal on the cross with Jesus.
• In this instance his faith alone is the evidence of salvation because he had no chance to display the proof of his regeneration.
• For all others, true repentance must be exhibited by our deeds.
• John 14:15 ¶ “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
•  15 ¶ Si vous m’aimez, gardez mes commandements.
• John 15:14 “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
•  14 Vous êtes mes amis, si vous faites ce que je vous commande.
• In this world of confusion and relativity that we live in, people tend to tailor their own plan of salvation apart from the clear teachings of the bible.
• God is a holy God and cannot have any liaison unrighteousness.
• Since God loves humanity with such passion, he crafted a way for us to become acceptable to Him without lowering His holy standard.
• God provides the cleansing agent by which we can be made holy, that is the blood of Jesus Christ the Sacrificial Lamb of God.
• By accepting that you are a sinner alienated from God, and by claiming the sacrifice of Christ on your behalf, you can now access the throne of justice of God to ask for forgiveness and regeneration.
• It requires faith on the finished work of Christ and a repentant heart to access the salvation that God offers.
• That is the purpose of faith. The very first aspect of salvation is faith.
• Faith in the word of God, faith in the goodness of God, faith in the plan of salvation crafted by God, faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and  faith in the process of regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

• THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTELLECTUAL ASSESMENT AND FAITH
• Intellectual assessment of God is head knowledge and cannot produce faith.
• Intellection assessment of God cannot produce conviction of sin.
• Intellectual assessment of God does not produce good works.
• Intellectual assessment of God does not draw one closer to Him.
• Intellectual assessment of God is like a collection of data about God and nothing more.
• The demons have a great knowledge of God but to no avail.
• Jacques 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble!
•  19 Tu crois qu’il y a un seul Dieu, tu fais bien; les démons le croient aussi, et ils tremblent.
• Faith requires an external manifestation to substantiate itself.
• Jacques 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
•  18 Mais quelqu’un dira: Toi, tu as la foi; et moi, j’ai les œuvres. l’iniquité Montre-moi ta foi sans les œuvres, et moi, je te montrerai la foi par mes œuvres.
• Intellectual assessment of God does not equate to faith and trust in God.
• Faith requires more than just believing but trusting.

1. THE PURPOSE OF WORK IN THE CONTEXT OF SALVATION
2. When we talk about works of righteousness, the implication means: living a life of sanctification in conduct; things done solely for the purpose of glorifying God; emitting God’s character in all interactions with others; displaying the virtues of God in all endeavors.
3. God is glorified by the good works of His children.
4. Good works or deeds or fruits of righteousness are the normal output of every true believer.
5. Joh 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6.  5 Je suis le cep, vous êtes les sarments. Celui qui demeure en moi et en qui je demeure porte beaucoup de fruit, car sans moi vous ne pouvez rien faire.
7. Joh 15:8 “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.)
8.  8 Si vous portez beaucoup de fruit, c’est ainsi que mon Père sera glorifié, et que vous serez mes disciples.
9. Le bon fruit de la justice est indispensable dans la vie d’un vrai croyant.
10. Mt 7:18 Un bon arbre ne peut porter de mauvais fruits, ni un mauvais arbre porter de bons fruits.
11.  18 “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
12. God is glorified by the good works of the believer.
13. Good works give evidence of the involvement of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
14. Good works are in harmony with our regenerated nature.
15. Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
16.  10 Car nous sommes son ouvrage, ayant été créés en Jésus-Christ pour de bonnes œuvres, que Dieu a préparées d’avance, afin que nous les pratiquions.
17. The absence of deeds of righteousness is a disqualification to go to heaven.
18. Jas 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19.  18 Mais quelqu’un dira: Toi, tu as la foi; et moi, j’ai les œuvres. Montre-moi ta foi sans les oeuvres, et moi, je te montrerai la foi par mes œuvres.
20. Let’s see what happens when someone possesses strong faith and bad deeds.
21. Mt 7:21 ¶ Ceux qui me disent: Seigneur, Seigneur! n’entreront pas tous dans le royaume des cieux, mais celui-là seul qui fait la volonté de mon Père qui est dans les cieux.
22.  22 Plusieurs me diront en ce jour-là: Seigneur, Seigneur, n’avons-nous pas prophétisé par ton nom? n’avons-nous pas chassé des démons par ton nom? et n’avons-nous pas fait beaucoup de miracles par ton nom?
23.  23 Alors je leur dirai ouvertement: Je ne vous ai jamais connus, retirez-vous de moi, vous qui commettez l’iniquité.
24. Mt 7:21 ¶ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
25.  22 “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
26.  23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

1. THE INDISSOLUBILITY OF FAITH AND WORK IN SALVATION CONTEXT
2. True salvation experience transcends our entire being. If anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation.
3. The non-confessed sins of the professed Christians will be the basis for their rejection in the day of judgment before God.
4. Religious duty done with a sinful heart is to no avail when it comes to salvation.
5. The bible is very explicit about holiness.
6. God says “Be ye holy as I am holy.”
7. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior in our lives, we become slaves of righteousness in the same manner that we were formerly slaves of sin.
8. Wherever deeds of righteousness are not evidenced, there cannot be assurance of salvation.
9. In the final analysis, it is the deed that God questions more often instead of the faith.
10. Apocalypse 22:11-15 Que celui qui est injuste soit encore injuste, que celui qui est souillé se souille encore; et que le juste pratique encore la justice, et que celui qui est saint se sanctifie encore.
11.  12 Voici, je viens bientôt, et ma rétribution est avec moi, pour rendre à chacun selon ce qu’est son œuvre.
12.  13 Je suis l’alpha et l’oméga, le premier et le dernier, le commencement et la fin.
13.  14 Heureux ceux qui lavent leurs robes, afin d’avoir droit à l’arbre de vie, et d’entrer par les portes dans la ville!
14.  15 Dehors les chiens, les enchanteurs, les impudiques, les meurtriers, les idolâtres, et quiconque aime et pratique le mensonge!
15. Re 22:11-15 “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
16.  12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
17.  13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
18.  14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
19.  15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

CONCLUSION

• We’ve been doing some gymnastics in this message to portray the multi aspects of salvation.
• Grace, faith and works are indissoluble in the salvation experience.
• God loves and desires to save the whole world, but only a remnant of the world population will be saved because they refuse to adhere to this principle.
• Salvation involves faith in the finished work of Christ as the sacrificial Lamb and as our High Priest in the heavenly temple.
• Salvation also involves obedience to the word of God.
• Salvation also involves the production of deeds of righteousness.
• Salvation also involves perseverance in faith and practice to the end.
• Jas 2:18 Mais quelqu’un dira: Toi, tu as la foi; et moi, j’ai les œuvres. Montre-moi ta foi sans les œuvres, et moi, je te montrerai la foi par mes œuvres.
•  18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
• Consistent Christians naturally produce fruits of righteousness not so that they can get saved or remain saved, but in evidence of their salvation.
• The grace of God enables the believer to persevere in both faith and deeds.
• If you notice that your faith does not synchronize with your behavior, bring it to the Lord in prayer.
• Grace, faith, action are like three points that make the salvation triangle.
• Be sure that none of them is missing in your life.
• Re 22:14 Heureux ceux qui lavent leurs robes, afin d’avoir droit à l’arbre de vie, et d’entrer par les portes dans la ville!
•  14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
• Don’t forget the title of this message.
• LE RÔLE DE LA FOI ET DES ŒUVRES DANS LE SALUT DE L’HUMANITÉ
• THE ROLE OF FAITH AND WORK IN THE SALVATION OF MANKIND
• May God add Hiss blessings upon His word!
• AMEN!