Faith and the “Works of the law”

In Galatians 2:16, Paul drives a theological wedge between faith and what he calls “the works of the law”. Emphasis was placed on this demarcation, in order to consolidate his position on a matter of great significance: how are we made justified? Paul fervently argued that we are justified through faith and not by the “the works of the law”. Given the apparent severity of relying on “the works of the law,” it would be imperative to know what exactly Paul was opposing. Is the contention against any kind of good deed or “work”, or is the phrase referring to something more nuanced?

The “Works of the Law” is an Essene doctrine

The Hebrew word for a religious act of devotion is “Avodah” meaning “labor” or “service”. In most cases, Avodah is linked to Temple ritual and sacrifice. However, occasionally scripture applies a more general use of the term:

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve [Avodah] the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul [Nefesh].” – Deuteronomy 10:12

The Hebrew word for “soul” is “Nefesh”. Although “soul” in English carries metaphysical connotations, the Hebrew word “Nefesh” is simply a reference to the life of the body. Therefore, to serve God with all our Nefesh is to leverage the use of our bodies to perform good works. The Hebrew word for “works” or “deeds” is “Ma’aseh”. The fact that the Greek Septuagint translates both words with the same Greek word “ergon” indicates that over time, “service” and “works” became closely linked to the concept of a fervent zeal to obey the ceremonial law in service and worship to God.

There is a Dead Sea Scroll titled: 4QMMT. The “4Q” indicates that it came from the 4^th cave of Qumran. The “MMT” is an acronym for the title of the scroll: “Misqat Ma’ase ha-Torah” which translates into English as: “On the works of the law”. The type of “works” mentioned in the scroll is exclusively on matters of ceremonial purity. The letter constitutes an attempt by the Essenes to convince the Pharisee’s of their error in certain interpretations. The end of the letter utilizes the phrase “works of the law”:

“Now, we have written to you some of the works of the Law, those which we determined would be beneficial for you and your people…”

For the sake of civility, the Essenes offer the following sentiment:

“…because we have seen that you possess insight and knowledge of the law”

According to the Essenes, If the Pharisee’s would come to their senses and see things the Essene way, they would recognize that their grievous errors are only leading them down the path to the devil (Belial):

“Understand all these things and beseech him to set your counsel straight and so keep you away from evil thoughts and the counsel of Belial.”

The Essenes finish with:

“Then you will rejoice at the end time when you find the essence of our words to be true. And it will be reckoned to you as righteousness…”

Evidently, the Essenes believed that it was only through the proper obedience of the ceremonial laws that one could be made righteous. A review of the list of concerns discussed in the scroll yields one important conclusion: in Essene language, “works” only includes matters of purity and ceremonial law. The scroll does not even once, mention “works” the way that most protestant Christians understand it, such as charity, caring for the widow and orphan, helping your neighbor, etc. No, the use of the phrase as applied and used during this time was very specific. We must take this into account when wanting to arrive at an answer regarding what “works of the law” Paul is addressing when he is making a contrast between these works and faith.

It’s no coincidence that Paul uses this term in his epistles, when this is also presented in the Essene scrolls as an important doctrine in the Essene community. Paul was opposing a doctrine that no doubt would have stirred intense contention among the Christian Jews who were a mix of all manner of allegiances. The Book of Acts indicates that many priests and Pharisee’s became converts to Christianity. However, it would have been likely that a good number of Essenes became Christian as well. In fact, Christian Essenes would later coalesce into the first heretical Christian movement after the destruction of the second Temple. The Catholic church fathers called them “Ebionites” – they were vegetarians and fierce opponents of Paul. After joining the Essene belief of the “Works of the Law” with faith in Jesus, they would have been a party to the many Jews who were pressuring the gentiles to obey the ceremonial aspects of the Torah to earn salvation. It makes total sense then, why Paul would want to separate “faith” from “works” or the “works of the law”- the message was: salvation is through faith alone, and not through the “works” of the ceremonial law. And further, if the observance of the ceremonial law is not required for salvation, then the gentile should not be forced to convert to becoming a Jew for salvation.

This view is not new, but was held by several Catholic Church fathers before Martin Luthor led Protestant Christianity down an entirely different road. According to St. Thomas of Aquinas, the “Works of the Law” only referred to the ceremonial aspects of the law and not the moral law:

“It should be known, therefore, that some works of the Law were moral and some ceremonial. The moral, although they were contained in the Law, could not, strictly speaking, be called the ‘works of the Law,’ for man is induced to them by natural instinct and by the natural law. But the ceremonial works are properly called the ‘works of the Law.’” – Commentary on saint Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by F.R. Larcher, O.P.

According to Church Father Jerome:

“he here [Paul] calls the ceremonial works, works of the law; which works, after the death of Christ, were dead.”

We uphold the Law

Paul’s contention was not with the law itself, but with the incorrect handling of the law:

“We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.” – 1 Timothy 1:8

This was addressed to Paul’s disciple and traveling companion who underwent the procedure of circumcision performed at the behest of Paul himself. How can we reconcile this, when Paul wrote to the Galatians that circumcision would jeopardize their salvation? In Timothy’s case, the Torah was handled correctly. Timothy was circumcised for the purpose of removing possible contentions that the Jews in the area would have had if Timothy wished to preach to them. The motive was therefore pure, and done to advance the gospel. This is in stark contrast to Galatians, who were receiving circumcision out of the worst motive possible: to earn their salvation.

During the 1^st Century, the issue of motive regarding Torah observance became such a heated topic that the term “Lishmah” was developed, translated as: “for its purpose” – asserting that one should not complicate the matter through assigning impure motives. Rather, they believed, the Torah should only be pursued out of a sense of duty with “no thought of a wage.”

In Romans 3, Paul offers the following inquiry: if we are not saved through the works of the law, do we abandon the practice, consider it abrogated, made obsolete by faith? The answer is surprising. Paul responds: “Not at all! Rather we uphold the law” (Romans 3:31). The observance of the Torah itself was not the damnable practice that Paul was condemning. Instead, Paul was opposing pursuing Torah with improper Lishmah! This was the error behind the “Works of the Law” that Paul was desperately trying to communicate.

For a more in depth look into the concept of Lishmah: Proper motive, cleaving to God and Galatians 5:2-4

Paul writes that Israel failed to achieve the righteousness they were seeking because they misunderstood the purpose of the law. They pursued it as if it were a platform for accruing works when they could have pursued it “by faith”:

“…but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal [of righteousness]. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.” – Romans 9:20-32

Here we arrive at the real point of contention with the “works of the Law.” The “works of the Lorah” ultimately represent works done with improper Lishmah, that is, works done for the “sake of wages” and with motive to earn. Anything done by faith, in contrast, is performed with no thought of a wage – we do them because we wish to be faithful to God, and what he requires.

This means that the “works of the Law” are not limited to the Ceremonial laws. Paul appropriated the term because it represented an Essene doctrine of works-based righteousness. The danger is therefore in accidentally turning anything, even charity, into the “works of the Law.” As Paul makes clear in the passages quoted, there is nothing wrong with the Ceremonial works of the Torah, if done “by faith.” Therefore the term, as applied by Paul should be understood in this way:

• “Works of the Torah” = Ceremonial law, or any other religious ‘work’ done with the improper motive to earn
•  “By Faith” = Ceremonial law, or any other religious ‘work’ done with proper motive

Saint Thomas of Aquinas identified a problem in assuming the error of the “works of the Law” was simply obedience to the Torah. He details the dilemma like this: if the consequence of the works of the law is compromised salvation, it follows that the Patriarchs and all the Jews leading up to the death and resurrection of Christ who were faithful to the imperative to obey the Torah, are all consequently damned and without a place in the resurrection. This of course is nonsense. He reconciles the problem, by assigning a distinction in obeying the Torah and placing one’s “hope” in the Torah:

“But against this it can be said that the ancient fathers were of the works of the Law. Therefore, they are under a curse and, consequently damned – which is a Manichean error. Hence it is necessary to understand this correctly. And it should be noted that the Apostle does not say, “As many as observe the works of the Law are under a curse,” because this is false when applied to the time of the law. He says rather: As many are of the works of the Law, i.e, whoever trust in the works of the Law and believe that they are made just by them are under a curse. For it is one thing to be of the works of the Law and another to observe the Law. The latter consists in fulfilling the Law, so that one who fulfils it is not under a curse. But to be of the works of the Law is to trust in them and place one’s hope in them.” – Commentary on Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, St. Thomas Aquinas, F.r. Larcher, O.P.

He then mentions the conditions of the early Jewish church, that many were Torah observant, but since they did not place their “hope” in the Law, they were not condemned:

“Now in the early Church there were some just men who observed the Law without being under the Law, inasmuch as they observed the works of the Law; but they were not under the Law in the sense of putting their hope in them.”

This concept of the proper use of one’s “hope” is equivalent to the Jewish concept of “Lishmah” or “motive”:

• Improper Lishmah = obeying to earn a reward
• Placing “one’s hope” in the Torah = obeying the Torah to earn Salvation