Falling down before Paul and Silas, the Philippian jailer asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Such an eternally significant question was met with a profoundly simple answer: “Believe in the Lord Jesus” (Acts 16:29, 31). There was no work for him to do, for the work had already been done by God in Christ. As Paul would later explain to the church at Rome, it is the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly whose faith is counted to him as righteousness (Rom. 4:5). Eternal life is the “free gift of God,” a gift received by faith (6:23; cf. 3:24; 5:15-16). Yet in that same letter, we also read that God gives eternal life “to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality” (2:6). Only those who persevere in good works are rewarded with . . . a free gift? Here we find an instance of the tension between faith and works.

The fact that Scripture declares “that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Rom. 3:28) and “that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (Jas. 2:24) has been a perennial issue within the Christian church. Perhaps the most helpful solution, however, is the familiar adage from the Reformation: “It is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone.” The Bible is clear that genuine faith bears fruit (John 15:5) and begets virtue (2 Pet. 1:5-11); it is expressed through love (Gal. 5:6) and completed by works (Jas. 2:22). This explanation of the relationship between faith and works is most helpful for understanding the nature of justification and sanctification. It also brings clarity to a related doctrine that is often misunderstood: the doctrine of the final judgment.

On the last day, when the risen Lord Jesus returns in glory to set the world to rights, all those who have ever lived will be raised to appear before the judgment seat of Christ. This judgment will be a universal demonstration and decisive vindication of the perfect justice of God. There are several descriptions of this singular event found throughout Scripture, but one of the truths held in common by all of them is that this judgment will be according to works. This raises an important question: If justification is by faith, then how is judgment according to works? Since the present reality of justification is an already-pronounced eschatological judgment received by faith and not works, on the basis of the imputed righteousness of God revealed in Christ, how does this relate to a future judgment according to works?

To answer this question, we will use Paul’s most extensive description of the final judgment, found in Romans chapter 2, as our starting point. Once we have established that judgment is indeed according to works from several other supporting passages, we will explore how the enduring obedience of faith and the transforming power of grace connect our present justification to the future judgment. Finally, we will conclude with one of the last and most beautiful images given to us in Scripture of this relationship, along with some points of application for gospel ministry in our local churches.