<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith\u2014and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God\u2014 not by works, so that no one can boast.<\/p>\n
Ephesians 2:8-9<\/p>\n
Sometimes we are even so tradition-bound by our upbringing that we can\u2019t hear the truth when it is spoken.\u00a0 Many of you will remember the reference that Willie Tollison made to this when he was spoke to us.\u00a0 (You can click HERE<\/a>1<\/sup> for a 49-second audio clip to refresh your memory \u2013 or to hear this for the first time.)<\/p>\n And sometimes when we look up the words (faith, grace, belief, \u2026) in a modern-day dictionary they do not give us the \u201ccultural\u201d meaning they had during the times the Bible was being written, and so we miss out on the richness present in His Word.<\/p>\n When the words for Grace and Faith (charis<\/em> and pistis<\/em>) were used in the 1st<\/sup> Century they conveyed significantly more meaning than they do today, because of a particular cultural\/societal practice referred to as the Patron-Client System.<\/p>\n What was that?\u00a0 And how is it relevant to our modern-day discussion of \u201cFaith vs. Works\u201d?<\/p>\n Oh, before I forget, those of you who prefer auditory or visual material instead of the written form may click HERE<\/a>2<\/sup> for an audio version of this discussion or, if you have a nice fast Internet connection, may click HERE<\/a>3<\/sup> for a 20MB video of this same topic.\u00a0 These links are each about 7 minutes long.<\/p>\n Most of us are probably more familiar with the system of feudalism than the Patron-Client system.\u00a0 There are many similarities, but the Patron-Client system in general pre-dated the development of the feudal system, and was different in several ways.<\/p>\n But underpinning any discussion of the Patron-Client system must be a discussion of the Honor-Shame system.\u00a0 In today\u2019s time we see reminders again and again of the power of economics.\u00a0 We see people sacrificing honor<\/em> to achieve more wealth<\/em>.\u00a0 In 1st<\/sup> century Palestine (Israel) the more valuable commodity was honor. <\/em> A man would expend vast sums of money<\/em> to get honor<\/em>.\u00a0 Conversely, he would do almost anything in order to avoid losing<\/em> honor.\u00a0 If a man were shamed, he would lose honor.\u00a0 Not understanding this societal norm prevents us from fully understanding the depth of such statements as Hebrews 2:2 — Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.<\/em> But that is a topic for another day.\u00a0 For now, know that one of the ways that a man could achieve honor was by having more Clients.<\/p>\n In 1st<\/sup> century Israel 2% of the population owned virtually 100% of the goods.\u00a0 They would hire 5% – 7% of the rest of the population to be their service providers \u2013 doctors, artists, builders, virtually anyone with marketable skills.\u00a0 The lowest 15% of the population were treated as expendable<\/em> \u2013 prostitutes, the homeless, mentally retarded individuals, etc.\u00a0 The remaining 75% or so of the population were day laborers \u2013 they worked each day for the money it would take to eat that day<\/em> \u2013 and there were a lot of days where they did not eat.<\/p>\n So, in order to survive, the 75% could see no higher possibility for their existence than to try to get into the good graces of the 2% who owned everything.\u00a0 If a person had a skill that was needed by a wealthy PATRON, that wealthy person would take on the poorer person as a CLIENT.\u00a0 What did that mean?<\/p>\n As a Patron, I want as many Clients as I can afford.\u00a0 I\u2019ll provide them health care, a house, jobs, clothes, wife, i.e., all their daily needs.\u00a0 And what will my Clients do for me?\u00a0 They\u2019ll come to my house every day and give me honor!\u00a0 They\u2019ll praise me, they\u2019ll tell anyone that walks by what a honorable man I am, they\u2019ll tell about the time I sent my physician to heal their child, they\u2019ll tell them about the year that the crops failed and I provided food for them, and so forth.<\/p>\n The Patron would supply all the needs of the Client, and the Client in turn would honor his Patron.\u00a0 The Patron gave gifts to his Client that were FREE.\u00a0 And the job of the Client was to make the Patron famous<\/em>.<\/p>\n And the Patron was NEVER to mention the gifts he gave his Client; it would be RUDE for him ever to bring it up again.\u00a0 But the job of the Client was to NEVER CEASE praising his Patron.<\/p>\n So now we get to the good part!\u00a0 What do you suspect the Greek word for the gifts that the Patron gave his Clients was?\u00a0 GRACE<\/strong> (charis<\/em>)<\/p>\n And what do you think the word was that described the job of the Patron\u2019s Clients?\u00a0 FAITH<\/strong> (pistis<\/em>)<\/p>\n When Paul says \u201cby grace, through faith\u2026\u201d he was describing exactly<\/em> this Patron-Client relationship that all of his readers were intimately familiar with.\u00a0 They were so familiar with it that they didn\u2019t even have a name for it.\u00a0 It was just LIFE for them; it was \u201cthe way it was.\u201d\u00a0 They knew no other way to live.<\/p>\n So, OF COURSE \u201cworks\u201d are involved in the Client\u2019s job!\u00a0 When the Patron gives you gifts, you will praise his name to all you meet, you\u2019ll vote for him if he runs for office, you\u2019ll provide any sort of service that the Patron asks for, you\u2019ll follow him to the marketplace and tell the crowds what a magnificent honorable Patron he is\u2026 YOUR JOBS AS A CLIENT IS TO MAKE YOUR PATRON FAMOUS!<\/p>\n Does this relate to the \u201cFaith vs. Works\u201d argument?\u00a0 Of course!\u00a0 That is an argument that would not have even made sense to the 1st<\/sup> century reader.\u00a0 We get tied up in English, or in whatever language we read the Word, and we have little to no understanding of the sociological issues of the 1st<\/sup> century.\u00a0 The average 1st<\/sup> century \u00a0\u201cman in the street\u201d would likely ask us, \u201cWhat is your point?\u00a0 Faith vs. Works?\u00a0 How can they be different?\u00a0 It\u2019s the same word!\u201d\u00a0 Because they knew the job of a Client.\u00a0 They knew how the whole socioeconomic system worked<\/em>.\u00a0 A Client would not be a Client for long if all he did was to receive the gifts of the Patron, and never fulfilled his responsibilities!<\/p>\n \u201cFor it is by GRACE you have been saved, through FAITH\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n God has given us free gifts\u2026 but salvation is not by grace alone.\u00a0 Look at the verse again:\u00a0 \u201cFor it is by grace you have been saved, through FAITH\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Our response to Him, as a Client to his Patron, MUST be \u201cthrough faith!\u201d\u00a0 We fulfill a Client\u2019s responsibilities.\u00a0 We are to make Him famous.\u00a0 We are to direct all glory and honor and praise to Him.\u00a0 We are to be about our Father\u2019s business.<\/p>\n So, is it by FAITH\u2026 or WORKS?<\/p>\n The question has no meaning; it is all the same.<\/p>\n Mark Morrow<\/p>\n 9\/7\/2009<\/p>\n Footnotes:<\/p>\n 1 \u2013 Willie Tollison, Leander, 2005<\/p>\n 2 \u2013 Dr. Mark Moore, 2007<\/p>\n 3 \u2013 Dr. Mark Moore, 2007<\/p>\n The short excerpts by Dr. Mark Moore are from a freely-distributable DVD he has produced, with the title \u201cHow to Interpret the Bible.\u201d\u00a0 The video clip I placed on the web for this article is by nature low quality, to make it possible to download and view fairly quickly.\u00a0 The DVD, on the other hand, is a very high quality production.\u00a0 If you would like a copy I would be glad to obtain one for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Grace?\u00a0 Or Faith?\u00a0 Or Works? AND Works?\u00a0 ??? For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith\u2014and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God\u2014 not by works, so that no one can … Continue reading
\nHow many times have you listened to a discussion, or been involved in one personally, where the topic of \u201cAre we saved by belief or by works?\u201d has been vigorously debated?\u00a0 Or sometimes the question is cast in the form of, \u201cDo you believe we are saved by Faith Alone?\u00a0 Or is there something WE must do in order to be saved?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n