Rom. 8:13 - Promise of Life Not Made to the Work of Mortification But to Him Who Works, For Christ's Sake

Robert Haldane on Romans 8:13:

• For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. 
• "Ye shall live." — Here eternal life is promised to all who, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the body. The promise of life by the Gospel is not made to the work, but to the worker; and to the worker, not for or on account of his work, but according to his work, for the sake of Christ’s work. The promise, then, of life is not made to the work of mortification, but to him that mortifies his flesh; and that not for his mortification, but because he is in Christ, of which this mortification is the effect and the evidence. That they who mortify the flesh shall live, is quite consistent with the truth that the gift of God is eternal life, Romans 6:23; and in this gift there is no respect to the merit of the receiver. This describes the character of all who shall receive eternal life; and it is of great importance. It takes away every ground of hope from those who profess to know God, and in works deny Him; for they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  [Robert Haldane, Commentary on Romans]

A "Rude and Vulgar Idea": That Our Works Aid Us In Possessing Redemption

"The Lord had formerly taught the same thing by his Prophet: "I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him," (Hosea 14:4.) Assuredly he is not influenced by works if his love turns to us spontaneously. But the rude and vulgar idea entertained is, that we did not merit the interposition of Christ for our redemption, but that we are aided by our works in obtaining possession of it."

John Calvin. Institutes of Religion, 3.14.6 

Lest There be any Confusion as to Grace, Works, Faith, and Salvation... C. Hodge: "Salvation is in no sense, and in no degree, of works"

It's rhetorical, man...

How many works are necessary for final salvation? There are some out there who might be prone to see this question as indicating a legal spirit in the questioner. Well, inasmuch as the question relates to the recent discussions of "final salvation" or "final justification" they would be wrong. Rather, the question is asked not to pin down a quantifiable number of good works needed, but posed rhetorically to make the very important point that when it comes to the question, the answer is NONE. In the same way, one could ask, how sincere or of what quality must our evangelical works be in order to secure final salvation? If the answer is this or that level then, as the marine in the movie Aliens said, 'Game over, man! Game over!'

And as Charles Hodge wrote, 'Salvation is in no sense, and in no degree, of works.' 

Let me repeat what has already been asserted countless time by many others, including myself. Good works are indeed necessary in a believer's life. We are called to obedience in Christ. Good works are believing in Christ (John 6:29). Good works are fighting (mortifying) sin through the blood of Christ and repentance. Good works are loving and serving others. In short, good works are our obedience and duty to God. But to what purpose are these works necessary in the one who trusts in Christ for salvation? They are necessary in that our obedience shows forth a true and lively faith. Good works or the fruit of faith is how one judges the presence of a saving faith (James 2:18). Yet those necessary works which follow after faith are not necessary works as a means or ground for the securing or ensuring of one's salvation. The weight of that burden was willingly taken for us by the One who was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:8; Matt 11:28-30). When it comes to works, faith, and acceptance by God it doesn't get any clearer than this:

XII. Of Good Works. (39 Articles of Religion)
Albeit that Good Works, which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after Justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively Faith; insomuch that by them a lively Faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit.

All those whose names are written in the Book of Life (btw, written before the foundation of the world) will necessarily possess goods works (Eph 2:10) as evidence of their trust in Christ alone for eternal life - yet even more - evidence of Christ having chosen them not they having chosen him (John 15:16). So, the admonition to all is: Trust in Christ alone for your salvation. Know that you are called to obedience by him and in him. Know that you are by nature a sinner who sins. Daily walk the path of faith alone in Christ joined by a ready repentance for your sins. And seek to live obediently in a manner worthy of your Lord and Savior.

Now to Hodge:

Ephesians 2:8-9...

The manifestation of the grace of God is the great end of redemption. This is plain, for salvation is entirely of grace. Ye are saved by grace; ye are saved by faith and not by works; and even faith is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. We have then here a manifold assertion, affirmative and negative, of the gratuitous nature of salvation. It is not only said in general, ye are saved by grace,' but further that salvation is by faith, i.e. by simply receiving or apprehending the offered blessing. From the very nature of faith, as an act of assent and trust, it excludes the idea of merit. If by faith, it is of grace; if of works, it is of debt; as the apostle argues in Rom. 4: 4-5. Faith, therefore, is the mere causa apprehendens, the simple act of accepting, and not the ground on which salvation is bestowed. 

Not of works. The apostle says works, without qualification or limitation. It is not, therefore, ceremonial, as distinguished from good works; or legal, as distinguished from evangelical or gracious works; but works of all kinds as distinguished from faith, which are excluded. Salvation is in no sense, and in no degree, of works; for to him that worketh the reward is a matter of debt. But salvation is of grace and therefore not of works lest any man should boast. That the guilty should stand before God with self-complacency, and refer his salvation in any measure to his own merit, is so abhorrent to all right feeling that Paul assumes it (Rom. 4:2) as an intuitive truth, that no man can boast before God. And to all who have any proper sense of the holiness of God and of the evil of sin, it is an intuition; and therefore a gratuitous salvation, a salvation which excludes with works all ground of boasting, is the only salvation suited to the relation of guilty men to God.

Charles Hodge. Commentary on Ephesians 

Good works that are judged good enough at the Judgment? Calvin on John 5:29

John 5:29. “And they who have done good to the resurrection of life, and they who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”

And how does one attain to the resurrection of life? Certainly not by good works, but by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone...

For without the pardon which God grants to those who believe in Him, there never was a man in the world of whom we can say that he has lived well; nor is there even a single work that will be reckoned altogether good, unless God pardon the sins which belong to it, for all are imperfect and corrupted. Those persons, therefore, are here called doers of good works whom Paul calls earnestly desirous or zealous of them, (Titus   2:14.) But this estimate depends on the fatherly kindness of God, who by free grace approves what deserved to be rejected.

Calvin, John. Commentary on John 5:29

Comfort For The Sheep From Calvin: Despite Believer's Lack of Sufficient Good Works - "We Shall Not Cease To Be Acceptable To God"

Hey bro, get off the bike. His burden is light & yoke is easy

In light of the recent final salvation wars, it might be comforting to hear some encouragement from a Reformed theologian. And it comes from John Calvin who was not just a Reformed theologian, but a Reformed pastor, and a very good one! Calvin understood that real comfort for the believer, i.e. good news, needed to be preached to the sheep who daily felt the heavy weight of their struggles against sin.

In the sermon excerpt below, Calvin informs his congregation that not only believer's sins of commission (doing the things we shouldn't) have been imputed to Christ and therefore 'abolished by the obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ' but also our sins of omission, i.e. the good works we should have done but didn't! Calvin writes, 'If we do not yet do the good that we will, but the evil oftentimes pushes us, and there may be many failures, or perhaps we may be too slow to do good, let us look at what the Son of God suffered in order to make reparation for all our faults.'

"Let us recognize, then, the difference between the Head and the members. Let us learn that though by nature we are entirely given to evil, and although God may have regenerated us in part, still our flesh does not cease to chafe against God. However, by virtue of the obedience which we see in our Lord Jesus Christ, we do not cease to be acceptable to our God. 

"If we do not yet do the good that we will, but the evil oftentimes pushes us, and there may be many failures, or perhaps we may be too slow to do good, let us look at what the Son of God suffered in order to make reparation for all our faults. Let us notice how He fought in such a way that there was no contradiction in Him when our crimes and sins were imputed to Him, as was explained more at length this morning. Let us see, then, how our Lord Jesus has made satisfaction in everything and for everything, but we today, although having taken the trouble to obey God, are not able to succeed, but we always droop our wings, must constantly repeat this: that we know that we shall not cease to be acceptable to God and that our imperfections will always be abolished by the obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that they will not come into account before God. 

"Besides, may each one according to the measure of his faith and of the grace which he has received exert himself to fight until we come to the heavenly rest. Seeing our weaknesses are still so great, being convinced that we shall not even know how to have a single good thought, and that having stumbled we shall not be able to raise ourselves, unless God extended to us His hand and strengthened us each minute, may we be advised to pray that He may augment in us the graces of His Holy Spirit; as He has promised it to us, and offers to us Jesus Christ for our Head and Captain, in order that after we are able to arrive at the victory which He acquired for us, of which we already experience the fruit, we shall experience it in perfection. 

"Now we shall bow in humble reverence before the majesty of our God." 

John Calvin: The Second Sermon on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ 

Amen!