Because James 2:26 says, “Faith without works is dead,” the Watchtower teaches that works are a prerequisite to salvation.

In contrast, the Bible teaches that good works are an important part of genuine Christianity but that they are the products of salvation, not the prerequisites to salvation.

The Watchtower teaching

The Watchtower says, “Jehovah gives everyone on earth the opportunity to gain everlasting life. To have eternal life in Paradise, however, we must worship God properly and live now in a way that is acceptable to him. Sadly, many refuse to do so.” (What Does the Bible Really Teach?, p. 145, emphasis added)

The Watchtower always talks in terms of “exercising faith,” which means works, even substituting “exercise faith” for “believe” in its Bible translation.

For example, the Watchtower comments:

Exercise faith in Jesus’ ransom sacrifice. Regarding Jesus, it is said: “The one who exercises faith in the Son has everlasting life.” (John 3:36) How can we exercise faith in Jesus? Such faith is not shown by words alone. “Faith without works is dead,” says James 2:26. Yes, true faith is proved by “works,” that is, by our actions. One way to show that we have faith in Jesus is by doing our best to imitate him not just in what we say but also in what we do.—John 13:15. (What Does the Bible Really Teach?, p. 55, emphasis added)

On its website in an article entitled, “What Is Salvation?” the Watchtower states:

What is the way to salvation? To gain salvation, you must exercise faith in Jesus and demonstrate that faith by obeying his commands (citations omitted)… Can you lose out on salvation? Yes. Just as a person saved from drowning could fall or jump back into the water, a person who has been saved from sin but fails to keep exercising faith could lose out on salvation. (emphasis added)

The biblical response

1. Romans 4:4-6: Being declared righteous by faith apart from works

When you discuss this issue with the Witnesses, I recommend that you ask one of them to read aloud for you Romans 4:4-5 from the Watchtower translation: “4 Now to the man who works, his pay is not counted as an undeserved kindness but as something owed to him. 5 On the other hand, to the man who does not work but puts faith in the One who declares the ungodly one righteous, his faith is counted as righteousness.”

With regard to verse 5, ask, “Does the man who doesn’t work end up being declared unrighteous or righteous?”

You are looking for the fact that he ends up being declared righteous despite the fact that he doesn’t work.

Ask, “Why would Jehovah declare this ungodly man—a man who doesn’t work—righteous because of his faith? He doesn’t seem to be exercising his faith at all. Why wouldn’t Jehovah refuse to declare him righteous on the grounds that ‘faith without works is dead?’”

Then ask them to read verse 6 as well: “Just as David also speaks of the happiness of the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works…”

You can ask: “Since ‘faith without works is dead,’ how can God count this man righteous apart from works? That seems puzzling to me.”

They should have trouble coming up with an answer.

Don’t rush in to give them your answer—that first comes salvation by faith and with it an inner transformation that produces good works.

Let them wrestle with it.

The goal is to get them to engage with what the scripture is saying.

2. Ephesians 2:8-10: Works are a product of—not a prerequisite to—salvation

Ask the Witnesses to read aloud Ephesians 2:8-10 from the Watchtower version, and go over it one verse at a time.

Ephesians 2:8: “By this undeserved kindness you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing; rather, it is God’s gift.”

 Say, “Paul speaks in the past tense. He says his readers have been saved.”

Ask, “Do you believe that you have been saved, or are you just hoping one day that you will prove worthy enough to become saved?”

Next ask, “According to this verse, what role does Paul say works played in his readers’ obtaining their salvation?”

See if their answer is the same as Paul’s answer in the next verse, namely, that works have nothing to do with it.

First comes salvation by faith apart from works.

God credits us with righteousness as a gift purchased by Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:9: “No, it is not a result of works, so that no one should have grounds for boasting.”

If the Witnesses gave a faith-plus-works answer to your questions about verse 8, ask, “According to this verse, what role does Paul say works played in his readers’ obtaining their salvation?”

The answer, of course, should be, “None.”

Also ask, “If our works were involved, what would we be able to do?”

We could boast about our loyalty and endurance, but Paul says that no one can boast because our works don’t contribute to our salvation.

This is the same point he made in Romans 4.

Ephesians 2:10: “We are God’s handiwork and were created in union with Christ Jesus for good works, which God determined in advance for us to walk in them.”

Ask, “According to this verse, what has to happen to us before we can do the works God wants us to do?”

We first have to become God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus by God.

Explain that, in your understanding, this is what the new birth is all about and that’s it’s not just for 144,000.

As Paul says, God does have good works for us to do, but they are the result of the inner transformation God works in us once we have been saved by faith.

They are not how we obtain salvation.

Summing up

You can sum up the difference using two equations:

It’s NOT “Faith + Works = Salvation”

Rather, it’s “Faith = Salvation + Works”

You can sum up the biblical relationship between faith and works this way:

“I believe that a Christian does not work for salvation.

A Christian works from salvation.

A Christian does not work for God’s approval.

A Christian works from God’s approval.

It is God who does the works through the Christian.”