Are we saved by works or by faith?

Introduction

1.Dear brothers and sisters, we know that feeling well. The feeling that every little misstep — a song listened to, a movie watched, a friendship with a classmate or coworker — takes us further from Jehovah. That every sin, even the smallest, brings us one step closer to destruction. We grow up with the idea that we must strive for Jehovah’s sovereignty, as if we carried on our shoulders the burden of saving the reputation of the Creator of the universe.

2.We too believed all of this. For years. It wasn’t easy to discover, after a careful examination of the Scriptures, that the Bible tells a different story. A story of grace, not of performance. Of a Father who loves, not of a judge who controls.

3.In this reflection we examine an article from The Watchtower titled “Have You Entered Into God’s Rest?” (available on wol.jw.org). We compare it with the Scriptures, verse by verse, using the same New World Translation. We don’t add opinions. We let the Bible speak.

4.What you find may surprise you. Not because the Scriptures are obscure, but because they are extraordinarily clear — and they say something very different from what the article concludes. Every Christian is called to use his thinking abilities, his capacity to reflect, his conscience. Not to rebel, but to “make sure of all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

5. At the end of this reflection, ask yourself: in your view, do these statements come from Christ or from mere men?

What The Watchtower article says

6.The article “Have You Entered Into God’s Rest?” published in The Watchtower(study edition), begins by quoting Ephesians 2:8-9 — salvation by grace, not by works. So far, all perfect. But a few paragraphs later, we arrive at these statements:

“Jehovah reveals to us, through his organization, his purpose and what he desires from us. We can enter into Jehovah’s rest if we obey him and cooperate with his organization.”

“But we act against Jehovah’s purpose if we do not obey the faithful and discreet slave or if we choose to obey only what we consider important. And if we act against Jehovah’s purpose, we cannot be his friends.”

8.Let’s read carefully the logical path of these two paragraphs: it starts from grace (“not by works”), arrives at compulsory obedience to the organization, and concludes with the threat of losing God’s friendship for those who do not obey. Let’s try to compare each step with what the Bible actually says.

“Not by works” — but then, which works?

9. The apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9: “By this undeserved kindness you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing; rather, it is God’s gift. No, it is not a result of works, so that no one should have grounds for boasting.” The declaration is crystal clear: salvation is a gift. It is not earned, it is not deserved, it is not accumulated. It is received.

10.Yet the Watchtower article “Have You Entered Into God’s Rest?” introduces a series of conditions: obedience to the organization, regular participation in the ministry, submission to the Governing Body. The article, while citing grace, fills it up with works. The “gift” becomes a contract with clauses.

11. Paul had already addressed exactly this problem. In Galatians 3:1-3 he writes: “O senseless Galatians, who has cast a spell over you? [...] After starting in spirit, are you now ending in flesh?” The Galatians had accepted the grace of Christ, but then someone had convinced them that they had to add works of the law to complete salvation. Paul calls this “senselessness” — not with harshness, but with sorrow.

12. And in Galatians 2:21 he adds: “I do not push aside the undeserved kindness of God, for if righteousness comes through law, Christ actually died for nothing.” If salvation depends on obedience to a system of rules — any system of rules — then the sacrifice of Christ is not sufficient. And if it is not sufficient, what is the point of it?

God’s rest: what does it really mean?

13. The author of the letter to the Hebrews writes: “For the man that has entered into God’s rest has also himself rested from his own works, just as God did from his own.” (Hebrews 4:10). The metaphor is powerful: as God ceased from the work of creation — not because he was tired, but because the work was complete — so the Christian ceases from the attempt to earn salvation by his own works. Because the work of Christ is complete.

14.The Watchtower article quotes this verse. In paragraph 16 it states that entering into God’s rest means “exercising faith in the obedient provision of Jesus’ sacrifice.” So far, the reasoning is scriptural.

15.But in the following paragraphs, the same article defines the “rest” as: following the directives of the organization, supporting the elders, participating in the preaching work, accepting the decisions of the Governing Body. The rest becomes a list of tasks. The ceasing from works becomes... more works. The contradiction is evident.

16.Hebrews 4:10 says to rest from one’s own works. The article says to engage in new works. Who is right: the inspired Scripture or the article?

“Through his organization” — what does the Bible say?

17.A recurring theme in the article is that God guides his people “through his organization.” The Governing Body is presented as the necessary intermediary between God and man — the channel through which truths, directives and divine approval pass.

18. But what does the Bible say? In 1 Timothy 2:5 we read: “There is one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus.” Not an organization. Not a governing body. Not a group of men in Warwick. One mediator: Christ.

19. The new covenant, described in Hebrews 8:10-11, is even more explicit: “I will put my laws in their mind, and in their hearts I shall write them. [...] And they will no more teach each one his fellow citizen and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know Jehovah!’ For they will all know me, from the least one to the greatest one of them.” The new covenant eliminates the need for institutional human intermediaries. Every Christian has direct access to God through Christ.

20. The article maintains that without the organization one cannot know God. The Scriptures affirm the opposite: in the new covenant, the knowledge of God is written in the heart of every believer, without need of a human intermediary.

“If we choose to obey only what we consider important”

21.The Watchtower article warns: if we choose to obey only the commands we consider important, we have not entered into God’s rest. The implicit message is clear: you must obey everything the organization says, without distinguishing.

22. But the apostle Paul writes in Romans 14:5: “One man judges one day as above another; another judges one day the same as all others; let each one be fully convinced in his own mind.” Paul not only permits individual reasoning — he encourages it. Each must be “fully convinced in his own mind.”

23. And in 2 Corinthians 1:24 Paul affirms: “Not that we are the masters over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy, for it is by your faith that you are standing.” Not even an inspired apostle claimed for himself the right to be “master” over the faith of the brothers. Paul did not demand blind obedience. He considered himself a fellow worker, not a master.

24. If an apostle did not master over faith, on what authority does an uninspired organization do so?

“We cannot be his friends”

25.The article suggests that without obedience to the directives of the organization, one cannot be God’s friend. Friendship with God is presented as conditioned on respect for a complex system of rules.

26. Yet Jesus, in John 15:14, says: “You are my friends if you do what I am commanding you.” What did Jesus command? What is his command? In Matthew 22:37-40 he answers clearly: “‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, like it, is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments the whole Law hangs.”

27.Christ’s command is love. Not an operations manual of hundreds of rules. Not a list of things to do and not to do controlled by a judicial committee. Love for God and love for neighbor. On these two commandments the whole Law hangs.

28. In 1 Corinthians 4:6, Paul warns: “Do not go beyond the things that are written.” The organization constantly goes beyond the things that are written, adding rules that the Bible does not contain and presenting them as conditions for salvation and friendship with God.

The path of the reasoning, up close

29.Let’s sum up the logical path of the Watchtower article:

• Premise: Salvation is a gratuitous gift of undeserved kindness.
• Addition 1: But you must obey God to receive it.
• Addition 2: Obeying God means obeying the organization.
• Addition 3: Obeying the organization means following all the directives of the Governing Body.
• Conclusion:Without total obedience to the organization, one does not enter God’s rest.

30.Let’s compare with the logical path of the Scriptures:

• Premise: Salvation is a gratuitous gift of undeserved kindness (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• Mediator: There is one mediator: Christ (1 Timothy 2:5).
• New covenant: God writes the law on the heart (Hebrews 8:10-11).
• Rest: Whoever enters into the rest ceases from his own works (Hebrews 4:10).
• Command:Love God and love neighbor — on this the whole Law hangs (Matthew 22:37-40).

31. The two paths start from the same premise but arrive at opposite conclusions. One adds layer upon layer of human authority; the other liberates the believer through grace and love. Ask yourself: which of the two looks more like the message of Christ?

Some questions to reflect on

A final word

32. The apostle Paul writes in Galatians 5:1: “For such freedom Christ set us free. Therefore, stand firm, and do not let yourselves be confined again in a yoke of slavery.” These words are not an invitation to rebellion. They are an invitation to the freedom Christ himself purchased with his blood. A freedom from fear, from guilt, from the anxiety of never being enough.

33.Grace doesn’t need additions. The sacrifice of Christ doesn’t need integrations. The Bible doesn’t need editorial supplements to be understood. Every Christian has direct access to the Father through the Son — without intermediaries, without permits, without controlling bodies.

34.“Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). This is not a phrase to be used only when it suits the organization. It is a universal principle. Apply it to what you have read. Apply it to what the article teaches. Apply it to what you have been taught all your life. And let the Word of God — not the word of men — have the last word.

“For such freedom Christ set us free. Therefore, stand firm, and do not let yourselves be confined again in a yoke of slavery.”

“Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine.”

A Member of the Lovers of Truth
04/01/2026