We're Not Saved By Works

The phrase "we’re not saved by works” has become one of the most repeated slogans in Christianity, yet it is also one of the most misunderstood. It gets thrown at Torah-observant believers constantly, as an accusation, as if obedience to God’s Law automatically means someone is trying to earn salvation. That assumption is not only wrong, it exposes how deeply Christianity has reframed the Law itself.

I have been on my Torah-observant journey since around 2005 and have never heard any Torah-observant, Messianic Jew, or Hebrew Roots or whatever believer say they are saved by their works or by following the Law. Not one. Torah-observant & Hebrew Roots Movement consistently teach that obedience flows from salvation, not toward it. We obey because God has already redeemed us and brought us into covenant, and we continue walking in His commandments as an expression of faithfulness and endurance, not as a way to earn salvation. Because we love God, not to get God to love us. That distinction is clear, biblical, and rooted in the covenant pattern seen throughout Scripture.

The confusion comes from how Christianity has been trained to hear the word “Law.” In Christianity, the Law is treated as a rival system to grace, a failed attempt at salvation that God supposedly replaced with faith. So when Christians see obedience, they immediately assume motive. They assume legalism. They assume someone is trying to earn righteousness. But that assumption is not coming from Scripture, it is coming from Christian theology.

When Paul says we are “not saved by works,” he is not condemning obedience. He is condemning justification by merit. He is rejecting the idea that human action can place God in debt or force Him to declare someone righteous. Paul’s argument is about how someone is justified, not whether God’s commandments still matter.

Jesus, on the other hand, never speaks against the Law the way Christianity does. In fact, He explicitly does the opposite.

“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill. Most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one of the smallest letters or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness EXCEEDS that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:17–20

That statement alone should force people to slow down. Jesus did not say the Law no longer applies, and as far as I can tell, heaven and earth are still here. He did not say obedience is optional. He said the Law stands, and that greatness in the Kingdom is tied to doing and teaching God’s commandments. What stands out is that He only mentions two categories, those who break even the least of the commandments and teach others to do the same, and those who do them and teach them. He does not even address a category for people who outright reject the commandments altogether, which makes the warning even more sobering. The problem with the scribes and Pharisees was not that they cared too much about the Law. It was that they used it outwardly and hypocritically, for self-righteousness, and they added to it and took away from it. Their obedience was performative, not faithful.

Jesus then takes it further in Matthew 7.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work lawlessness.’” Matthew 7:21–23

Notice who gets rejected. Not people trying to obey God. Not Torah-keepers. The ones rejected are miracle-workers, ministry leaders, people doing religious works in Jesus’ name, yet living in lawlessness. Jesus does not say they lacked faith. He does not say they failed to believe the right doctrine. He says they practiced lawlessness.

Lawlessness only makes sense if the Law still exists.

This is where the Christian slogan collapses. Christianity says obedience equals works-salvation, yet Jesus condemns people precisely for rejecting obedience while claiming faith. Paul says we are not justified by works of the Law, while Jesus says those who break God’s commandments and teach others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom. These statements are only contradictory if the Law is misdefined.

The Law was never given as a ladder to earn salvation. It was given as covenant instruction to a redeemed people. Israel was not given the Torah in Egypt to escape slavery. They were given the Torah after they were redeemed. Obedience was always the response to salvation, not the cause of it.

That same pattern carries into the New Covenant. Salvation comes by grace. Faith is the means. Obedience is the fruit. The Law defines what obedience looks like. Rejecting it does not make someone more spiritual, it makes them lawless.

Ironically, many Christians accuse Torah-observant believers of trusting in works while simultaneously pointing to their own behaviors as proof of salvation. Church attendance. Ministry involvement. Prayer life. Moral living. These are still works. They are just works Christianity approves of. Torah obedience is condemned not because it is works, but because it challenges the theological system Christianity has built.

So when Christians say, “You’re not saved by works,” they are arguing against a position the Torah observant do not hold. It is a strawman. It is a projection. It is Christianity arguing with its own shadow.

The biblical position is simple and consistent. We are not saved by earning righteousness. We are saved by God’s mercy. But those who are saved walk in obedience. Not to be saved, but because they are. Not to earn love, but because they love God. Not as legalism, but as loyalty.

So the question isn’t whether you believe you’re “not saved by works.” The question is what you mean by it. Have you used that phrase to excuse disobedience or to dismiss those who actually take Jesus’ words seriously? Have you tested your theology against what Jesus Himself said, or only against what Christianity taught you to assume? Scripture never pits faith against obedience, it exposes faith that produces lawlessness. If Jesus defines those He rejects as workers of lawlessness, then it’s worth slowing down, examining your own walk, and asking whether your faith leads you to submit to God’s will or to redefine it.

Grace saves. Faith trusts. Obedience follows.