One critic, outraged by the view that works, done under the auspices of grace, can be meritorious, wrote:
Thomas Monson Current Mormon Prophet said “It is the celestial glory (godhood) which we seek. It is in the presence of God we desire to dwell. It is a forever family in which we want membership. Such blessings must be earned”. (Thomas S. Monson, On the Lord’s Errand: The memoirs of Thomas S. Monson, 1985 p.342)
There are many things that inform this perspective, including the author's Reformed theology which is based, in part, on the blasphemous and anti-biblical concept of imputed righteousness (click here for a series on the meaning of λογιζομαι). Indeed, there are many passages in the Bible that teach gracious merit and/or the salvific importance of good works. Consider the following:
Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore. (Psa 106:30-31; cf. Num 25:7-8).
And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is 1 not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. (Deut 30:6-16)
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my heart hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgements were before me, and I did not put away his statues from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore, hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the forward thou wilt shew thyself forward. For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt thou bring down high looks. For thou wilt light my candle; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. (Psa 18:20-28)
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay straw--the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If that has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Cor 3:10-15 NRSV).
You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? (Jas 2:22-25 NRSV)
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but how much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Phil 2:12-13)
With respect to Phil 2:12-13, note what one New Testament scholar wrote about this passage:
Finally, Phil 2:12-16, particularly verses 12-13, deserves a more thorough analysis. What does Pal mean by the phrase “with fear and trembling work out your own salvation” (2:12)? Some suggest that σωτηρια refers to the health and welfare of the corporate body of believers in Philippi, not final salvation from God’s wrath or eternal life in the next age. This sociological interpretation has been amply rebutted. Here, as in 1:28, σωτηρια refers to eschatological salvation as it usually does elsewhere in Paul’s letters.
What, then, does Paul mean by κατεργαζομαι? Paul uses the word eighteen other times with the meaning “to achieve, accomplish, do, bring about, produce, or create.” In this case, then, Paul exhorts the Philippians to bring about or achieve their own salvation. Considering all the passages discussed in this section, such a mandate and responsibility should come as no surprise. Why else would Paul exhort believers to be “pure and blameless,” or to “produce a harvest of righteousness,” or to be “blameless and innocent . . . without blemish” in light of the imminent day of Christ, unless he also believes that Christians themselves must work in order to be saved on that day. Κατεργαζομαι refers to a number of things, such as “live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel” (1:27), “standing for in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel” (1:28), “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves” (2:3), “look not to your own interests but to the interests of others” (2:4), do all things without murmuring and arguing” (2:14), “holding fast to the word of life” (2:16), and so on. Christians themselves do these things, not God; they decide as an act of the will to obey or disobey Paul, the gospel, or God.
Believers do such things, however, not on their own strength alone. Paul says, “For God is the one who is working in you so that (you might) desire to work for (his) good pleasure” (2:13). God aids and inspires the believers to accomplish God’s purposes. Likewise, Paul testifies about himself:
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. (Phil 3:12)
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)
On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Cor 15:10)
In his autobiographical statements, sometimes Paul emphasizes his role in his endeavors (e.g., 2 Cor 11:23-29; Phil 2:16; 1 Thess 2:9), sometimes God’s grace. Paul views himself as neither “possessed” or controlled by the deity nor as constrained or overpowered; rather he is inspired. If one’s deeds rely solely upon God’s doing, then the logic of God’s commandments is lost and responsibility for one’s behaviour at the Last Judgment is moot. (Chris VanLandingham, Judgment and Justification in Early Judaism and the Apostle Paul [Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2006], 186-87)
Two excellent examples of gracious merit in the Bible can be seen with Able and Noah.
In Heb 11:4, we read the following:
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it be being dead yet speaketh.
This passage hearkens back to Gen 4:4-5:
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. But unto Cain and to his offering he had no respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
The phrase translated by the KJV as "the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering" uses שׁעה ("to gaze") which has connotations of looking upon something (in this case, Abel's offering) with validation/with pleasure. One could plausibly translate the term as "Yahweh looked upon with grace Abel and his sacrifice."
Speaking of Noah, the author of Hebrews wrote the following:
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteous which is by faith. (Heb 11:7)
One should compare the above with Gen 6:7-8:
But Noah found grace (חֵן/χαρις) in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man (צַדִּיק/δικαιος) and perfect (תָּמִים/τελειος) in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Furthermore, in Gen 7:1, we read:
And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous (צַדִּיק/δικαιος) before me in this generation.
In these texts, it is God Himself who is making the judgment about Noah's righteousness, and it is clear that it was for Noah's righteousness (which is clearly not an imputed/alien righteousness) that God saved him and his family.
All these texts and many others support the concept of gracious merit, something that is succinctly summed up by Heb 6:10:
For God is not unrighteous to forget your works and labours of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
