By Oyewole Sarumi
One of the greatest challenges confronting contemporary Christianity is the growing confusion between the work of God and the work of religious institutions.
Across many churches today, believers are often taught, either directly or indirectly, that the measure of their spirituality is determined by the number of church activities they participate in, the volume of labour they contribute to religious organizations, or the extent of their visible involvement in church programs.
Consequently, many sincere Christians have come to equate church work with God’s work.
While faithful service within the local church is valuable and biblical, a dangerous theological error emerges when church activities become substituted for the gospel itself.
The result is that many believers become exhausted from religious performance while remaining uncertain about the foundational truth of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
This issue is not entirely new. Throughout church history, human beings have consistently demonstrated a tendency to replace simple faith with complex systems of religious effort.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day did the same. Medieval religious systems often drifted into the same error. Even in modern Christianity, the temptation remains strong to measure spiritual worth by visible activity rather than genuine faith in Christ.
The words of Jesus in John 6:28-29 provide one of the clearest answers to this confusion:
“Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
This statement remains one of the most revolutionary declarations ever made. When the people asked for a list of works, Jesus pointed them to one essential reality: faith in Himself as the One sent by the Father.
The church must therefore revisit this foundational truth. If Christianity loses Christ as its center and replaces Him with endless religious activities, it ceases to proclaim the gospel in its biblical purity.
The Context of Jesus’ Declaration in John 6
To properly understand John 6:29, we must first understand the context. Jesus had just fed over five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes. The crowd was astonished by the miracle and began following Him. However, Jesus quickly exposed their motives.
In John 6:26, He declared: “Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.”
The people were interested in benefits rather than truth. They desired material provision more than spiritual transformation.
Jesus then instructed them: “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life…” (John 6:27).
Hearing this language about labour and eternal life, the crowd naturally responded: “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” (John 6:28).
Their question reflected a common religious mindset. They assumed God required a catalogue of actions, rituals, ceremonies, regulations, and religious performances.
Instead, Jesus shattered their assumptions. He replied: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
The crowd expected a list. Jesus gave them a Person. They expected religious duties. Jesus presented Himself. They sought a system. Jesus offered faith. This remains the central message of Christianity today.
According to the observations of several respected biblical commentators, Jesus intentionally shifted attention away from external religious works and directed it toward faith as the foundational requirement for eternal life.
John Calvin noted that Christ contrasted human efforts with faith in Himself, demonstrating that all attempts to please God apart from faith are ultimately futile.
What Does It Mean to Believe?
One of the greatest misunderstandings surrounding this text involves the meaning of belief. The Biblical faith is not mere intellectual agreement.
Many people acknowledge that Jesus existed historically. Others accept certain facts about His life, death, and resurrection. Yet biblical belief goes far deeper.
The Greek word used in John 6:29 conveys trust, reliance, confidence, and personal dependence.
To believe in Christ means to place one’s entire hope for salvation upon Him. It means recognizing that human righteousness is insufficient. It means accepting that no amount of personal effort can erase sin. It means resting completely upon Christ’s finished work at Calvary.
Paul expressed this truth clearly in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
The gospel does not announce what sinners can do for God.
The gospel announces what God has done for sinners through Christ.
This truth distinguished Christianity from every other religious system in the world.
Every human religion essentially teaches some version of earning acceptance through performance.
Christianity alone declares that salvation is received through faith in Christ alone.
John Gill similarly emphasized that faith in Christ is the chief work that pleases God and that every other acceptable work flows from that foundation.
The Danger of Replacing Faith with Religious Performance
One of the recurring dangers throughout Scripture is the tendency to substitute outward religious activity for genuine faith.
The Pharisees were masters of religious performance. They fasted. They prayed publicly. They tithed meticulously. They observed ceremonies.
Yet Jesus described many of them as spiritually blind. In Matthew 23:27, He declared: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres…” Their religion was active but spiritually empty. The same danger exists today.
Many believers spend years serving in multiple church departments while neglecting a genuine relationship with Christ.
Some are made to believe that God’s acceptance depends upon constant activity.
Others are burdened with expectations that extend far beyond biblical teaching.
In certain environments, members are pressured into endless labour under the assumption that refusal indicates rebellion against God.
Such practices often blur the distinction between voluntary Christian service and institutional exploitation.
Scripture never teaches that salvation is earned through organizational loyalty.
Neither does it teach that acceptance before God depends upon endless religious activity.
Rather, acceptance comes through faith in Christ. Service follows salvation. Service does not produce salvation. Faith is the root. Good works are the fruit.
Whenever this order is reversed, the gospel itself becomes distorted.
Church Work Is Not the Same as God’s Saving Work
This discussion requires balance. The New Testament certainly encourages believers to serve.
Paul commended diligent labour in ministry. The early church actively engaged in evangelism, discipleship, charity, teaching, and missions. However, these activities were never presented as substitutes for faith.
Church work is valuable. Church work is necessary. Church work can glorify God. Yet church work is not the gospel. The gospel is Christ. The church exists because of Christ. The church serves because of Christ. The church grows through Christ. The church must never replace Christ.
Whenever believers are taught that spiritual worth is measured primarily through institutional labour, a subtle form of legalism emerges.
Legalism always shifts attention from Christ’s finished work to human achievement.
Paul confronted this issue forcefully in Galatians. He asked: “Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3).
This question remains relevant today. No believer begins by grace and then matures through self-effort alone. Everything in the Christian life flows from union with Christ.
Faith Produces Obedience
Some readers may ask whether emphasizing faith diminishes the importance of obedience. The answer is no. True biblical faith always produces transformed living.
James wrote: “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26). James was not contradicting Jesus or Paul. He was addressing false faith. Authentic faith inevitably bears fruit.
The believer serves not because he is trying to earn salvation but because salvation has already been received.
Obedience becomes a response to grace. Service becomes an expression of gratitude. Holiness becomes evidence of spiritual life.
A healthy tree produces fruit because it is alive. Likewise, genuine faith produces works because Christ lives within the believer.
Robertson’s commentary on John 6:29 highlights that faith becomes the central principle from which all other Christian works flow.
Therefore, Christians should not abandon service. Rather, they must understand its proper place. Faith saves. Works demonstrate. Faith justifies. Works testify. Faith establishes relationship. Works reveal relationship.
The Testimony of the Puritans
The Puritans understood this distinction remarkably well. Although they were known for disciplined Christian living, they consistently emphasized salvation through faith alone.
John Owen wrote: “Faith is the soul’s adherence unto Christ.” For Owen, Christianity was fundamentally about union with Christ rather than religious performance.
Thomas Goodwin similarly declared: “Nothing is more contrary to faith than to trust in our own works.”
The Puritans worked diligently, served sacrificially, and pursued holiness passionately. Yet they never taught that human labour could replace dependence upon Christ.
Richard Sibbes famously wrote: “There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.” This statement captures the heart of the gospel. The believer’s confidence rests not in personal achievement but in Christ’s sufficiency. Thomas Watson further observed: “Faith deals with Christ as the hand receives the gift.”
The Puritans therefore promoted active Christian service without turning believers into religious labourers seeking divine approval through performance.
Their theology consistently protected the supremacy of Christ and the doctrine of grace.
Modern Research and the Challenge of Biblical Literacy
Contemporary research reveals why confusion about salvation and Christian service remains widespread.
Various studies on biblical literacy among Christians have shown that many church attendees struggle to accurately identify foundational biblical doctrines. Researchers have repeatedly observed gaps between church participation and biblical understanding. Many believers remain highly active in church life while possessing limited understanding of essential teachings concerning grace, faith, justification, and salvation.
This reality should concern church leaders. Activity without understanding often produces spiritual exhaustion. Religious commitment without gospel clarity can create legalism.
Church attendance without biblical grounding can foster dependence upon human systems rather than dependence upon Christ.
The solution is not less church involvement. The solution is deeper gospel teaching. Churches must return to careful exposition of Scripture.
Believers must be taught not merely what to do but also why they do it. The gospel must remain central. Christ must remain central. Faith must remain central.
The Work God Truly Requires
When Jesus answered the crowd in John 6, He redirected them to the one thing they most needed.
Not more effort. Not more rituals. Not more regulations. Not more performance. They needed faith in Him. The same truth applies today.
God’s primary demand is not organizational productivity. God’s primary demand is faith in His Son. The Father Himself affirmed this repeatedly.
At Jesus’ baptism: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17). At the Mount of Transfiguration: “Hear ye him.” (Matthew 17:5).
The entire biblical narrative points toward Christ. The Law pointed toward Christ. The Prophets pointed toward Christ. The sacrifices pointed toward Christ. The temple pointed toward Christ.
Salvation is found in Christ. Eternal life is found in Christ. Forgiveness is found in Christ. Righteousness is found in Christ. Therefore, the work of God begins and ends with faith in Christ.
Distinguishing Between Gospel Service and Religious Exploitation
Church leaders bear a sacred responsibility in this matter. Leadership must never manipulate believers through guilt, fear, or coercion.
Jesus described spiritual leaders as shepherds. A shepherd feeds the flock. A shepherd protects the flock. A shepherd guides the flock. A shepherd does not exploit the flock.
Ezekiel 34 contains one of the strongest condemnations of abusive spiritual leadership in Scripture.
God rebuked leaders who used the people for personal gain while neglecting their spiritual welfare. That warning remains relevant.
Whenever ministry becomes centered upon extracting labour rather than nurturing discipleship, biblical priorities have been reversed.
The healthiest churches inspire service through love rather than pressure. They teach grace before duty.
Relationship before responsibility. Christ before programs. Such churches produce mature believers who serve willingly because they have first encountered the transforming grace of God.
Christ Is the Center. At the heart of Christianity stands one Person. Not a denomination. Not a building. Not an institution. Not a program. Jesus Christ.
This was the message of the apostles. Peter declared: “Neither is there salvation in any other.” (Acts 4:12).
Paul proclaimed: “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
John wrote: “He that hath the Son hath life.” (1 John 5:12). The New Testament consistently calls people to Christ. Every doctrine points to Him. Every promise is fulfilled in Him. Every hope rests in Him.
Faith in Christ therefore remains the true work of God. Everything else flows from that reality.
Conclusion
The words of Jesus in John 6:29 remain profoundly relevant in an age increasingly characterized by religious activity without theological depth.
When the crowd asked what works God required, Jesus refused to provide an elaborate religious system. Instead, He directed them to the foundation upon which every genuine Christian experience must stand: faith in the One whom God has sent.
This truth does not diminish the value of Christian service. It places service in its proper position. Believers do not serve to become accepted by God; they serve because they have already been accepted through Christ. They do not labour to earn salvation; they labour because salvation has transformed them.
The church must therefore guard against every tendency to replace Christ with performance, grace with legalism, or faith with institutional demands. Church work has its place, but it must never be confused with the saving work of God.
The gospel remains gloriously simple. The Father sent His Son into the world. Christ lived the life sinners could not live. He died the death sinners deserved. He rose triumphantly from the grave. Eternal life is granted to all who place their trust in Him.
As Jesus Himself declared: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” (John 6:29).
That truth remains the foundation of authentic Christianity, the heart of the gospel, and the hope of every believer.The article integrates biblical exposition, historical theological insights, and contemporary concerns about the distinction between gospel-centered faith and institutional religious performance. Relevant biblical commentaries consistently affirm that Christ’s answer in John 6:29 places faith in Him at the center of God’s redemptive work.
Prof. Sarumi, a Bible Scholar and a teacher, write from Lagos