Is Salvation by Faith Alone? by Jere Frost (JereFrost@aol.com)
(Reprinted from The Bulletin of The North Courtenay Church of
Christ, Sept. 19, 1999)
THE BIBLE SAYS WE ARE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. (Romans 3:28) Almost all, if not absolutely all, Bible believers say they believe in salvation by faith. But then a sharp disagreement ensues over the aspects of (1) how and (2) when faith saves.
No One Really Believes It
Although the doctrine of "salvation by faith alone" is widely taught, there is no one (to my knowledge) who will consistently hold to the doctrine. I'll repeat that. No one will consistently even try to hold to the doctrine -- no one! Alone means without anything else. In my experience those who boldly say it is alone will begin hedging when a few Bible facts are presented. For example, IF it saves alone, then:
1. It saves when and while it is dead, for alone it IS dead. "Even so faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone." (James 2:17) "Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." (James 2:24) "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James 2:26)
2. The devils themselves are saved! They believe! The Bible
says they do. You believe; the devils "also" believe
- look at the little word "also"t; - whatever you believe
in the passage, the devils believe "also." Now read
it to be sure:
"Thou believest, the devils also believe, and tremble."
(James 2:19) "… [T]here met him two possessed with devils.
And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come to torment us before our
time?" (Matthew 8:28-29)
3. Love is not necessary. Many believe who do not love the Lord. The Jewish rulers believed. But they neither confessed nor loved him, and in fact wanted to kill him. Peter charged them with Jesus' death. Paul said that faith without love profits nothing: "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be but out of the synagogue. (John 12:42) "But ye denied the Holy One and killed the Prince of life. I wot that through ignorance ye did, as did also your rulers. (Acts 3:14-17) "And if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I do not have love, it profits me nothing." (I Cor. 13:2,3)
4. Being born again is unnecessary. But Jesus taught that men must be born again in order to see, or enter, the kingdom. Oh, what wretched wonders faith only wreaks. "Verily, verily. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)
5. It saves without repentance, having the spirit of Christ,
or belonging to the Lord. But if a man has repented, or has the
Spirit, the faith is no longer alone. The "faith only"
doctrine is that it saves before, without, and independent of
anything else, the doctrine therefore waives and waves aside these
simple, clear Scriptures: "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye
repent, ye shall all likewise perish." (Luke 13:3) "But
ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the
Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his." (Romans 8:9)
But every one I have ever talked to says, at length and upon being
pressured, that if you believe but do not have the Spirit, you
will not be saved. Thus they tacitly admit that the faith cannot
be alone. Those I have talked with grudgingly admit that man cannot
be saved without love, confessing, repentance, and having the
Spirit of Christ, but the undertone mumble continues that "it
is still by faith alone."
There is a lot of confusion, circular reasoning and equivocation in the camp.
Does the Bible Say When and How Faith Saves?
There is no equivocation or shifting of definitions in Scripture. "Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness." (James 2:23) Consider the simplicity and explicitness of the Biblical explanation of when and how this happened: "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" (Jas. 2:21-22)
When? "When he had offered Isaac," that is, when he obeyed. This obedience is when. It was also the "because" -- the why and how. It was when he obeyedd that the Lord said: "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son. [B]e blessed; because thou has obeyed my voice. " (Genesis 22:16,18)
This is not an isolated, or somehow strange or different case. It is part of a consistent pattern. Note in the following passage that the falling of the walls is attributed to faith. That is because what Joshua and the people did was because they believed God, that is, because of faith. But it also tells us when it happened, and it was not when they believed, but when they did that which was commanded by the God in whom they believed. "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days" (Heb. 11:30)
That is exactly the way it works today. God commands, and we
either believe or do not believe what he says. If we do not believe,
we will be "damned." (Mark 16:16) If we only say "Lord,
Lord," but do not do what he says, we are fools. (Matthew
7:21,26) But if we obey, it is by faith (because we believe),
and that is when the faith saves. Read it:
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he
that believeth not shall be damned." (Mark 16:16) "Not
every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father Ö"
(Matthew 7:21) "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision
availeth any thing, nor uncircumcison; but faith which worketh
by love." (Galatians 5:6)
Kindly note that what availed was not faith that merely "worked" -- it was the faith that worked "by love." After all, "he that loveth not knoweth not God." (I John 4:8)
Conclusion
Just about everything we do, from brushing our teeth, going to work, and taking the medicine the doctor prescribes, is "by faith." But faith alone will not clean your teeth, receive an employee his paycheck or the medicinal benefit desired. You have to do, don't you? Even so, it is by "faith" that the Christian obeys. Obedience is not instead of faith; it is in and of itself an act of faith, and faith "avails" when it obeys. (Gal. 5:6; Heb. 11:30)
What Makes a Car Run?
The engine, of course, but not the engine alone.
The wheels, of course, but not the wheels alone.
Gasoline, of course, but not gasoline alone.
The driver, of course, but not the driver alone.
The spark plugs, of course, but not the spark plugs alone.
Just as you cannot ignore a single thing to which the running
of a car is attributed, and it still run, you cannot omit a single
thing to which salvation is attributed, and still be saved. Salvation
requires all of its integral parts.
[Editor's Note: Bro. Frost is coming to work with us the week of January 14th, let's get ready now!]
How Many Words? - Author Unknown
(Contributed by S. Tegg)
Pythagorean theorem: 24 words.
The Lord's model prayer: 66 words.
Archimedes' Principle: 67 words.
The 10 Commandments: 179 words.
The Gettysburg address: 286 words.
The Declaration of Independence: 1,300 words.
The US Government regulations on the sale of cabbage: 26,911 words.