Are You Saved by Faith Alone or by Your Good Works?

Island, trust, grace, friends

By John P Hageman, M.S., C.H.P.     

One of the central beliefs in Protestant religious doctrine is that you are “saved by faith alone.” This is the fundamental teaching of the founder of the Protestant movement, Martin Luther. What does the Bible specifically say about whether or not you are saved by faith alone? Many Christians believe that only those who believe that Jesus Christ is God will go to heaven. Is this true?

Faith Alone

In the entire Bible, the phrase “faith alone” only appears once, in the Epistle of James in Chapter 2:14-26, which states:

What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? (Good works are necessary besides faith.) If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

But some one will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you foolish fellow, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 

You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works,  and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God.

You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead. (James 2:14–26)

Being saved by faith alone means that if you simply believe in Jesus Christ, regardless of your sins, you have a one-way ticket to heaven. There would be no judgment from God for a person that is a believer in Christ’s deity. This is stated in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” And in John 5:24 it is stated, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

Yet, We Are Judged by God

On the other hand, there are Biblical statements that we are judged by God. Examples from the RSVCE  are:

  • Matthew 7:1-2, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.
  • 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral (fornicators), nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from immorality; that each one of you knows how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like heathen who do not know God; that no man transgress, and wrong (defraud) his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we solemnly forewarned you.
  • Hebrews 10:26-27 For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries.
  • Hebrews 10:30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

It is remarkably interesting that James states in 2:19, You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder.” The devil tempted our Lord in the desert, see Matthew 4:1-11, trying to get Jesus to worship him. The devil failed in this task, because of the heavenly wisdom that Jesus possessed. These efforts to tempt our Lord, in His human form, prove that the devil knew that Jesus was God. And knowing something is much stronger than simply believing or having faith that Jesus is our glorious Lord. Since the devil more than believes that Jesus is our Savior, is he given a free-unjudged pass to heaven?

Saved By Faith Alone?

There are at least four good examples of biblical texts that both support and refute Martin Luther’s proclamation that you are saved (justified) by faith alone. The following examples show the differences in whether you are saved by faith alone. Just to be clear, belief and faith mean the same thing.

Example 1:

Saved by faith alone:

For by grace (a free gift of God) you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – not because of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9 RSVCE)

Not saved by faith alone:

Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Ephesians 5:5 RSVCE)

Which of us, who has total faith in Jesus, has acted in an immoral, impure, or covetous manner? If so, then even with that faith, aren’t our impure actions still condemning us to hell? Not wanting eternal damnation should lead us to become less immoral and more righteous each day we are alive.

Example 2:

Saved by faith alone:

We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified (reckoned righteous) by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. (Galatians 2:15–16 RSVCE; bold added)

Not saved by faith alone:

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to (please) the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:7–10 RSVCE; bold added)

Example 3:

Saved by faith alone:

For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law. (Romans 3:28 RSVCE)

Not saved by faith alone:

For he (God) will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; (Romans 2:6–7 RSVCE)

Within each of these three letters, written by Paul, he seems to give contradictory messages. Why would Paul write apparently contradictory statements within each of the letters that he sent to Christ’s disciples? Is Paul trying to appease everyone, by giving inconsistent messages? Is Paul speaking out of both sides of his mouth? Which of his words do you want to believe and have faith in?

Example 4:

Saved by faith alone:

Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; (Philippians 3:8–9 RSVCE)

Not saved by faith alone:

but as he (God) who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you invoke as Father him who judges each one impartially according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile (1 Peter 1:15–17 RSVCE).

The saved-by-faith-alone statements come from Paul, formerly Saul, who proclaimed himself to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. Is Paul to be believed over James? In any search to find the truth, you must ask a lot of questions. For example, when detectives question suspects, they look for inconsistencies in their stories by asking the suspects to repeat their stories or alibies several times. Inconsistencies in their stories raise questions about their honesty. There certainly are contradictions within the first three examples, which were written by Paul. Later, in an analysis of Saul’s three versions of his story of his trip to Damascus, questions about inconsistencies are raised.  More details of this are discussed in Chapter 16 of my book, “The Bible’s Hidden Treasure – James the Precious Pearl.”

Ask Yourself Which is True

Ask yourself which of these contradictory statements about being saved is the truth. Are we saved by faith alone or by our works? How easy would it be if just believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God gave you a free pass into heaven? If that’s true, the devil who tempted Jesus in the desert believes this, so does he get to go to heaven?

Does such faith without making changes in your lifestyle guarantee your salvation? On the other hand, can your works and deeds make you more worthy of God’s favorable judgment? We are all sinners, and we need a whole lot of God’s grace to be forgiven for all the sins of our past. If it does take your works and deeds to lead to your salvation—as my mother used to say—you’ve got a tough row to hoe.

Are you saved simply because you believe or have faith? Wouldn’t it be great if simply believing in something would make it true? I have learned that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. Don’t you consider that the value of what you own is equal to what you paid for it or how hard you had to work to get it?

If everyone were to get a college diploma, simply because they believe they deserve one, what would those diplomas be worth? Absolutely nothing. And how many stories are there where a person wins the lottery to only squander all of their cheaply won fortunes within a short period of time? Aren’t things that are cheap worth exactly that?

Only God Knows

Many Christians believe that only those who believe that Jesus Christ is God will go to heaven. Is this true? If so, all other religious people, like Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Muslims, cannot or will not go to heaven. I asked this question myself and found the answer in the Bible. If there is even one person who got into heaven who was not a believer that Christ is God, then the idea that only Christians will go to heaven is a false premise.

2 Kings 2:1–18 tells of the Lord taking Elijah up into heaven, which happened long before anyone knew anything about Jesus Christ. If there is one exception to a rule, then that rule is no longer valid. Could it be that people, like Elijah, can go to heaven based on their works and deeds on earth and not simply believing that Jesus Christ is God? Also, who are we to decide who is saved or fit to go to heaven? Isn’t that a decision that only God can make?

John P Hageman, M.S., C.H.P.     

“The Bible’s Hidden Treasure – James the Precious Pearl.”

 

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