Salvation: Is it by Faith or Works?

[Senalco]

This is a very important topic that we need to discuss and it forms the Core of the Christian Belief. If you can grasp it, understand it and then apply it to your life, i can assure you, your almost there!!!!

for many centuries, churches argued this topic to death and many rejected to include certain books in their canon because of it. The Issue here is whether our Salvation is achieved by faith Or by Works Or by both!!!!

A Careful study of Scripture shows us that Salvation can only obtained by Faith alone & that no amount of Work or human effort can ever be enough to make it through. The Apostle Paul is a big teacher of this dectorine. At the Same time, James comes in and says " sorry folks, but unless your faith has works, its pretty much dead, so you can not obtain your salvation by faith alone but must be also by works ". Sounds pretty contradcting....

It took me almost 6 years to Grasp and understand this topic and by the Power of the Holy spirit, i am ready to share with you the beauty of God's amazing plan for us.


SALVATION IS BY FAITH & FAITH ALONE

To firstly Understand why I strongly believe in this concept, We must firstly look at the OT and see how God was dealing with his People.

As you are all aware, God gave the people of Israel some strict laws that they must adhere to and follow in order to Obtain favor with God and hence Salvation. He also gave them the Ten commandments and instructed them to follow it to the bone. God gave his people a condition.. If One simple Law or Commandment is Broken, then everything will be deemed Broken and Salvation will not be Granted....

Here is the Trick... God knew all along that humanity Can never Save itself by Works. He gave the People of the OT all these Laws to show them and prove to them that No human Effort Can ever be enough to reach Salvation. He Further Sent them many Prophets to warn them that Salvation can only obtained by Faith alone & not by Human Efforts. The people of the OT rejected this advice and insisted that they will Save themselves by their own efforts.

So then God had enough.. He decided that enough is enough.. It was the time now for the True Salvation to appear on all people, jews and gentiles. God did so by sending his own Son, Jesus Christ to offer himself as a Sacrifise and take away all of our Sins. What is then required of us to do anymore? NOTHING. Absoloutely Nothing. Just Faith & Belief in Accepting Christ's Sacrifice. Lets look now at some Very Important Scriptures:

Ephesians 2:8 " For it is by grace you have been saved, through Faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, Not by Works, so that no one can Boast "

This is the most important verse found in the bible. It sums up all of what i said so far.. We are Saved by Grace through Faith. Why is it by Grace? because God Chose to Save us through his mercy & Justice. We did not Choose it ourselves, therefore we can not obtain it by our own Works or efforts.It is a Gift of God. No one should boost about it.

Titus 3:5 " He Saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his Mercy. He Saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit "

How did God Save us? Certainly not by the Good things we have done but by Faith alone....


Acts 13:38 " Therefore my brothers, i want you to know that through Jesus, the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified "

How are We Justified? How are we Saved? How are our sins removed? it is by the Key word " Belief ". Thus by Faith.


Romans 11:5 " At this Present time, there is a remnant chosen by Grace. And if by Grace, then it is no longer by Works. If it were, grace would no longer be grace"

This is an extremely imporant passage. If God chose to save us by Grace, then Scripture says it is no longer by Works. If it was, then Grace would no longer be Grace. In Other Words, Grace is a Free Gift given to us as a result of God's love and can only be attained by Faith....

Romans 3:22 " The Righteous from God comes through Faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ "

How is righteousness obtained? by Faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. Only Faith will grant us justification freely by grace.



Did the people of the OT Obtain their Salvation by Faith or Good Works ( The Law ):

As i have explained earlier, the people of the OT insisted on Saving themselves by their Works and human efforts. They refused to accept God's message to them that by Faith & Faith alone can a man be justified and saved. Here are some very important scripture to further explain my position....

Romans 9:30 " The Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith. But Israel who pursued a law of righteousness has not attained it. Why Not? because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. 

This Scripture alone is enough to explain 600 years of OT laws and commandments. It is exactely what i have said all along. The people of the OT Failed because they tried to Save themselves by their good Works.


Romans 4:2 " If in fact Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about but not before God. What does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness "

Here is a Classic example of the Father of humanity. How did Abraham obtain his Salvation? by Works? or by Faith?... By Faith alone Surely.


Galatians 3:22 " The Scriptures Declare that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised being given through faith in Jesus christ, might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. "

there you go... We are Justified by Faith. The Entire Law of good works was given to the OT people to lead them to Christ so they may believe and obtain their Salvation.


The Case for Works as presented by James:


Having Said all of the above, the full picture of this topic will not be Clear nor accurate unless we take a look at the book of James and see what he was saying there. At first Glance, it appears though that there is a big contradiction between Paul and James. One is saying you are saved by Faith Alone, the other is Saying Faith alone without Works is dead Faith...Let's have a look at some important Scripture:

James 2:14 " What good is it my brothers if man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? "


James 2: 20" You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our Ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the alter? You see that his faith and his actions were working together and his faith was made complete by what he did. The Scripture was fulfilled that says ' Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness".


So what do we then read from what James is saying? The Answer is quite Simple.....

" The good Works that James was talking about are Works of the Holy Spirit. It is Good Works that is the by pass product of our Faith. It is not Works by our own Effort ".

What I mean by that is this: Every person who accepts God's message is then justified by his Faith. when this happens, God sends that person the Holy Spirit which then starts to Work within that Person. The Outcome of a person's Faith is Good Works. So Any person who Claims to have true Faith must show for it by his good deeds or else he will just be either lieing about it or decieving himself into thinking he is a believer.

A very important thing we all need to know. A man does not need to prove to God his faith by his good Works, for God can read the heart of a person and knows exactely whether a person has a true faith or a false one. Our good Deeds are proof that we have faith For other believers to see. It is not a proof to give to God.


Does that make sense to you?

" There is a big Difference between Works by our own efforts and Works that are the Direct Result of our Faith. James was Certainly talking about the later "


You are Justified by Faith alone, but through that faith, you must Produce good deeds for others to see, otherwise if the Holy Spirit does not force you to do good works, then you simply do not have the Spirit of God, nor do you have Faith in the first place.

The best way to Explain how Faith & Works combine and work together is this:

" Salvation is by Faith Alone but not by Faith that is on its Own "


God bless you brothers & Sisters in Christ

 

[Shamosho]

This discussion was not debated by Christians until Luther's Reformation (16th century) brought forth the idea of Sola Fide.  It is a debate that occurs in a Western European context where the idea of works of merit emerge.  (Maybe because they of their unfamiliarity with the language and cultural settings of the Bible.)  Either way, Luther is guilty of creating the fallacy of the false dilemma.

For Eastern Christians, the premise is understood.  St. Paul's letter to the Romans is in large part, his preaching on a line from the Psalms, "who (the LORD) will render to each one according to his deeds." (Romans 2:6)  As we read through Romans, we see that faith is the seal of works.  Faith moves the heart to live the Gospel and the fruit of this is works.  Works are not done for merit as the Germans in Post-Renaissance Europe supposed, for Assyrian (or Armenian, Ethiopian, Coptic, Greek, etc.) Christians, our works were seen as the natural result of faith in Christ.  We are "put in a right relationship" ("salvation" and "justification" are not the same thing) by faith.  To put it another way, faith is a type of work.  Mor Dismas, while hanging on the cross, confessed faith as his work and was promised Paradise.  An old grandmother who cannot perform the works Christ instructed us to follow in Matthew 25:31 onward performs works by her faith, which produces prayers for us sinners.

We are not justified by faith alone; we are justified by faith.  The only time "faith alone" is mentioned in the Bible is when St. James writes: "You see that man is justified by works and not by faith alone." (James 2:24)  St. James did not say "unless your faith has works, its pretty much dead..." he wrote:  14 What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, 16 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? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 18 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. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder. 20 Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works. (James 2:12-22)

If you wrote all of that post and did not just copy and paste it, I give you credit for putting your time and heart into the scriptures.  Lord knows our community, society at large even, occupies its time with miserable endeavors.  But be careful that you do not accept the False Dilemma that was presented during the Reformation of the Papal Church.  If those were your words and you ever think about revising them into some sort of article, my suggestion is to focus on the internal love that faith produces. 

Here are some of my favorite writings about Christian faith:

"What unspeakable riches, a swelling ocean rich in wondrous treasures, the overflowing power of faith! How full of consolation it is, and how pleasant and reassuring its course is; and its burdens, how easy they are; and how pleasant its service is.  Anyone who has been deemed worthy to taste faith and who then turns back to psychical knowledge is no better than someone who has found a pearl of great price and exchanged it for a copper penny." - Mor Isaac of Nineweh

"As long as you think you can know God through proofs, signs, and testimonies, you are forging cold iron; faith as a grain of mustard seed is not in you yet." - Mor Gregorios Yuhannon bar 'Ebroyo

 

[Senalco]

If you wrote all of that post and did not just copy and paste it, I give you credit for putting your time and heart into the scriptures.  Lord knows our community, society at large even, occupies its time with miserable endeavors.  But be careful that you do not accept the False Dilemma that was presented during the Reformation of the Papal Church.  If those were your words and you ever think about revising them into some sort of article, my suggestion is to focus on the internal love that faith produces. 

Hello Brother... thanks for your feedback, just to make things Clear, i actually Write my own topics and every word is actually mine, including the use of Scriptures.

what you call a Dilemma is a reality that almost tore the church apart, at a time where Popes and Bishops thought they could sell Salvation for money, and people thought by just attending the church and performing all the religious duties that they were going to make it to the Kingdom.

When we Say We are justified by Faith Alone, it is to Make a Clear Statement that Salvation is a Free Gift by God. it is given to us freely... We did not earn it, nor can we do anything to obtain it...

which is why I wrote Clearly that " Salvation is by Faith alone but not a faith that is on its own "


I Preach Faith to the bone and i concentrate on it to the max. Faith produces Love and it produces Great Works. It produces true saints and true evangelists. In Fact, Faith produces everything....



PS: I have not seen u before on AVN, are u a new member? Welcome aboard....I look forward to your contributions here


God Bless

 

[Shamosho]

Hello Brother... thanks for your feedback, just to make things Clear, i actually Write my own topics and every word is actually mine, including the use of Scriptures.

what you call a Dilemma is a reality that almost tore the church apart, at a time where Popes and Bishops thought they could sell Salvation for money, and people thought by just attending the church and performing all the religious duties that they were going to make it to the Kingdom.

When we Say We are justified by Faith Alone, it is to Make a Clear Statement that Salvation is a Free Gift by God. it is given to us freely... We did not earn it, nor can we do anything to obtain it...

which is why I wrote Clearly that " Salvation is by Faith alone but not a faith that is on its own "


I Preach Faith to the bone and i concentrate on it to the max. Faith produces Love and it produces Great Works. It produces true saints and true evangelists. In Fact, Faith produces everything....



PS: I have not seen u before on AVN, are u a new member? Welcome aboard....I look forward to your contributions here


God Bless

In classical reasoning, the fallacy which Luther is guilty of is called the "False Dilemma" or "False Dichotomy."  It was a local problem in Central Europe that grew during the Protestant Reformation (16th Century).  It is not applicable to the rest of world Christianity, nor was it for 1500 years.

I think your slogan sounds creative but "a faith on its own" is equivalent to "faith alone."  Justification is not the same thing as salvation, but being justified contributes toward our effort toward salvation.

I guess I'm new... I don't post much.  Read more than I post.  Thanks for the welcome.  :bigarmhug: