Are We Saved By Faith Alone? ...

"So we see that a person is justified  by works and not by faith alone."  James 2:24

First, faith is knowledge in action and must take root and grow to be a living, saving faith.  We are not saved by living a good life or achieving human success, in fact, works of the flesh or done apart from the Spirit count as filthy rags in God's sight (Isaiah 64:6), au contraire, we are saved on account of our faith.  Righteousness then is imputed from Christ as we are reckoned as just forensically in God's court but not made just or righteous till we reach glory in heaven and are wholly sanctified and separated from sin forever. 

And we are not saved by works, any Protestant would agree with that and that we are saved by faith.  It is also true that  we are "saved" by faith and works!  What is meant by "saved" is in question though.  We are justified in men's eyes by our fruits. The battle cry of the Reformation was that we are "saved by faith alone!" 

But Catholics say that the Bible never says that but that we are not saved by faith alone in James.  "We are not saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone" is the formula of the Reformers. That kind of faith, that stands without works, is dead faith and cannot save.  True faith manifests itself in works and proves itself.  Do you have anything to show for your faith?  Put it into practice! 

We are known by our fruits or works, not our faith; anyone can claim to have faith but we show it by our works as evidence.  James 2:18 says, "I will show you my faith by my works." Or "I will show you my faith by putting it into action."  God has therefore redeemed for Himself a people "zealous of good works," for which we are "foreordained" to do (cf. Eph. 2:10).  God has prepared certain works for us to do as obedience to His will. 

It appears to men that the faith we have is the faith we show! Remember, our eternal reward is not for our faith but in accordance with our works or deeds (Rom. 2:6; Matt. 16:27; Psalm 62:12; 2 Cor. 5:10). 

We are not therefore saved by works, but not without them either!  If we have no works to validate our faith, it is suspect and dubious or in question.  We must turn our creeds into deeds! Or our faith is spurious!   We must be examples of good works which "adorn" our doctrine. 

To be authentic, we must have a faith that is growing and living in good works.  "Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Col. 1:10). Our faith is not a "to-do list" either, we do not do them because we must or have to but because we want to (our nature has been transformed into new creatures).  True faith expresses itself! 

There are only four possibilities of salvation to consider: works equals justification (religion); faith plus works equals justification (legalism); faith without works as a byproduct equals justification  (antinomianism or libertinism leading to easy-believism ,cheap grace, or "no-lordship" salvation); and finally the correct one of the Reformers is that faith equals justification producing works as a byproduct or fruit. Thus the relationship between faith and works can be distinguished but not separated or divorced.  They go together hand in hand!  

Thus, in conclusion, works do play a role in our salvation, they prove it and make it complete and are not its substitute, and he who thinks he can live as he pleases simply because he has faith is in error and may not be saved at all. Soli Deo Gloria! 

To Ignore Minor Doctrine

Martin Luther said, "I dissent, I disagree, I protest." He saw the doctrine of soteriology (this is perhaps the most significant doctrine and yet most misunderstood) seriously distorted and sought to reform the teachings regarding salvation because he was shocked at the condition of the church in his day (i.e., Tetzel selling indulgences et al.). He saw this as vitally important: to challenge the authority of Rome and the Papists. He was brave and faced the king and the pope at the Diet of Worms (1521).  He is known for saying: "To go against conscience is neither right nor safe."

Likewise, Jesus chose not the path of popularity, but called His followers a "little flock." It takes the character to stand alone and not to a conformist. There are two ways to get ahead in the church: playing church politics and taking a stand. Usually, God will bless you for taking a stand, especially if you are right. These seem to be mutually exclusive just like we have few politicians who are willing to do what is right and take a moral stand: that's why we have politicians and statesmen. I would not want to be known as one who compromised the truth or watered it down to gain followers. If I get promoted spiritually, I want it to be of God and not man. It is also wrong to brown-nose your way up in your company as well as in church: i.e., not do it as unto the Lord, but unto men.

We are to teach to the whole counsel of God: Paul said, "All Scripture is profitable for doctrine [teaching]...." To distinguish between major and minor doctrines is not biblical since there is no mention of this nomenclature. You could say that creation, judgment, and rapture are minor doctrines, too. I have been in a group that doesn't want to mention the wonderful doctrine of the eternal security of the believer because it might offend some who are Arminian. R. C. Sproul says to avoid controversy is to avoid Christ. (John Stott wrote a book, Christ the Controversialist and showed that He was not afraid of it.)

I have no personal agenda nor ax to grind and have made it clear that I am Reformed in my doctrinal viewpoint. If you attend a church they have the right to their doctrinal understanding and don't have to be interdenominational or nondenominational. Personally, I believe in the autonomy of the local church and it alone has the authority to decide its doctrines. But some would say ecclesiology is a "minor" doctrine. There are doctrines that sincere believers disagree on and one shouldn't be dogmatic on them, but that doesn't mean we can't mention them in passing when they come up; we just don't make them our agenda.

No matter what doctrines we teach, we are bound to offend some--that's the very nature of truth. The measure of truth is not what doesn't offend or the lowest common denominator. I am not afraid to ruffle some feathers or to give my opinion on a disputable topic, even if it only serves to stimulate interest, debate, or study.

Parachurch organizations (churches are organisms, on the other hand, and Christ is the head of the body), those not associated with any particular church and usually nondenominational, tend to outreach and not devoted to certain doctrines. I was involved with the Navigators, for instance, in the Army and they had a mission to the military personnel; they didn't see themselves as in competition with the local church, but supplemental. If we are not in a position of authority we cannot change doctrine or policy but must comply (to rules and bylaws, for example) if we want to be part of the ministry (this doesn't mean we have to always be conformists and can't be an influence). But Christ established the local church and gave it the Great Commission--"and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Augustine said it well: "In essentials (NONNEGOTIABLES), unity; in non-essentials [NEGOTIABLES], liberty; in all things, charity." We are not to be dissentious or disagreeable, but to agree to disagree. Cut some slack! There are doctrines that are not necessary to salvation; they should not be ignored either. For sure, to ignore doctrine just because one thinks it is minor is spiritually detrimental. We are not to major on the minors and get sidetracked. Let's not be petty and quibble over non-issues respecting salvation. Some Christians like to split hairs or get trivial about the details, but this defeats the purpose of teaching to stimulate thinking and growth. To sum it up, we are to keep the main thing the main thing, and not forget our focus on the gospel message and plan of salvation and how they relate.
Soli Deo Gloria!

Are You An Arminian? Take This Test!

Most people know that Calvinists (or Reformed, if you will) believe in the five points of Reformed theology, unless they are a so-called four-pointer, of course, but here's a test that may surprise you. In case you aren't familiar with TULIP, the acrostic that stands for "total depravity," "unconditional election," "limited atonement," "irresistible grace," and "perseverance of the saints," I will review. T means we are inherently bad, not good--we are not as bad as we could be, but as bad off as we could be in God's estimation; U means God doesn't base His election of us on anything meritorious in us, not prescient election, which says God merely sees who will believe and elects them (that would be meritorious); L means God has a particular redemption or definite atonement in mind--it is the Arminians that actually limit the atonement, the Calvinists make it efficacious for the elect. P means God preserves us despite ourselves, otherwise known as eternal security.

Denying any of these doctrines makes you part Arminian. The Synod of Dort in 1618 condemned the Remonstrants who were Arminian and affirmed these five points. Calvinism is the biblical and orthodox position, not Arminianism, developed by Jacobus Arminius (his Latin name, who was Jacob Hermann in his own tongue) of The Netherlands, who was condemned as a heretic by an ecumenical council and lost his professorship (he was actually a Reformed theologian).

A: Salvation is synergistic, or man cooperates with God
C: Salvation is monergistic and grace is efficacious and irresistible & God's work
A: All have the ability to believe if they want to
C: No one can believe, or will to believe apart from grace
A: Faith is the reason we are saved, it is our righteousness, it is a work of man
C: Faith is a gift of God, it is the work of God, but our act
A: Faith is reckoned as righteousness
C: Faith is reckoned unto (the instrumentality or means of) righteousness
A: Salvation is a cooperation between man and God-man takes the first step of faith and meets God half-way
C: God initiates salvation and grants faith through grace--we cannot believe apart from grace's intervention
A: Man has a free will and can operate independently of God, even thwarting Him
C: The will is enslaved to sin, in bondage and not freed, though he is a free
moral agent
A: Faith is a meritorious work accomplished by man that leads to salvation
C: Faith is a gift of God that is unto salvation, the instrumentality
A: The atonement saves none for sure, but makes possible the salvation of all if
they believe
C: The atonement was accomplished when Christ said, "It is finished" and secures the elect's salvation.

Arminians above represented by A; Calvinists or Reformed by C

The Arminian believes he met God "half-way" and pats himself on the back for his salvation--not giving all the glory to God (a battle cry of the Reformation was sola Deo Gloria--to God alone be the glory.)

The Romanist believes grace is necessary, but not sufficient--one must do something meritorious. However, grace is the sin qua non of salvation--it is necessary and sufficient. Have you heard of the Geritol testimony where the person said Geritol really helped him but he also took his grandmother's secret recipe? Of course, that testimony could not be used because it could not be proved the Geritol was the answer.

R. C. Sproul quotes J. I. Packer as follows: "The difference between them [Arminians and Calvinists] is not primarily one of emphasis, but of content. One proclaims a God who saves; the other speaks of a God who enables man to save himself. One view presents the three great acts of the Holy Trinity for the recovering of lost mankind--election by the Father, redemption by the Son, calling by the Spirit--as directed towards the same persons, and as securing their salvation infallibly. The other view gives each act a different reference (the objects of redemption being all mankind, of calling, those who hear the gospel, and of election, those hearers who respond), and denies that any man's salvation is secured by any of them. The two theologies thus conceive the plan of salvation in quite different terms. One makes salvation depend on the work of God, the other on a work of man...."  The big question is whether Jesus saves us outright, or just enables us to save ourselves--does He make salvation possible, or assured?

Now, I do not believe Calvinists should show contempt for Arminians, because if they are evangelical they are probably Christians, too, and also there are very few Calvinists around who can say they were never Arminians at one time or at least convinced of one of their doctrines. I do not believe it is good to label our fellow believers, but this distinction is very clear and is like Protestant/Catholic. One can be an evangelical Arminian, of course. Arminian churches are Church of Christ, Church of the Nazarene, Pentecostal, Methodist, Wesleyan, Roman Catholic.    Soli Deo Gloria!

Saved By Grace Alone

The Reformers believed in "Five Only's" (anything else is not Christianity) which are as follows: sola gratia (grace alone); soli Christo (through Christ alone); sola fide (by faith alone); sola Scriptura (Scripture alone as authority); and Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory). There are three possibilities of salvation scenarios: by man's effort alone, by a combination of man and God's effort, and by God's work alone. The only way we can have the assurance of salvation is if it is by God's work alone; otherwise, you never know how much work is enough for salvation.

Arminians believe that God gives equal grace to all and that believers just improved and took advantage of that grace by virtue of their works of faith, repentance, etc. In other words, they meet God half-way and cooperate with Him. They are really patting themselves on the back for their salvation. God wouldn't be God if He didn't get all the glory for our salvation. We don't get any of the glory for it. We share in HIS glory, it is not ours. Titus 3:7 says we are "saved by grace." "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).

When you realize that faith is a gift of God you will realize that salvation is grace from beginning to end. It is the work of God, though it is our act--God doesn't exercise faith ("What do you have that you didn't receive?"). Christ is the "author and finisher of our faith". You have "believed through grace" (cf. Acts 18:27), and "it has been granted unto you...to believe..." (Phil. 1:29; cf. 1 Pet. 1:1). Actually, God opens our hearts to believe and overcomes our reluctance and makes the unwilling willing. "God opened the heart of Lydia to pay attention ..." (Acts 16:14). We did not psych ourselves up for faith, nor did we conjure it up or catch it like a fever; rather, it came to us by the preaching of the Word. ("Faith comes by the hearing, and by hearing of the Word of God.")

Repentance is the flip-side of faith and also is "granted." (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25; Acts 5:31; 11:18) Faith and repentance go hand in hand, and  are complimentary. You cannot have saving faith without genuine repentance. But remember that the whole deal is the gift of God. Martin Luther says we contribute nothing to our salvation.  "Salvation is of the Lord"  (Jonah 2:9). 

Luther could not harmonize Paul and James on justification. James said we were justified by faith and works and Paul that we were justified by faith alone. What James is saying is that a mere profession of faith, a dead faith without any resultant work, does not justify. The Reformers formulation was that we are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. Paul was referring to the works of the law, and they do not justify. James is talking about any work proceeding from faith, and it is the natural consequence of true living faith, which is a living relationship with Jesus Christ. "If a man SAYS he has faith..." refers to a mere profession (just saying we have faith or lip service).

The demons believe the facts about God, but don't do acts of faith that result. A mere head knowledge or assent (known as "story faith" or "historical faith") will not do (this is called acquiescence). We are not justified by the works of the law, but if no good deeds result, our faith is useless and dead. We will all get the opportunity to demonstrate our faith and prove it by our actions, just like Abraham had his opportunity with Isaac. So Paul stresses the initial act of faith and James the evidential acts that follow. Mere profession of faith doesn't cut it.   Soli Deo Gloria!