A GREAT NUMBER of people who identify themselves as Christians have been lulled into a false sense of comfort and security by the belief that salvation on Judgment Day can be attained simply by professing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thinking that they need to do nothing else other than to accept Christ as their Savior, they have become complacent and even apathetic toward any form of pious acts and services, that some of them even label as “self-righteousness.”
Such belief is the essence of the doctrine of justificatio sōlā fidē, that is, justification by faith alone — to the exclusion of works. It became one of the rallying cries of the Protestant Reformation, which Martin Luther, arguably the most prominent figure of the movement, described as articulus stantis vel cadentis ecclesiae or the article upon which the (Catholic) church stands or falls.
The following pretty much sums up Luther’s contention:
“Luther believed that people are by nature sinners. God gives the free gift of His graces through Jesus Christ and people accept the gift through faith. People are saved by faith alone, not by good works.”
(Reference: The Compact Dictionary of Doctrinal Words, Terry L. Miethe, p. 133, Emphasis Mine)
This Luther’s teaching has become a hallmark of Protestant theology since then:
“The chief characteristic of original Protestantism common to all its denomination, … the doctrine of justification by faith alone.”
(Reference: The Concise Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 419, Emphasis Mine)
According to World.org of Sound journalism, Grounded in Facts and Biblical Truth, stated that some present-day Protestants have even gone to the extent of claiming that the “doctrine of justification by ‘faith alone’ existed before Martin Luther” and was not simply a “16th century invention,” saying it represents “a return to both biblical and historic Christian orthodoxy” (Ref site: https://bit.ly/Sola-fide).
Ironically, if there is at least one passage in the Bible that mentions “faith alone,” it is that which is written in James 2:24, which states that “a person is justified by works and NOT by faith alone” (Christian Standard Bible).
Where, then, do the proponents of sōlā fidē base their assertion that man is justified by faith alone and not by works? It is predicated upon the erroneous interpretation of biblical passages, such as Ephesians 2:8-9, thus:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
(Reference: New King James Version, Emphasis Mine)
Apostle Paul taught that people could be saved through faith and not by works; otherwise, salvation would not be a gift or grace from God and people would have reason to boast. This is being cited by those who advocate the faith-alone concept of salvation, that works are not needed; faith alone will suffice. They quote another pronouncement of Apostle Paul to bolster their contention:
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”
(Reference: Rom. 3:28 NKJV)
But what did Apostle Paul refer to as “works” or “deeds” that cannot justify or make people right with God? And which is the “law,” that even apart from or without it, people can be justified as long as they have faith? The same apostle specified it — the law of Moses:
“And by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
(Reference: Acts 13:39 NKJV,
It is the law of Moses and the works stipulated there, in that it cannot justify people in the Christian era. The Lord Jesus Christ, in fact, teaches about the limited scope of effectivity of that law:
“The Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were in effect up to the time of John the Baptist; since then the Good News about the Kingdom of God is being told, …”
(Reference: Luke 16:16 Good News Bible, Emphasis Mine)
With the advent of the Messiah and the preaching of the Good News, a new covenant has superseded the Mosaic law, which was intended exclusively for the people of God in the Old Testament times, the ancient people of Israel. The law of Moses contains teachings on the observance of festivals, new moons, and sabbaths (Col. 2:16-17). These works will not justify people.
People can now be justified by following the law of faith (Rom. 3:27), which is also the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).
Thus, Apostle Paul reminded Christ’s followers that serving the Lord entails not only professing faith or believing in Him:
“For you have been given the privilege of serving Christ, not only by believing in him, but also by suffering for him.”
(Reference: Phil. 1:29 GNB, Emphasis Mine)
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself explains how people can truly prove that they have faith in Him and are indeed His true disciples:
“So Jesus said to those who believed in him, ‘If you obey my teaching, you are really my disciples.”
(Reference: John 8:31 GNB, Emphasis Mine)
The Lord requires those who claim to believe in Him to do what He says:
“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?”
(Reference: Luke 6:46 New Living Translation, Emphasis Mine)
Another biblical passage often being quoted by the “faith alone” advocates is Acts 16:31, thus:
“So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household’.”
Such was the response of Apostle Paul and Silas to the keeper of the prison who asked them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30 NKJV).
Proponents of sōlā fidē aver that this clearly shows that simply believing in Christ will lead to salvation. However, after telling the prison guard that he needed to believe in Christ, Paul and Silas did not just leave and do nothing else (the part that Protestants conveniently leave out). To ensure that the prison keeper would become a true believer, Paul and Silas did what was necessary:
“Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.”
(Reference: Acts 16:32-33 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
For the keeper of the prison to become a true believer or disciple of Christ, he was taught the “word of the Lord” and was “baptized.” This was required as the preaching of the gospel by divinely commissioned preacher precedes belief:
“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? …”
(Reference: Rom. 10:14-15 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
Apostle Paul and Silas would not have taken the time to preach the gospel and administer baptism to the prison guard and his family if it were true that simply believing in Christ would be enough to be saved.
They did so not of their own accord but in obedience to the command of the Savior:
“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned’.”
(Reference: Mark 16:15-16 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
Those who heard the gospel and believed in it must be baptized for them to be saved, as commanded by the Savior. The believers are then “baptized into one body,” which is the Church headed by Christ ― the Church of Christ (I Cor. 12:13 NKJV; Col. 1:18; Acts 20:28 Lamsa Translation). Christ’s true believers, the members of the Church Of Christ, are commanded to hold fast or faithfully obey the gospel:
“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain.”
(Reference: I Cor. 15:1-2 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
Failure to obey the gospel will render one’s faith “in vain” or worthless because it will not lead to one’s salvation. Apostle James described such kind of faith — one that is without works — as dead, barren, and no different from the faith of demons:
“What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. … Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? …
“Even the demons believe — and tremble!“
(Reference: James 2:14, 17, 20 RSV; 2:19 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
The faith that saves is that of which is coupled with works (James 2:22, 24) or obedience to the commandments of God taught by Christ, one of which is to join the Church that Christ will save — the Church Of Christ.
IN CONCLUSION
1
Thus, the belief that people are justified by faith alone is unscriptural. The arguments for the doctrine of sōlā fidē, after all, are not bona fide.
2
The works that won’t save man that protestant misunderstood is the law of Moses and the works stipulated there, in that it cannot justify people in the Christian era. People are justified by following the law of faith (Rom. 3:27), which is also the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).
3
One must believe and obey Christ’s teachings by accepting the invitation of Christ to enter the church and be part of the one body, the body being the church that Christ is the head of (Col 1:18). Christ is the door of the sheepfold, and anyone who comes into the fold or flock through Christ will be saved. (John 10:7, 9 Revised English Bible) The fold or flock is the Church of Christ. ( Act 20:28 Lamsa Translation)
4
Faith without work is dead, but faith that is coupled with works is made perfect because man is justified by works and not by faith only (James 2:17,22 and 24 NKJV). Therefore, one must be careful in the path he chooses and who he listens to, for the true message of the gospel was entrusted only to God’s messengers. To be lulled into this false sense of security that faith alone is enough for one’s salvation is not only dangerous, but this popular and widely accepted doctrine is completely unbiblical in the Christian era and will lead man to his perdition on the Day of Judgement.
WE KINDLY EXTEND our visitors an invitation to explore the pristine, unadulterated teachings of Christ and His apostles as they were taught in the first-century Church Of Christ to gain a deeper understanding of the pristine biblical teaching on salvation, please follow the link:
The Truth About Salvation
CHRISTIANITY IS A RELIGION with over 2.4 billion followers worldwide. It is composed of diverse faiths with thousands of denominations, such as Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Adventist—the list goes on. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity estimates that there are over 45,000 denominations globally, with more than 200 in the United States alone. Each denomination has its own unique set of beliefs and doctrines, especially when it comes to how one can achieve salvation. Do any of these religions truly teach the proper way of salvation?
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