I have a question for Christians about their belief about being saved by faith vs. faith & good deeds.?

Question

I am Roman Catholic. Through Biblical studies I've learned that Jesus' death redeemed us. He is our Redeemer. He can become our Saviour if we have pure faith & have done good works for our neighbors & enemies. We are to follow in Christ's footsteps, taking care of the poor, feeding the starving, housing the homeless, clothing the poor, etc.

I see so many Christians (I presume many are Protestants here) say that they are saved because they believe in Christ & they will go to Heaven. Not one single person can say 100% that they know they will go straight to Heaven upon their death. Faith alone doesn't save you. If faith alone saved you, your faith would be so great that you would be sinnless and perfect. God states that no one is perfect.

Why do many Christians say that they are already saved? Why do you read some verses & ignore the rest? Aren't you suppose to read the entire Book & not ommit any words? God said not to add & not to ommit of His words.

Answer 1

You are incorrect.

Faith (trust and obedience) ALONE saves you. There is nothing man can do to win any additional favor with God. No one can boast of their works. No one can go to church enough, pray enough, walk enough old ladies across the street, feed enough poor, etc. etc. The littlest of sins is sufficient to codemn us to eternal hell before a perfect and just God.

That is why John 3:16 says that while we were sinners... All of us are sinners deserving hell (Rom. 3:23). And there is no way we alone can "work our selves out of this situation!" Fortunately, we do not need to! Christ' sacrifice on the cross - His sinless life and sin-bearing death - was sufficient in the eyes of God. Jesus said that He alone was the way to salvation and glorifying the Father. God the Father accepts Christ's sacrifice as payment for our sins. THE KEY IS FAITH IN CHRIST!

Faith implies many things. You voluntarily place yourself under the Lordship of Christ. You live for Him. You glorify the Father through that faith. Faith is the hope and assurance of Christ and salvation. You can be assurred you are going to inherit the kingdom of God, if you sincerely have faith. Faith is trust and obedience. The Book of James shows us that faith without works is dead. Christ commands us to not only believe, but follow His commands.

SO...

As Christians we do feed the poor, administer medicines, help old ladies across the street, worship God corporately in church, etc. etc. WHY? Because of obedience (faith)...because we are humbled by God and serve Him out of profound gratitude for what He did for us (we could have never saved ourselves)! Christians do not expect to win any more favor from God for their good works -- Christ did it all! -- nor, will Christians receive any less. Christians do good works out of faith and profound gratitude.

And, I know, much of this biblical Truth flies in the face of much Catholic doctine...sorry...the Truth stands on its own.

I have faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I also believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. I, therefore, have 100% assurance and hope that upon my bodily death, I will patake in inheriting the kingdom of God.

Faith is the KEY!

Answer 2

The problem that the legalist James had is that he did not understand what the Holy Spirit does to those who trust God. He was used to the works of the Law of Moses and probably never grew out of it. Poor James! So I'm glad that people are finally seeing a difference between Paul's message and James' error. But there are many more that I have met that lean towards James, some without realizing it. The proof that James was both influential and legalist can be found in Acts 15. Peter was the only one who got it right. 7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Answer 3

Okay, not all Christians are Protestants. And yes if you believe in Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord and accept Him into your life then yes you are saved. If you have Christ in your heart then yes you can say 100% aassured your going to Heaven. No Christian says that they are sinless, we all sin but if we accept Christ, all our sins are forgiven even those that we still commit, but that does not mean just commit sins cause you know that your saved and your sins are forgiven, not at all. Faith is what gets you through. Good deeds alone will not get you to Heaven, you can say your going to Heaven and your saved and do good deeds all day but if you haven't committed your life and heart to Christ your not going to Heaven. Maybe so many Christians say they are saved because they are..why do you say we read some verses and ignore the rest? We don't do that, we read the Bible, it is the Book of Life...who says we omit the words, we don't omit any words that are in the Bible...I'm not sure where your coming with this but I think your a little confused and not sure of the Christian ways...Jesus can only become our Savior if we give our hearts to Him, and surrender all to Him...not just doing good works for our neighbors & enemies.

Answer 4

Salvation by faith & good deeds is a Roman Catholic doctrine, and is not found in the Bible.
Ephesians 2:8
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"

Cain had good works, but they were rejected. (Genesis 4).
Faith is the common denominator, but while Catholic doctrine teaches that salvation is by faith & good works, Biblical teachings present us with a faith based salvation, from which good works follow.
It's a subtle difference, but it's an accurately statement.

Good works are encouraged in both Catholic and Protestant teachings. If good works are required with faith for salvation, then Jesus must have lied to the thief on the cross when He said, "Today, you will be with me in paradise." This provides the whole basis for death-bed conversions. (I'd be hard pressed to call Jesus a liar about anything.)

Answer 5

I'm a protestant and follow the teachings of the Bible. The Bible says we are all sinners an must die. We are under a death sentence. The only way to have this death sentence removed is by believing in Jesus Christ that suffered the death we deserve. His blood (his death) cleans us from all sins. We cannot do any good deeds to deserve this. But when we are saved, when the death sentence is removed we live a new life in Jesus Christ. And here good deeds are important, why, if we do evil deeds again we will have a new death sentence pronounced upon us. But God is merciful and if we sin he will forgive us again.

Answer 6

I'm a Protestant and I believe the Word of God when it says "Man shall not live by bread alone but by EVERY WORD that proceeds from the mouth of God" Matthew 4:4

I agree with your statement.
James 2:17-26 is very clear for all who read it.
However, salvation is certain when one truly abides in Christ. To abide in Christ, is a day by day, moment by moment walk with the Lord. Without him we can do nothing.

We can know we are saved when we abide in Christ and bear fruit. Works is the fruit of our faith. So no faith, no fruit.

John 15:1-9 is crystal clear.

Answer 7

When we give our life to the Lord , we are made righteous through Jesus , not out of anything that we have done. But He died on the cross for us and in Romans 8:1 it says , that there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus and walk not after the flesh ,but after the Spirit.
Every Christian , that is saved , sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit knows 200%, without a doubt, that they are going to Heaven.
And as far as ignoring verses , nobody is ignoring verses here. I think ,that you do not understand the Word of God , when you read it. You have to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you , when you read.

Answer 8

We are saved by grace, not by works, so that no one can boast.
We are saved by grace alone. Recall that in Acts 16:31 the jailer asked Paul and Silas how to be saved. They responded, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." The jailer believed and immediately became saved.
Close to 200 times in the New Testament salvation is said to be by faith alone - with no works in sight. Consider the following:
John 3:15 tells us that "everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
John 5:24 says, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."
In John 11:25 Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies."
John 23:46 says, "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."
John 20:31 says, "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
If salvation were not by faith alone, then Jesus' message in the Gospel of John - manifest in the above quotations - would be deceptive, stating that there is one condition for salvation when there are allegedly two - faith and works.
I must emphasize that we are saved by faith for works. Works are not the condition of our salvation, but a consequence of it We are saved not by works, but by the kind of faith that produces works.

Eph 2:8-10 God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this: It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Answer 9

Romans 10:9,10 states "if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." The "believe in your heart" is the faith part of salvation, or, as you call it, redemption. In that moment that you acknowledge Christ as Lord, and, without any physical evidence to examine, believe in His resurrection, salvation is yours. We are saved by faith alone, but as Paul wrote, (to paraphrase) faith without works is dead. Christ asks us to have a vital and living faith that puts His teachings into action. What good is having forgiveness of sins and eternal life if the world cannot see the value of our faith in them? We don't all have to be pastors or missionaries to carry His message to the world. Living our faith through works is the best example we can give to a hurting world.

Answer 10

well It is by faith that we are saved and not by works that any man should boast..
I am already saved and when I die I just continue to be saved and go to where the saved go. (heaven)
I will go to heaven when I die.. It says that I can know.. ( I know and I believe)
1John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

My faith is in another person, who IS SINLESS and he has saved me. I now do good works because I am saved, and not to save me. If I didn't start doing good works it would be because I was never saved. Being saved makes you want to do good works..
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;