FAITH ONLY? Why do some say that "works" have nothing to do with salvation when the Bible says:?

Question

Men will be Judged by their works. Revelation 20:12-13, "And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God,[a] and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were JUDGED ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were JUDGED, each one ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS."

And Hebrews 5:9 says, "And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him."

And they point to Ephesians 2:8-9, yet verse 10 says we are created for good works.

Don't get me wrong, I don't believe you earn salvation, but I do believe you must submit to Christ in obedience!

James 2 says that we are justified (saved) by works, with our faith. The only verse in the Bible that uses the phrase "faith only" says we are "Justified... not by faith only"! (James 2:24)

Answer 1

Some say "Faith only" or "Grace only" out of ignorance (lack of knowledge). As you & others have shown, if they read ALL the Bible, they would know this.

I think there MAY be some people confused about this, because no one can earn his/her way to Heaven. What they must remember is that we as humans have both good & bad "works"/acts & the Bible teaches that we will be judged by these. It is true that salvation is IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT CHRIST, but that's only part of the equation.

The Bible says nothing of being saved by anything "only." The truth is, the Bible speaks of numerous things involved in salvation:
Matthew 10:22 we are saved by enduring to the end (i.e., being faithful unto death - Revelation 2:10);
Mark 16:15-16 – we are saved by believing the gospel and being baptized;
John 3:16 and Acts 16:31 – we are saved by faith;
Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 – we are saved by calling on the name of the Lord; (many do not understand what this means. The answer can be found by reading Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46; and Acts 22:16);
Acts 4:12 – we are saved by the name of Christ;
Romans 1:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 – we are saved by the Gospel;
Romans 5:9 – we are saved by Jesus’ blood;
Romans 5:10 – we are saved by Jesus’ life;
Romans 8:24 – we are saved by hope;
Romans 10:9 – we are saved by confession and faith;
1 Corinthians 1:21 – we are saved by preaching;
2 Thessalonians 2:10 – we are saved by loving the truth;
1 Timothy 4:16 – we are saved by taking heed to the doctrine and continuing in it;
Titus 3:5 – we are saved by the mercy of God;
James 1:21 – we are saved by the engrafted word;
1 Peter 3:21 – we are saved by baptism.
Thus, we see the folly of claiming to be saved by any one thing.

http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/read/justification_by_faith_or_works
http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/read/the_role_of_works_in_gods_plan_of_redemption
http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/read/justified_by_faith
http://www.housetohouse.com/hth/biblequestions/archive/question0196.htm
http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/read/a_perversion_of_biblical_faith
http://www.apologeticspress.org/rr/reprints/Faith-and-Knowledge.pdf

Answer 2

"Faith without works is dead" simply means that we should act on our faith. It doesn't mean that we should, with an insincere heart, go out and do a bunch of good deeds. It does mean that if we really believe in something, we will act upon it. For instance, let's say I see a chair and it looks very sturdy, and I need a place to sit down. If I believe the chair will hold me, I'll go and sit in it.

I like what you said about salvation not being earned. You are right. And, we should always submit to Christ in obedience. And, we should submit because we love Him, not because we want to look good or because we are afraid to go to hell. That's what I mean when I say we should submit with a sincere heart.

Good deeds can be a part of that. Jesus said that if you see a brother with no coat, and you have two, that you should give your brother your extra coat. That is a good deed. And we should do it out of love. Peace.

Edit: The verses you quoted from Revelation are talking about the great White Throne judgment, which only those who do not believe in Christ will take part in. Those who do not believe will be judged according to their works alone. Peace.

Answer 3

The Revelation passage is speaking about unbelievers. Christians are not judged for salvation on their works. Our sins have all been forgiven through Christ, Christ took on the judgment for our works. Read down a little and you will see:

Rev 20:15 And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire.

Believers have their names in the book of life from the foundation of the world.

Obedience to Christ is a result of salvation, not the cause. Same with the Ephesians passage. Good works follows, and is a result of salvation. We don't do good works to be saved, we do good works because we are saved, because of who we are in Christ.

In the James passage, he is speaking of being justified before men by our good works. How would someone know you are a believer, except through your works?

In these verses, do you see anything we are doing to be justified or saved?

Rom 8:29 because whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be the First-born among many brothers.
Rom 8:30 But whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Answer 4

If we say that works saved then that would be saying what Jesus done wasn't good enough so we had to help him. We will be judged for our works, not our sins. After one is saved is when the works come in. We are to witness to those who are lost and love those who hate us. Men are to preach and women to teach. Now when we stand before Jesus I always imagine him saying what did you do to serve God? There is crowns that we earn, and I believe there is 5 of them. One is for Pastors only I am pretty sure. I haven't looked at the crowns in a long time. If I said I have faith in Jesus yet I have no works am I saved? A saved person is to do works not lay around and do nothing. If I seen someone claiming to be saved and yet does nothing I would question if they was saved or not. Works does not save only the blood of Jesus does that. The same thing is seen in the Old Test. as well.

Answer 5

Because by we did will determine 1 Cor 3:10-15...

We are created for good works but they don't save us

We are saved by Grace alone so that none can BOAST...

Yes you must submit to Christ, and I think that it is a part of working out your salvation with fear and trembling - but salvation the act from God is as simple as Romans 10:9-10 but then we need to live like God asks us to and that because we love him we obey his commands.

Answer 6

sal·va·tion

NOUN:

Preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil.
A source, means, or cause of such preservation or deliverance.
Christianity
Deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption.
The agent or means that brings about such deliverance.


We are judged by what we do, and what we fail to do.

Corporal works of mercy

Corporal works of mercy are those that tend to bodily needs. The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) enumerates such acts -- though not this precise list -- as the reason for the salvation of the saved, and the omission of them as the reason for damnation.

1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Visit the imprisoned
6. Visit the sick
7. Bury the dead

Spiritual works of mercy
The spiritual acts of mercy provide for the needs of the spirit.

1. Admonish the sinner
2. Instruct the ignorant
3. Counsel the doubtful
4. Comfort the sorrowful
5. Bear wrongs patiently
6. Forgive all injuries
7. Pray for the living and the dead

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Answer 7

Jesus said:“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15

The key words are Believe and REPENT.

The Bible says: You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! James 2:19

If you only have faith or just believe you have a demon faith. What seperates a true Christian from one who is a Christian in name only is the one who repents.

If you repent (turn away from all the things you know are wrong) and trust in Him, God will forgive your sins and grant you everlasting life.

Answer 8

If you have faith on God and trust Him and obey Him, you will serve Him with a servants heart, right? We as Christians are not made to just sit around and just say God is great. In Matt. 5:16 says,
"Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify you Father in heaven."

Which means you should do the good works for God that the light of God may shine so everyone can see and glorify my Father in heaven. We don't do good works so that we will be good people, we do good works for God so others may see what we have done for our Lord. And that my friend is what a "true" Christian is.

Answer 9

Matthew 16:27 states, "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render unto every man according to his deeds."
But then again one sin seperates us from God. It's like if you get a speeding ticket and you tell the officer but I helped an old lady across the street and I gave a hitchhiker a ride. He's not going to care because you broke the law. The same with sins. I think God will judge your faith in him based on your works or maybe judge people who don't know Jesus as their savior by their works. Like Ghandi for instance. I don't think he went to hell. But thats just my unique interpretation.

Answer 10

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.