Salvation, By Faith Alone?

I have been shocked lately to learn that there are actually people out there claiming to be Bible believers yet denying one of the very foundational truths of God. How very sad this is. These are people who do not and cannot enjoy the joy of salvation because they feel they must earn it.

James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.

What is James saying? Is he saying that we must have works to have faith? Of course not! A very simple study where Scripture is compared with Scripture will show the folly of those who believe some action, or works, must be added to faith for salvation.

This passage in James is actually quite simple. If we took this passage and paraphrased it, we might come out with something like, "So, you're saved? Prove it. I can prove I am saved by what I do." I remember, as a child, going with my mother and aunt to a peach farm. They let us (well, them, I was too little) pick the peaches straight off the trees. It makes sense that we would have gone to peach trees to get peaches, right? After all, what if we had showed up to pick peaches, and the farmer pointed us to trees full of apples? Sure, apples may be delicious. Perhaps an apple a day will keep you out of the doctor's office, but an apple is not a peach! If the farmer insisted that apples were growing on a peach tree, we would have insisted he was nuts! Just as apples do not grow on peach trees, evil works do not come out of someone who is saved. Jesus said in Mat 7:15-16: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" James is saying the good works do not save you, but they are an evidence of being saved.

There is one other great, huge, glaring flaw in the theory that someone has to do some good work or be baptized to be saved: The thief on the cross. Remember, this man had no opportunity to be baptized, or to do any 'good work'. The only thing he ever did was believe!

So, how does someone get saved?

Eph 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Salvation is, and always has been a gift from God. From before the foundations of the earth, God saw that man would need to be saved from his sin. In God's timeless view, He saw that a sacrifice would be needed and in that timeless view God determined that the only sacrifice would have to be a perfect, sinless sacrifice.

There are some who contend that the sacrifice of animals paid for the sins of people before the crucifixion of Christ. Though the sacrifice of animals temporarily satisfied God, they did not pay the debt which needed to be paid. These sacrifices were a kaphar or a covering. They only served to placate or appease God temporarily until the ultimate sacrifice was made by Jesus.

If the sacrifice of animals were not sufficient to 'pay' or atone for the sins of these people, what was? How did they get saved? The answer is simple – in fact, you have already read the answer. They were saved by grace through faith. It was their faith in the (from their point of view) coming Messiah, the coming Saviour! How can I prove this?

Gen 22:7-8 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? (8) And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

Looking forward, at this point where Abraham was preparing to sacrifice his son, Abraham proclaimed that God would provide an offering, in fact, one possible rendering of this passage could be, "God will provide himself as an offering."

But what else is there? Well, Hebrews 11 details many examples of people in the Old Testament who were 'saved by faith! Read it, you will see Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, and many others are listed as being justified by faith.

Really, salvation is summed up best in Eph 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast."