BELIEF IN SALVATION BY FAITH ONLY

Class Series
Lesson #1
BELIEF IN SALVATION BY FAITH ONLY
INTRO. It is amazing how poorly the subject of eternal
salvation is communicated. Even the basic essentials are not
well defined and therefore people are arguing matters, but not
communicating. Each person argues from assumptions, ideas, and
definitions that are his own, while failing to realize
that the other person has different concepts and definitions.
In the matter of "faith", there are people with vague notions
and ideas as to what it is, what is it's nature, what it
includes and excludes, and until it is sufficiently defined,
people will argue with each other and never really communicate
and understand each other. The concept of faith must be clear,
or it may be fatal. That is, if it is a mistaken faith, a vague
idea, an unclear faith, and it is weak and ashamed (Jno.12:42f),
a person may be given a false assurance that he is saved when he
is not, AND THAT WOULD BE FATAL.

I. THE WRONG CONCEPT OF SAVING FAITH CAN BE FATAL.

A. A few statements from John MacArthur (of Grace
Community Church) illustrates the dangers involved: "On a
disturbing number of fronts, the message being proclaimed today
is not the gospel according to Jesus. The gospel in vogue today
holds forth a false hope to sinners. It promises them they can
have eternal life yet continue to live in rebellion against God.
Indeed, it encourages people to claim Jesus as Savior yet defer
until later the commitment to obey Him as Lord. It promises
salvation from hell but not necessarily freedom from iniquity.
It offers false security to people who revel in the sins of the
flesh and spurn the way of holiness".^F "Salvation is solely by
grace through faith (Eph.2:8). That truth is the biblical
watershed for all we teach. But it means nothing if we begin
with a misunderstanding of grace or a faulty definition of
faith".^F

B. False assurance is at the bottom of religious apathy
and indifference. If a person is assured
that he is already saved, and particularly
if he is assured that there is nothing he can do to lose it,
then nothing else matters.

We cannot penitrate his will to leave the social club church
and be a Christian only, or to accept what the Bible says about
baptism, the Lord's Supper, etc. None of this matters to him,
since he is assured that he is already saved forever. This is
fatal.

II. WHO TEACHES SALVATION BY FAITH ONLY?

A. Certainly not the Bible. Jas.2:19ff More on this
later. But, saving faith is never alone. Faith
is itself a driving force of conviction
and obedience. "The Bible does not recognize faith that lacks
this element of active repentance. True faith is never seen as
passive--it is always obedient. In fact, Scripture often equates
faith with obedience (Jno.3:36; Rom.1:5; 16:25; 2Thess.1:8)".^F

B. The Methodist Discipline says: "Wherefore, that we
are justified by faith, only, is a most
wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort".^F
C. The Episcopal Church, Articles of Religion XI says
the same thing. D. Julian Pope of the Baptist Church
affirmed the following proposition: "The

Scriptures teach that Salvation comes at the point of faith
without any further acts of obedience".^F E. Glen V. Tingley of
the Christian-Missionary Alliance affirmed the following
proposition:"The Scriptures Teach that Alien Sinners Are Saved
by Faith Alone Before and Without Water Baptism".^F F. Bob
L.Ross, Baptist, says, "Salvation is promised at the point of
faith..."^F G. A paper distributed by Watchman Fellowship from
their "Cult Awareness Institute" entitled "The Gospel"(p.6)
says,"We believe that man is saved by faith alone, but never a
faith which will remain alone". So, according to this vague
statement, a person must wait and see if his faith starts to
working before he can know if he has the saving kind. Then why
not wait and see if they will be baptized before saying they are
saved?



III. SALVATION BY A VAGUE FAITH BEFORE BAPTISM IS A RELATIVELY
RECENT IDEA.

A. Luther is often credited with teaching this kind of
"faith only", but his faith only included baptism. Luther was
fighting the Catholic concepts of meritorious works. He was not
trying to teach that faith does not include repentance and
baptism. Therefore, his "faith only" concept was different than
modern concepts. Luther said, "The first thing in baptism to be
considered is the divine promise, which says: "he that believeth
and is baptised shall be saved." This promise must be set far
above all the glitter of works, vows, religious orders, and
whatever man has added thereto; for on it all our salvation
depends. But we must so consider it as to exercise our faith
therein and in nowise doubt that we are saved
when we are baptised".^F

B. Luther taught that faith could never be simply an
idea in the head or a mere appreciation of the facts of Jesus
Christ. He said, "faith is an active, difficult, and powerful
thing". There is a sense in which we too would say we are saved
by "faith alone". It is faith alone that urges me to teach what
Jesus said about repentance and baptism (Mk.16:16; Acts 2:38).
Faith is the only reason for repentance or baptism. The Law of
Moses does not teach one to be baptized. The law of
the land or whatever has been distributed morally
among the Gentiles does not teach one to be
baptized. Only my faith in Jesus teaches me to be baptized.
Therefore, the only motivating force is faith in Jesus Christ.
In this sense, though it is not the angle of James' approach in
2:19f, we can be said to be saved by faith in Jesus Christ
alone. But, if we do not define our angles and our word
meanings, we open ourselves up for misunderstanding. This
becomes fatal to those who misunderstand us. Only because of
faith does one "love the Lord", "hope" to see God, "work" to
please God, etc. But, such a statement does not
attempt to define the precise moment of salvation
by faith as happening "before and without baptism".

IV. THE HARMONY OF PAUL AND JAMES

A. Luther was frustrated with James and practically
disregarded him as inspired. Modern denominations have a
philosophy that struggles and strains at harmonizing Paul and
James but with violence to both Paul and James. B. The following
chart shows that Paul, in Romans, was speaking of an obedient
faith in Jesus in contrast to works of law or merit. Those who
reject Jesus have only one option if they would be accepted by God.
They must do everything the law demands without one violation.
This is "works whereby one can boast". Faith in Jesus is the
only other way. Through Jesus we can be forgiven of sins. It is
grace. Faith does not earn this privilege, but it is God's
perogative to offer forgiveness on whatever terms or conditions
He desires. James, on the other hand, is emphasizing the nature
or quality of the faith involved in justification.
The works that he speaks of are
not meritorious works, but works of faith. If the faith is not
obedient to Christ, it is not faith. Faith is
perfected and demonstrated by actions.

V. FAITH COMPLIES WITH WHATEVER CONDITIONS GOD DEMANDS, OR IT IS
NOT FAITH OF THE SAVING KIND. Notice the chart below. (Note:
This chart was done with a different program. Send for it if
interested. TWB)

VI. WHAT DOES SAVING FAITH INVOLVE?

A. Our "faith only" friends are very vague on the issue
of faith. That is why it is so important to get
them to define the nature of the faith
they put so much faith in. In essence, you could say that most
people have faith in faith. They do not truly believe in Jesus
and take Him at His word. Else they woud not argue with the
conditions He has given. Can you imagine the children
of Israel arguing whether marching around Jericho and blowing
the trumpets was absolutely essential? True
faith does not call God's clear instructions into
question and then proceed to promise God's
grace upon people who have faith in faith.
True faith takes Jesus at His word and acts on the terms
set forth. But, we must pin down the concept and the very nature
of the faith they envision to save. What does this faith of
theirs include or exclude?

1. Conviction of sin? Must one be convicted of
sin against God before he can be saved? Most will admit
that this is included in saving faith. 2. Godly sorrow over his
sins? Must one be sorry he sinned against God before he
can be saved? Most will admit that saving
faith will include this. 3. Repentance, turning from sin? Must
one determine to turn from the
practice of sin? Or, may one decide to
keep on sinning before, during, and after
salvation? Does saving faith
include repentance? 4. Confessing Jesus? Does
saving faith include confessing Jesus? Or, may
one be saved who believes in his heart
even though he is unwilling to confess Him?(See
Jno.12:42). 5. An understanding that the blood
of Christ is needed? Can one be
saved even if he has not learned that
forgiveness comes to us on the basis of what
Jesus did on the cross? Note:
Before we bring the question of baptism into the
equation, how much of this activity is mental
"WORKS"? Is faith itself a work of the heart and
mind?

Even if one says it is God's work, he has qualified the phrase
"not of works"

so that God's works are not included in the equation. But, if
faith is God's work because He gave us the ability and the
reasons, then so is repentance and
baptism. "By one Spirit were we all baptized into one
body"(1Cor.12:13). The Spirit, by means of the gospel, convicts
and leads one to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins. See Acts 2. Were it not for the Spirit we
would not think of being baptized. Further, when one is buried
in baptism he has faith in the operation of God that He will cut
off the sins of the flesh (Col.2:11-13). 6. An understanding
that "here is water, what doth hinder me from
being baptized"? (Acts 8:36f). If it is
excluded, why was it included in the Eunoch's
equation? Why is it included in Acts 2:36-40? Why is
it included in Saul's conversion?(Acts 22:16) Why is
it involved in Col.2:11f as a part of "faith in the
working of God?"

B. You see that when our faith-only-friends are forced
to tell us WHAT faith entails, many of them will agree that it
entails more than a mental agreement to some facts. Many can see
how repentance comes under faith as an essential CHARACTERISTIC
or quality of the faith that saves. With just a little more
openness and honesty, they can also see how baptism is a part of
the process of faith that brings one into the enjoyment of God's
saving gift.

CONCLUSION: Why is the modern doctrine of salvation by faith
only a fatal belief? Well, let us summarize: 1) It gives people
a false sense of security, 2) It distorts God's word. 3) It
causes people to take lightly the voice of truth, because they
do not feel the need to study further or change any practice. 4)
It is vague. 5) It appeals to larger numbers because most people
do not want a great deal of religious commitment. They want an
easy way to go to heaven.
_________________________________________ QUESTIONS:

1. Does Jesus want us to believe that He does not want us to
OBEY Him, that He

merely wants us to believe He has taken care of everything?


2. If we do not believe that He has taken care of everything,
has He taken care of everything anyway?



3. Has Jesus taken care of the sin of unbelief?



4. Will unbelievers be lost? Why?


5. Does Jesus demand anything of us in order to be saved? If
so, what?


6. What is one to believe before he can be saved?



7. Is repentance absolutely essential?

8. Is faith and repentance the same word?


9. Does saving faith encompass repentance?


10. When is one saved through faith?

Terry W. Benton terrywbenton@bellsouth.net


F. The Gospel According to Jesus, John MacArthur, 1989,
p.15-16 He further

says, "A well-publicized opinion poll indicated nearly a third
of all Americans claim to be born again. Those figures surely
represent millions who are tragically deceived. Theirs is a
damning false assurance". Ibid., p.31
Ibid.,p.32,33

Methodist Discipline,
Article IX
Howard-Pope Debate, p.46
Porter-Tingley Debate, p.227
Acts 2:38 and BaptismalRemission, p.57. However, in his book on "The Restoration
Movement", pgs.70-71, he acknowledges that faith alone is an
active, obedient kind of faith. He is so vague as to why baptism
is not one of the obedient acts of faith. He admits that "faith is a package
word"(p.76) which contains such things as repentance, trust,
love, etc. Why does not baptism fit in the package? It does in
Peter's package (Acts 2:36-30), in Paul's package (Acts 19:1-6;
Rom.3-6), but not in Mr. Ross' Baptist package.
A Compend of Luther's Theology, by Hugh T. Kerr, p.166 and quoted
in "Is Baptism Essential to Salvation? Jerry Moffitt,p.52