In recent times, you may have heard that we are saved by faith only and works or fruits are actually the evidence of it and not a requirement for our salvation.
What is Faith?
Acts 24:24-25 And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith in Christ always includes works. This is exactly what James said.
Jas 2:24, 26 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. …. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Faith is Evidence-less!
Faith in Christ will not have evidence because, faith is the substance of things like Eternal Life we hoped for, the evidence for which not seen. If anyone says to you that works are only a sign or evidence for the faith we have, they are liars and they don’t speak about the faith as mentioned in the Bible.
Saving Faith?
Some consider Faith that has evidence of works “Saving Faith”. Saving Faith requires works as evidence. This is a theologically incorrect statement. As we saw earlier, there is no such thing as evidence for faith. A faith that requires evidence is not faith at all. The truth is, faith always includes works.
Deception
Today’s deception is that, we are saved by Faith in Christ not of ourselves and all the works we do like righteousness and holiness are because we love Him and are evidences for our Faith in Christ. Please note that this is a big lie. Faith in Christ will not have any evidence but rather works are always part of our Faith in Christ.
Rev 3:5 “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
We have an ongoing requirement to overcome and make sure our names in the Book of Life is not blot out.
Faith includes Works
We are saved by Faith in Christ which includes righteousness, self-control and judgment. It does not include works of the law like ‘do not murder’ and ‘do not commit adultery’ etc but it does include the commandments from Christ which are not of the law but works apart from the law, like ‘do not even hate in your heart’ and ‘do not even look at a women with lust’, which are the righteousness of God.
Do you still think your works are just an evidence? Don’t be deceived. Faith always includes works. Your salvation may depend on it.
You make no sense. Your heading in big bold letters says works as evidence of faith is a big lie yet you go on to say faith always has works in every paragraph and at the end drop a duzy and threaten that our salvation may depend on it. You’re just as wrong as the theology you’re calling out. Faith is belief in Jesus Christ for eternal life based on His work (finished work I might add) and what you are doing here is backloading the Gospel with works which is equally as heretical. We are saved FOREVER (sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise until the day of redemption) and He will never let us slip from His hand. So if you’re saying any works at all even one contribute to our salvation before or after then you are the liar. Salvation is based entirely on Christ’s perfect life & His alone until the end. There’s no chart about works for a Christian l, what type of works? How many? Is it attitude? Is it behavior? Doesn’t matter, at anytime you tell a Christian who has put their faith in Christ for eternal life that they MUST do works and obey etc, you’re setting them up for a lifetime of doubt and a horrible Christina walk with zero freedom or assurance. Let me say one last thing, the evidence for faith, is Assurance, because that’s what the Bible says and what you’ve done is written an article that actually says “Jesus didn’t do enough so you’d better watch your step”. In love I’m calling you out on this because it’s unbiblical. God bless
I don’t recall Jesus teaching any of what you say. Follow Jesus, not Paul or your pastor or your church. Jesus never asked anyone to follow the Bible but Him and obey His teachings. He never asked anyone to exalt a man’s letters equal to His words only to reject everything He taught.
Why do you say that you believe in Jesus for eternal life but rejects everything He taught for salvation? What exactly do you believe in Him? Who lied to you that your salvation is based on Christ’s perfect life? Jesus taught salvation is very costly. It costs our entire wealth (Matt 13:44-46), all our relationships (Matt 10:37), our body parts (Mark 9:43-48) and even our own life (Mark 8:35).
No one is saved yet. Jesus Christ clearly said salvation is when He comes the second time (Matt 25:31-46). Only our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20) when we are worthy (Luke 20:35). But if we become unworthy, Christ will blot our names from the book of life (Rev 3:4-5). Who told you there is any freedom or assurance? What freedom? Freedom to do sin? Didn’t Jesus teach you to ‘do what He commands’ and call themselves unprofitable servants when His disciples asked for increasing our faith? What assurance? Neither in the parable of sheep and goats, nor in Matt 7:21-23, there are no assurances as we see for all the seven churches in Revelation.
You are exactly right – “Jesus didn’t do enough [by dragging us through difficult path] so you’d better watch your step [because the path that leads to life is very difficult]”.
I suggest you to look at the post – Quick Reference for Paul’s Contrary Teachings.