"FAITH ONLY" BY DYREL W. COLLINS

                                

  The doctrine of eternal salvation by "faith only" is a cherished  

  and often accepted means of obtaining all the promises of God. 

 The doctrine of "faith only" also often, but not always, would 

 claim that once salvation is procured by faith that salvation

 cannot be lost or forfeited by any future act or conduct of the 

 believer.

 

 The doctrine of salvation by "faith only" is often stated in

 various ways. A preacher, who believes  the doctrine of "faith only,"

 many times will tell a person desiring salvation to, "JUST

 ACCEPT CHRIST AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOUR,  AND YOU

 WILL BE SAVED." (note: NO APOSTLE EVER SAID THIS TO ONE

 WHO WANTED TO BE SAVED.)  He then will tell that person to

 pray  what is called the "sinner's prayer" in which one confesses

 that he is a sinner, acknowledges that Christ is the Saviour and

 thanks God for his salvation.

 

 In public debate the doctrine of "faith only" has been stated

 thusly, "THE SCRIPTURES TEACH THAT FAITH IN CHRIST

 PROCURES SALVATION WITHOUT FURTHER ACTS OF 

 OBEDIENCE." This was affirmed by L.S. Ballard in the debate

 with Thomas B. Warren in Fort Worth, Texas. The intent of the

 debate was primarily to deny the necessity of water baptism

 as a necessary part of salvation from past sins. The

 implication of this doctrine of "faith only", however reaches

 much deeper into other Bibical requierments when taken at

 face value.

 

 A person must be extremely careful when quoting  the Word

 of God and make sure that the quote is exact. In the garden of

 Eden for example, The Devil only added  one word to what

 God had said and brought death, heartache, and misery

 upon future generations. God said that Adam and Eve were not

 to eat o the fruit from the "Tree of Life" and if they did , they 

  would die. The Devil said, ""you shall not surely die."

 The Devil only added the one word "NOT" to what God said.

 God said, ""You will die" and the Devil said, "you will NOT

 die." Truth was changed to a lie simply by adding one word.

 

 As a result of man believing a lie he was put out of the Garden

 of Eden and no longer had access to the "Tree of Life". Why

do babies die? Why does anyone die? The simple answer is that

 eternal life and access to the "Tree of Life" was forfeited when

 man believed a lie and rejected what God said. The apostle Paul

 would state the consequence of Adam's sin by saying that,

 "in Adam, all die."

 

  If it is true that by "faith only" on the part of the believer he

  procures or obtains salvation, then what about the Bible

 statements which indicate additional requierments? Are there

 acts of obedience necessary to obtain the approval of God?

 This is the real question which must be answered when

 discussing salvation by "faith only." The doctrine of "faith

 only" is often connected with an additional doctrine. The

  additional doctrine has to do with future sin and

  salvation. It is maintained that once a person is saved, he

 cannot so sin as to be lost. This doctrine is often described

 as "the impossibility of apostasy," "Once saved always saved."

 "Once in grace, always in grace", "The eternal security of the

  believer", or some other such terminology.

 

 The following three passages along with many others, that

 could be quoted, prove the fallacy of "once saved always

 saved." Matthew 7:21 shows the necessity of doing the will

 of the Father.  Revelation 2:10 says, "Be faithful even to the

 point of death." Hebrews 5:9 says that Christ is "The source of

 eternal salvation to all who obey Him." It is clear that acts

 or deeds are essential to continue to do the will of the

 Father and be faithful.

 

 Does salvation by,"faith only" negate all the other Bibical 

 commandments and requirements? This is a legitimate

 question  arising from the concept of "faith only" and must be

 answered. To answer the question, we must define the meaning

 of the word, "only". While there various uses of the word "only", 

 in connection with people and things,  it is most often in an

 exclusive manner and certainly not in an inclusive manner. Thus

 "only" may be defined as simply, "The single thing involved in a

 situation." It signifies that which stands alone, seperate and

 apart from every thing else.

  

 The following questions must be asked:

 

 1.  I s there a passage that uses the terminology "faith alone"? The

 answer is "YES"! 

        The passage however, does not support the doctrine of

salvation by "faith only" for the passages read,  "What good is it

my brothers  if a man claims to have faith, but has no deeds. Can such

faith save him?"  V14... "You foolish man do you want evidence that 

 faith without deeds is useless ?" V 20... "you see that a person

 is justified by what he does and NOT BY FAITH ALONE"  V 24 ... "As

 the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

 V 26. (James 2:14-26)

 

 These passages alone are sufficient  to refute the doctrine of "faith only".

 But we shall examine it further and add additional weight to the truth 

 stated above.

 

 2. Does the Bible say that we are saved or justified by faith? The

 answer is, "YES." This is found in several passages, one is Acts 16:31.

 

3. Does the Bible say that we are saved by " faith only or alone?"

  "NO!"

 

 4. Does the Bible say that we are saved or justified by something

 other than Faith"? YES!

        There are at least fourteen things by which

 the Bible says we are saved. It should, however, be noted  that

 in no case is the word "only"  used in connection with any of the 

 things mentioned.

        What are the things by which the Bible says that we

 are saved or justified? 

           God, Preaching, belief- 1 Corintians 1:21

           Grace,  faith- Ephesians 2:8    

           Jesus, 1 Timothy 1:15

           Jesus' life, Jesus' death- Romans 5:10

           Blood, Romans 5:9

           Word,  James 1:21

           Love of the truth, 2 Thessalonians 2:10

           Faith, Acts 16:31

           Baptism,  1 Peter 3:21           

           Calling on the name of the Lord,  Romans 10:13

           Hope,  Romans 8:24

           Obedience, Hebrews 5:8-9 

 

 5. Would it be accurate to say that we are saved by baptism?

 "YES"

         Would it be accurate to say that we are saved by "baptism

only"? NO!

There are those who teach that we are saved by baptism alone. Who

does this? Everyone who teacher infant baptism. An infant is 

incapable of hearing and forming a belief, he is incapable of

repenting and confessing Christ as Lord and he is taken without

his consent and has water sprinkled or poured on his head.

(Some assume that sprinkling or pouring water on the candidate

is Bible baptism. There is no Bible authority for this.)  If this is not

salvation by "baptism only", one would be hard pressed to define

it otherwise.

 

6. Does the great commission to the Apostles suggest the idea of

"faith only" as a means of salvation?  NO!  Again it is not clear

that both belief and baptism are required before salvation is

obtained, Christ said, "Whoever believes and is baptised will

be saved."

        It is interesting to note that the generally perceived Christian

World is divided into three groups.  Each group may best be defined 

by their correct or incorrect arrangement of the Great Commission

recorded in Mark 16:16.

       Christ said, "Whoever BELIEVES and is BAPTIZED will be 

SAVED."

       "Faith only" says, "Whoever BELIEVES is SAVED and can be

BAPTIZED later."

       "Baptism only" says, "Whoever is BAPTIZED is SAVED and 

BELIEVES later."

 

CONCLUSION:

        If "faith only" is all that is required to obtain eternal salvation,

which salvation then cannot in any way be lost what about other

apparent commands. What about the command to: obey, assemble

together, repent, confess, be baptized, pray, sing, give, partake of

the Lord's supper, add to our faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance,

patience and Godliness?

        IT SHOULD BE EVIDENT TO EVERY PERSON THAT FAITH IS

NECESSARY TO HAVE SALVATION, BUT THE FAITH THAT SAVES

IS THE FAITH THAT OBEYS.  FAITH IS THE REASON FOR OUR

OBEDIENCE. "FAITH ONLY" is NOT a BIBLE DOCTRINE.

        "Faith only" cannot be proved by quoting passages that

mention faith, but have no additional commandments

included in the verse. Would such passages exclude the necessity

to love God? Some would argue that since additional

commandments were not included in the same verse they are

not necessary to obtain salvation.

        "Faith only" is just as false as the doctrine of "Baptism

only." The same arguments that are used to try to prove one

can be used to try and prove the other.

 

DYREL W. COLLINS