Will Faith Only Save? (I)
The question which serves as the title of this article is one of great importance because it deals with the salvation of man's precious soul. Concerning the great value of the soul, the Lord said, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul." (Matt. 16: 26.) In the Lord's estimation, one soul is of more value than the wealth of the whole world, and surely the Lord's estimation is correct. Any question, therefore, which concerns the soul of man is important. Especially is that true of any question which involves the salvation of the soul. In the study of such a question there is no place for prejudice, or anything of a kindred nature. The eternal welfare of our souls is at stake, hence, truth should be our only desire.
The Question
Please notice that the question is not: Is faith essential to salvation? I verily believe, that it is. The importance and necessity of faith is clearly set forth in numerous passages of scripture. The Lord himself emphasized the essentiality of faith when he gave the commission to the apostles. He said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that Believeth and is baptized shall be saved; But He That Believeth Not Shall Be Damned." (Mk. 16:15, 16). Again he said, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever Believeth In Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (Jno. 3:16). Again, to the unbelieving Jews of his day, he said, "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: For If Ye Believe Not That I Am He, Ye Shall Die In Your Sins." Likewise, the importance of faith was emphasized by the apostle Peter in Acts 10:43. He said, "To him (Christ) give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever Believeth in him shall receive remission of sin." When the jailor said to Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" the answer was: "Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house." (Acts 16:30, 31). Paul further said in Heb. 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God Must Believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." John clearly pronounced the final doom of unbelievers in Rev. 21:8. "But the fearful, and Unbelieving, and the abominable, an murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. Which is the second death." That settles it! Faith is important; it is essential; there can be no salvation without it.
This I firmly believe. Yet, I do not believe, nor do these or other passages teach, that salvation is by faith only. If you will turn to these passages in your Bible, you will see for yourself that the expression "faith only" is not there. Faith is there; faith is enjoined; salvation is predicated on faith. But salvation is not predicated on "faith only." See the difference? But you say, "Preacher, faith is the only thing mentioned in those passages." Does that conclusively prove that faith is the only condition with which man must comply? Does it? If so, repentance is not essential to salvation for none of the passages quoted above "mention" it! Are you willing to accept that conclusion? Surely not! Paul said, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but Now Commandeth All Men Every Where To Repent." (Acts 17:30). "Oh," someone says, "repentance always precedes faith." It doesn't, of course, but if it does, what difference does that make? Repentance is Another Condition whether it precedes or follows faith! If one were to put the horse before the cart or after the cart, the horse would be there in either case. Just so, if repentance is before or after faith, it stands as an additional condition of salvation. Hence, to admit that repentance is essential to salvation is deny that salvation is by faith only.
What Faith Only Will Not Do
One of the best ways to see the error of the faith only doctrine is to consider some things faith only will not do.
First, faith only will not keep one from perishing. This I know because in Lk. 13:3, 5 the Lord teaches that men must repent or perish. The same idea is set forth by Peter in 1 Pet. 3:9. He said, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Why does God want all men to come to repentance? Because he is "not willing that any should perish." That shows that unless men repent they will perish, therefore, something more than faith (repentance) is required of man in order for him to avoid perishing. — in order for him to be saved.
Second, faith only will not keep one from being denied by Christ. In Matt. 10:32, 33, the Lord said, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I deny before my Father which is in heaven." Here the Lord's promise is that he will confess those confess him. His threat is that he will deny those who deny him. And, of course, refusing to confess the Lord amounts to denying him. If you say, "No person is going to believe on the Lord without confessing him," that won't help the doctrine of faith only, because confession still stands as a condition of salvation — and in addition to faith — whether all believers confess or not. But the idea that all who believe on the Lord also confess him just isn't so. The Bible says, "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him: but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (Jno. 12:42, 43). There you see, were "many who Believed on him" but they "Did Not Confess Him." That's what the Bible says, and the Bible is right. Believing is one thing; confession is another. According to Jno. 12:42, 43, people can believe without confessing. But according to Matt. 10:32, 33 without confession one will he denied by Christ. Therefore, something more than faith (confession) is essential to man's salvation.