Wrestling with Salvation by Faith

It is first Sunday of the month, and so we’re going to continue our series on wrestling with God. And as we are going to look this morning, thinking about wrestling with God, as we remember, you know, we are, each one of us as Christians, wrestling with God in the sense that He has given us a plan, a pattern.

He has given us His truth, and now we’ve got to incorporate it within our lives in some way. And that’s the challenge for us on a daily basis. Paul recognizes this challenge here in 1 Corinthians 9, verse 25, when he says, Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.

That is, we are competing for that prize, that imperishable crown that God has for us. And what does that mean? It means that we look into the Scriptures, we look into the Word of God, and we wrestle with what God has given there for us.

And we internalize it. And we’re wanting God, like Jacob of old who wrestled with God, we’re wanting God to take the lead in our lives. And that is something that Jacob wrestled with for many, many years. And then when he actually ended up wrestling with God, it was in a situation where, you know, he couldn’t do anything but trust on and depend upon God. And that wrestling With God, a story proved to him that, yes, he needed God. He needed God’s blessing, and he wrestled with God for that blessing, and he received it. But because he had been one who was seeking his own will for a while, but then turned to seeking God’s will, and that’s where his life made a tremendously dramatic change.

Well, we wrestle with God also, and while maybe the changes in our life aren’t as dramatic as Jacob’s was, there can be little dramatic changes in our lives each and every day, and so that’s something that we need to consider as we think about our walk with the Scriptures, with God, with His Son, Jesus Christ, on a daily basis.

Well, this morning, we’re going to be looking at wrestling with salvation by faith. You know, this is a topic that is very prevalent in the world, and the world believes in salvation by faith, at least the religious world of Christianity. And that’s a strong contrast with the salvation that many of the other world religions discuss, if you can call those There’s religion’s salvation, but the Bible talks about salvation by faith. But there’s an abuse of this doctrine in the world today, and that’s the doctrine of salvation by faith only.

And that’s something that we want to address this morning because I think that’s an issue that a lot of people wrestle with within their lives. You know, what is the proper place of faith? And then where do my actions come into play in relationship with faith?

And there’s many around us in the religious world today who are constantly preaching. And I see it on Facebook. We see it on the television. All you have to do is believe. Just say that sinner’s prayer, you know, and that’s it. You’re done. You’re saved. You’re saved, and you’ll never lose your salvation after that, is the common doctrine that goes around in this world today. And many are exposed to that on a regular basis. But is that what the Bible teaches? We need to wrestle with this topic of salvation by faith and what the Bible says. Let’s do that this morning as we consider wrestling with salvation by faith.

Well, we want to look at James chapter 2 and verse 24 because this is a verse that many people in the religious world don’t know what to do with. A lot of times they’ll just ignore it. And there are many who see this and then they think, well, what does James mean by that? And they try to explain it away.

But the fact of the matter is, is that this verse is in the Bible, James chapter 2, verse 24. And James says, You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. Not by faith only. And that expression, not by faith only, this is the only time the two words, faith and only together, are used in the Scriptures.

And it’s preceded by the word not. Now, you might think that people would see this and think, you know, the Bible says not by faith only. I’m preaching faith only. I should change to what the Bible says. But you know, a lot of people don’t do that. They just continue stubbornly in this teaching that we’re saved by faith only, even though the Bible directly contradicts that notion.

Well, what are we going to say to those who bring this forth? How are we going to act in response to those who teach contradictory to what the Bible plainly says? Well, let’s talk about that as we think about salvation by faith, but not faith only.

A person is saved by faith, but not faith only. And let’s look at some things along that line. First of all, we want to affirm salvation by faith. Absolutely. There is no doubt that we are saved by faith. John chapter 3, verse 16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. That is salvation by faith. But notice what’s not said there. It’s not said faith only. And that’s important. But it is salvation by faith.

Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9, “…for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Those boasting-type works are excluded, yeah. They’re not part of the process of salvation by faith, but that doesn’t mean that it’s salvation by faith only.

By grace you have been saved through faith. Not faith only. And the word only is not mentioned in this verse. Do we believe in salvation by faith? Absolutely. Romans 3 and verse 28, Paul wrote, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. And I think this is important to understand that Paul, when he made this statement, was referencing a system of salvation of merit that the Jews had developed under Phariseeism and rabbinical Judaism in the New Testament.

And the deeds of the law have reference to the Old Testament and the Old Covenant, which we are not under anymore. And that’s something that a lot of people miss when they look at this verse. Yeah. And they say, well, look, Paul said we’re justified by faith. Yeah, we are. Do we believe in salvation by faith? Absolutely. But what’s missing from the verse? Again, salvation by faith. But the word only is missing here. We believe in salvation by faith.

Hebrews 11, 6 says, “…without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Yes, we must believe. We must have faith. There is no doubt that faith is essential to salvation. And we do not question that. We believe that. And we support that.

But again, the word only is not used here. And those who put the word only into the Scriptures insert something there that just isn’t found. And we need to be very careful about that, because if we do that, have we become guilty of altering the Word of God?

So that we can have some kind of personal comfort. That’s exactly what many believed in regard to the salvation by faith only. In various different confessions of faith that were mentioned, it was often quoted that the doctrine of salvation by faith only was of great comfort.

But does the Bible teach it? That it’s not a matter of my comfort, it’s not a matter of your comfort. That is, truth is not a matter of comfort. We need to be people who uphold God’s Word, and God’s Word does not teach salvation by faith only or by faith alone.

And you’re not going to find any scriptures where salvation by faith is mentioned and the word only is there without the word not in front of it in James chapter 2. A person is not saved by faith only, but a person is saved by faith. And we do want to believe that.

In fact, the Bible teaches that there are many things that save other than faith. And we’re going to put a big list out there, and you’re welcome to get your phone out if you want to. You can take a picture of the slides. We’re not going to go through every single one of these verses. They’re extensive.

But, if you want to record it, get your phone out and take a picture of these next couple of slides, and you can study through these verses on your own, and you can see that the Bible says we’re saved by many, many things.

In fact, there are divine sources of salvation, such as God’s mercy, Titus 3, verse 5, the grace of God, Ephesians 2, 5, and 8, Acts 15, 11. There is Christ’s life, Romans 5 and verse 10. The Lord saves, Acts 2, verse 47, the power of God, 2 Timothy 1, verses 8 through 9. So there’s divine sources of salvation.

There’s also human responses that are necessary for salvation, such as faith itself and belief, which is just another form of the word faith. But then, repentance is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 10. Acts 2, 38. Confession, Romans 10, verse 9. Endurance, and there are several verses there that you can look at. Revelation 2, verse 10. And then, calling on the name of the Lord, which is baptism because of Acts 22, verse 16.

And so, calling on the name of the Lord is a human response. See, it’s not faith only. There are many things that the Bible says saves, and they all must come together in a perfect unity, a perfect whole for salvation to take place.

There are means and instruments of salvation by which we are saved also. The gospel is the power of God and salvation, Romans 1, 16. Preaching of the cross, 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 18. What about Christ’s testimony bringing salvation in John 5, verse 36, or hearing the gospel, Romans 10 and verses 13 through 14, Titus 11, 16.

Baptism now saves us. 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 21 says, and we’re saved by water. 1 Peter 3, verse 20, and our disposition must be correct. Our spiritual disposition are important to salvation. We all understand that, that our faith must be sincere. Our heart must be right. It’s not something that we can just say and not mean.

I think everybody believes that, but that spiritual disposition that we’ve got to have hope in the gospel. Romans 8 and verse 24. The love of God’s truth. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 10. Being in the body of Christ and wanting to be part of Christ’s body. Ephesians 5 and verse 23. He’s the Savior of the body, the Bible says. Entering through the door, John 10 and verse 9.

So many things save, the Bible declares. Not just one thing, but when we put that word only after faith, you’re excluding everything else because only means only. It means one thing and that’s it. Well, what gives us the right to exclude all these other scriptures that talk about salvation and mention other things other than faith in those scriptures?

I don’t have the right to do that. You don’t have the right to do that. God wrote the Bible. We’ve got to believe what the Bible says, not make it what we want it to say. And so, when the Bible talks about being saved, it mentions that many things save us.

And that’s something that those who preach the doctrine of salvation by faith only leave out of their discussion. There is also within the Scripture explicit teaching that the doctrine of faith only is not right. Explicit teaching from Jesus, even from the Apostle Paul, Peter, and many others, James and many others.

You know, a lot of times people like to say, well, Paul taught. And they try to set up Paul as the one, you know, who says, oh, that’s the one who teaches salvation by faith only, and we’ve got to go with that. But wait a minute. What about Jesus?

What about Peter? What about James? What about the other inspired teachers in the New Testament? Do we just leave them out and go with Paul alone? Is Paul the one? No. And Paul didn’t teach that either. But let’s look at what the Scriptures say. Explicit teaching opposite salvation by faith only.

Well, we’re going to start with James chapter 2 because it’s an obvious place to start, I think. But look at what James says here in this chapter. He says, in talking about faith and just, you know, faith only, exclusive of any kind of work or act or any kind of thing that one does, this is what he says, inspired by the Holy Spirit, thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. It’s dead.

You can’t save someone with a dead faith, but that’s exactly what those who preach faith only are trying to do. They’re trying to make dead people alive, but they’re just keeping them dead because faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James chapter 2 and verse 20, but do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? The Bible calls those who teach that foolish. That’s not my word.

That’s the Holy Spirit’s word. They’re foolish because faith without works is dead. What about James 2 and verse 24? You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. The only verse in the Bible where faith and only are together is preceded by the word not. That’s significant. That’s important. It’s almost as if, you know, a God looking down through the ages saw that there would come a time when somebody would Start teaching. We’re saved by faith only. And he intentionally put this verse in the Bible so that we would know that’s not what he’s teaching. It’s not by faith only. James 2, verse 26, For as the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Are we saved by faith? Yes. Must we have faith? Yes. Is faith essential? Yes. But it is not by faith only.

That’s James. Look at Jesus and what He says here, Matthew 7, verses 21 through 23. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me. You who practice lawlessness. Lawlessness. Think about what Jesus is saying here. He’s saying that a life that is lived lawless, even when that life professes Him as the Christ and professes Him as the Son of God, a life that is lived lawless is vain and empty.

And yet there are those out in the world today who believe because so many say it, that all you have to do is believe and then you can do whatever you want with your life. Once saved, always saved. Saved by faith only. Jesus never taught that. And He taught explicitly opposite of that, right here in Matthew 7, 21 through 23.

Now last time I checked, Jesus is the head of the church, and He’s the Savior of the body. If we want to be pleasing to Him, then maybe we should listen to what He says, instead of to those who would have it some other way.

Titus 1, verse 16. Here’s an epistle of the Apostle Paul. And what does he say? He said, “…they profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified from every good work.” They profess to know God. Do some profess to know Jesus? Sure they do.

Do they confess Jesus because of that? Yes. Do they believe? They say they do. Have they been taught faith only? Some of them have, but their works contradict what they say. But wait, I thought the Apostle Paul was the one who said, faith only and not works. No, he never said that.

And here’s one verse from the Apostle Paul who makes it clear that works are necessary to salvation. And then James 1, verse 22, “…but be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” It is a deception to say we’re saved by faith only.

Well, how then does faith work? What is the right way to view faith? If it’s not by faith only, then what is it? The Bible teaches that we’re saved by obedient faith. Faith is necessary. It’s essential. Yes, but it must be an obedient faith.

Listen to the words of John in 1 John 5, verses 1 through 5. And notice how John combines faith, love, and obedience together here. They’re all part of one package. They’re not to be separated out and, well, faith is essential, but works are not. And so therefore, you know, we don’t have to do anything. Just faith only. That’s not what John teaches.

What does he say? Well, he does start with faith, because without faith we can’t make any progress, but he says, Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves Him who is begotten of Him.

By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.

Who is He who overcomes the world? But he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. There’s an extraordinary tapestry weaved here of the relationship between faith and love and obedience that John puts together in such a way so that we can’t escape the conclusion that faith is necessary, love is necessary, and obedience is necessary if we want to be children of God.

I know, a lot of people take these verses out of context, and they just look at one and say, whoever believes in Jesus Christ is born of God, and they stop right there, that’s it. Well, what about the rest of what John said? Does that not count? Was that not inspired? Of course it was.

We are saved by obedient faith, not by faith only. Hebrews chapter 5, verses 8 and 9 It says explicitly that we must obey to be saved. Though He was a son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered, and having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. Who obey Him.

It doesn’t say who believe in Him, but who obey Him. Now, belief is necessary. It’s part of what we need to do to be obedient, but there are other things that we need to do to be obedient as well. Not only have faith, but we need to repent. We need to be baptized. We need to be faithful. All of those things are part of being obedient, not just faith only.

And Jesus taught in John 15 that faith only wasn’t enough. We have to abide in the vine, and that means believing, continuing to believe, and continuing to live in such a way so as to honor Christ, to love Him, to serve Him, and to bear fruit for Him.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine. You are the branches.

He who abides in Me and I am here bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. They gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned. Notice what Jesus contemplates here. Disciples and their relationship with Him, Jesus.

The disciples are the branches. Jesus is the vine. The disciples must abide in the vine. What happens if they do not abide in the vine? They are cast out and withered. It’s not by faith only. When we think about what the Bible teaches about salvation by faith, you know, it’s something that we wrestle with. It’s something the world is trying to convince us otherwise.

But when we look at the Scriptures, it becomes clear that we’re saved by an obedient faith, not faith only. John 15, verses 9-10, Jesus says, As the Father loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.

Now that’s the relationship that we should want, abiding in the love of the Father. But if we don’t keep the commandments, what happens? We don’t abide in the love of the Father. And what is the opposite of the love of God but the wrath of God? We must abide in Him.

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings, and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

You don’t obey. You don’t love Jesus. That’s the bottom line. It’s not salvation by faith only. What about the Apostle Paul? Well, look at what he said in Romans 6, verses 16 through 18. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey? Whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness. So there’s our concept of obedience again.

But God, we think that though you were the slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. You were the servants of sin, but how did you stop being the servants of sin? How were you set free from sin? You obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. You obeyed. They were set free by obeying. How do we obey?

We obey by doing what God says to do to be saved. And what is that? We’ve got to hear His Word, believe it, repent of our sins, confess Jesus as Lord, all the scriptures which we’ve mentioned earlier, and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.

Paul contemplates that very process in Romans 6 and verses 1 through 11. Paul didn’t teach salvation by faith only. He never taught it. Is salvation without the works of the law? Yes. Is salvation without works of which we can boast? Yes! But salvation is not without works of obedience. The Bible teaches that we’re saved by an obedient faith, not by faith alone. Wrestling with salvation by faith, something that many people do all the time because it’s so prevalent in our society. But remember what the Scriptures teach.

We’re saved by faith, yes, but nowhere do the Scriptures say we’re saved by faith only. In fact, just the opposite. The Scriptures talk about many things saving us, and the list is extensive. There are within the Scriptures significant and explicit teachings that contradict faith only, including the words of Jesus, The words of James, Peter, Paul, all of them. And the Bible’s teaching on faith is that our faith must be obedient, not simply faith only.

Do you need to make a correction in your life, maybe? Or did you think perhaps when you were saved, you were saved by faith only? And now you realize, you know what, maybe I need to make a change. Maybe I need to make a correction here.

You know, sometimes that happened in the Bible when Apollos went around teaching and then Paul came along later and he asked some people who were taught by Apollos, did such things happen when you were taught? And they said, no, well, you need correct teaching. And those people were baptized in the name of Jesus because they weren’t baptized the right way the first time.

That’s in Acts chapter 19 if you want to look that up. Maybe that’s your situation. I don’t know. But if you have believed in the doctrine of faith only, we urge you to stop believing in that. Start believing what the Bible teaches. Start acting the way the Bible describes. Don’t trust in some man’s system that was invented in the 1500s. Trust in what the Word of God says.

That’s what we want. That’s what God wants. And that’s what Jesus wants. And so this morning, if you need to make a change, many choose this time to let others know that they want to do that. But you don’t have to do it right now. Let’s talk about it. Maybe you want to study more. Maybe you want to think more about this. We can do that. Come see me or come see one of the elders. I’m sure we’ll be happy to talk about it.

I want to talk to you about these things, or maybe now is the time, and that’s something you want to do right now. If that’s the case, come and let us know while we stand and sing.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!