The Truth of Salvation
Salvation! Is it by Faith alone, by Works alone, or by a combination of Faith and Works? My hope is not only to tell you the truth, but make the truth so clear you will not be able to put up a logical argument against it.
The first thing I need to do is lay down one simple rule. When searching for the truth in God's Word, there simply cannot be any direct contradictions. If you believe in one thing and there is a verse that clearly contradicts what you believe, then what you believe must be wrong. The goal is to find a truth in which all verses line up with each other. Zero contradictions.
The first verse I would like to discuss is James 2:14-16...
James 2:14-16
14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Many will interpret this verse to mean that we are saved through works as much as faith. There is a problem with that interpretation however. It simply never actually says that. "Faith without works is dead". This does not say we are saved through works. It is telling us that if your faith does not result in good works, then it is a dead faith.
If I buy a sapling of an apple tree, they can be 100% positive it is an apple tree by the leaves and the bark and such. There is no doubt it is an apple tree. As that tree grows, it should produce apples. If it never does, does that mean it’s not an apple tree? No. It means it’s a bad apple tree. It means something is wrong with the apple tree. It is still an apple tree though.
Our faith is that tree. Our works are the fruit it bears. If the tree is healthy, it will bear fruit, just like if our faith is healthy, it will result in good works. If the tree never bears fruit, there is something wrong with the tree. In the same way, if our faith never results in good works, there is something wrong with our faith.
So James is not telling us that we are saved through faith and works. He is saying that faith that does not produce good works is dead. It simply gives us a way to gauge our faith. If it is not naturally producing good works, there must be something wrong with our faith.
Even if you disagree with my interpretation, and you still want to believe it says we are saved by works, you can at least agree that this verse can be interpreted to say works is a result of faith. At the very least, this verse can be interpreted in multiple ways.
Now let's take a look at a verse that clearly says we are “not” saved by works.
Ephesians 2:8
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Here the Bible clearly states that our salvation is not a result of our works. Why? So that we will not boast. What we would boast of, I believe is self-explanatory. We would be able to boast that we saved our selves.
It is simple logic if you think about it. If our salvation had anything to do with any kind of accomplishment of our own, it would mean we earned our salvation and it was not a gift from God. When you give a gift, it is a gift. Not payment. When someone earns something it is a payment or reward. Since salvation is a gift from God, it simply cannot have anything to do with our own accomplishments.
One thing about this verse however, it is not interpreted to mean that our salvation is not a result of our works. In this case, the verse states it extremely plainly. There is no other way it can be interpreted. When a verse states something very plainly, and it contradicts what you believe, what you believe must be wrong. So even if you want to interpret James as saying we are saved by works, Ephesians 2:8 clearly says that interpretation is wrong!
So according to Ephesians, not only is it wrong to believe we are saved by works, it also says salvation is a gift from God. Now lets take a look at the next verse.
Romans 10:9-13
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
When you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, it results in righteousness. When you confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior it results in salvation. It is not about any accomplishments of our own. Not about our works. It is about our faith. Believing in Jesus Christ.
The Bible is absolutely 100% clear that our salvation has nothing to do with works. We have verses that state that very plainly and can only be interpreted to say just that. We have verses that support those verses. Still just to put one more stake in the heart of the monster that keeps rearing its ugly head…
Hebrews 9:28 (NASB)
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
When Jesus returns to save us, He will do so without reference to sin! He will not even consider the sins we have committed. He will save us according to our faith in Him and nothing else.
So what does sin have to do with it all?
Matthew 6:6 (NASB)
6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Proverbs 11:18
18 The wicked earns deceptive wages, But he who sows righteousness gets a true reward.
Colossians 3:23-24
23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
Mark 9:41
41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.
Matthew 16:27
27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.
All of these verses are speaking of a reward we will receive in the afterlife. Everything we do, whether it be good works or sin, will affect our rewards.
Likewise, for the unsaved, their sins will not send them to hell. They will end up in hell for one reason. They did not have faith in Jesus.
Revelation 20:11-15
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the judgment of the unsaved. They will all be gathered together and there will be a book opened for each one of them. This is the book of their personal lives with every good deed and sin written into them. Then another book will be opened. The Book of Life. This book has the name of every person going to heaven in it. They will be judged according to the book of their personal life. Then they will see if their name is in the Book of Life and when they see it is not, they will be cast into hell. The reason they are judged according to their sins and deeds is because that will affect their rewards as well. Though in this case, it will affect the level of their suffering in hell.
I realize this is not the standard teaching of the church. The typical belief is that sin sends us to hell. The problem is, that just is not what the Bible actually says. We are saved by faith and faith alone. Sin will do two things. It will take away our rewards in the afterlife, and it will be a stumbling block in our relationship with God.
What about 1 Corinthians 6:9-10?
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
So many love to use these two verses as proof that sin sends you to hell. Unfortunately they never share the next verse…
11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
When you read verse 11, you realize something very important. Those first verses were not saying those sins send you to hell. Those first verses were giving titles to different types of sinners. They were speaking about the unsaved. When you are a sinner, you are an adulterer, and Idolater and a fornicator. When you get saved, you are washed clean and no longer one of these sinners. Do we still sin? Yes, but we are no longer one of these sinners.
As you actually get down and start studying the Bible, certain things begin to come clear. It never actually says sin will send you to hell. The Bible says we are saved through faith and never says we are saved by works of any kind. In fact it clearly states we are not saved by works. Sins is only mentioned in connection with rewards, and your relationship with God. It says sin separates man from God and people think that means we go to hell. It doesn’t say that. It never says it separates us in the afterlife or that we go to hell. It just says it separates man from God, and it does. Here on earth. Sin comes between us and God and builds a wall up to keep us from having a close relationship with God. It never sends us to hell though.
Another belief is that Salvation is through doing what Jesus commands. There are plenty of verses where Jesus says if you love me you will do this or that. There are many verses telling us to keep the Lord's commandments. You know what the Bible never comes right out and says? That you must keep His commandments to go to heaven. The reason it never makes that statement is because if it did, then it would be saying we are saved through our own accomplishments. If that were so, we would be able to boast that we saved ourselves. And that is not the way Salvation works.
Now let me be very clear here. I am not saying we don't have to follow the Lord's commands. I am not saying good works is not important. Both of those are extremely important in our walk with God. They simply are not the necessary ingredient to salvation.
When we truly believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, and we confess aloud that Jesus is Lord, we are saved! Period! So long as we keep that faith, and it is from our hearts and not just in our minds, we will be saved! If your faith is truly in your heart, then you will do good works. You will follow Jesus' commandments. We will bear good fruit!
However, I do believe it is possible to believe in God, believe in Jesus and the Bible in our heads and not our hearts. One can look at all of the evidence of God and the truth of the Bible and come to a logical assumption that God and Jesus and the Bible are all true and real. They will believe in their minds it is all real. But that does not mean they believe it in their hearts.
Think of an old story of a kingdom. There will be people in the kingdom who serve the king because it is their job. They accept the king as their ruler. Then you will have those who are not only loyal to the kind because its their job, but because they truly see him as their Lord in their heart. They will stay loyal to that king unto death.
When we serve Jesus, it is important to know you truly serve Him as your Lord from your heart and not just because it is logical. Not just because you are supposed to. That is the type of faith James mentions when he says Faith without works is dead. It is a faith that seeds itself in the mind but not the heart. For if the faith was truly in your heart, you would naturally want to do good things.
If you disagree with this article, please email me and give me your best argument. Just be sure to back it up with verses from the Bible.
The first thing I need to do is lay down one simple rule. When searching for the truth in God's Word, there simply cannot be any direct contradictions. If you believe in one thing and there is a verse that clearly contradicts what you believe, then what you believe must be wrong. The goal is to find a truth in which all verses line up with each other. Zero contradictions.
The first verse I would like to discuss is James 2:14-16...
James 2:14-16
14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Many will interpret this verse to mean that we are saved through works as much as faith. There is a problem with that interpretation however. It simply never actually says that. "Faith without works is dead". This does not say we are saved through works. It is telling us that if your faith does not result in good works, then it is a dead faith.
If I buy a sapling of an apple tree, they can be 100% positive it is an apple tree by the leaves and the bark and such. There is no doubt it is an apple tree. As that tree grows, it should produce apples. If it never does, does that mean it’s not an apple tree? No. It means it’s a bad apple tree. It means something is wrong with the apple tree. It is still an apple tree though.
Our faith is that tree. Our works are the fruit it bears. If the tree is healthy, it will bear fruit, just like if our faith is healthy, it will result in good works. If the tree never bears fruit, there is something wrong with the tree. In the same way, if our faith never results in good works, there is something wrong with our faith.
So James is not telling us that we are saved through faith and works. He is saying that faith that does not produce good works is dead. It simply gives us a way to gauge our faith. If it is not naturally producing good works, there must be something wrong with our faith.
Even if you disagree with my interpretation, and you still want to believe it says we are saved by works, you can at least agree that this verse can be interpreted to say works is a result of faith. At the very least, this verse can be interpreted in multiple ways.
Now let's take a look at a verse that clearly says we are “not” saved by works.
Ephesians 2:8
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Here the Bible clearly states that our salvation is not a result of our works. Why? So that we will not boast. What we would boast of, I believe is self-explanatory. We would be able to boast that we saved our selves.
It is simple logic if you think about it. If our salvation had anything to do with any kind of accomplishment of our own, it would mean we earned our salvation and it was not a gift from God. When you give a gift, it is a gift. Not payment. When someone earns something it is a payment or reward. Since salvation is a gift from God, it simply cannot have anything to do with our own accomplishments.
One thing about this verse however, it is not interpreted to mean that our salvation is not a result of our works. In this case, the verse states it extremely plainly. There is no other way it can be interpreted. When a verse states something very plainly, and it contradicts what you believe, what you believe must be wrong. So even if you want to interpret James as saying we are saved by works, Ephesians 2:8 clearly says that interpretation is wrong!
So according to Ephesians, not only is it wrong to believe we are saved by works, it also says salvation is a gift from God. Now lets take a look at the next verse.
Romans 10:9-13
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
When you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, it results in righteousness. When you confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior it results in salvation. It is not about any accomplishments of our own. Not about our works. It is about our faith. Believing in Jesus Christ.
The Bible is absolutely 100% clear that our salvation has nothing to do with works. We have verses that state that very plainly and can only be interpreted to say just that. We have verses that support those verses. Still just to put one more stake in the heart of the monster that keeps rearing its ugly head…
Hebrews 9:28 (NASB)
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
When Jesus returns to save us, He will do so without reference to sin! He will not even consider the sins we have committed. He will save us according to our faith in Him and nothing else.
So what does sin have to do with it all?
Matthew 6:6 (NASB)
6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Proverbs 11:18
18 The wicked earns deceptive wages, But he who sows righteousness gets a true reward.
Colossians 3:23-24
23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
Mark 9:41
41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.
Matthew 16:27
27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.
All of these verses are speaking of a reward we will receive in the afterlife. Everything we do, whether it be good works or sin, will affect our rewards.
Likewise, for the unsaved, their sins will not send them to hell. They will end up in hell for one reason. They did not have faith in Jesus.
Revelation 20:11-15
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the judgment of the unsaved. They will all be gathered together and there will be a book opened for each one of them. This is the book of their personal lives with every good deed and sin written into them. Then another book will be opened. The Book of Life. This book has the name of every person going to heaven in it. They will be judged according to the book of their personal life. Then they will see if their name is in the Book of Life and when they see it is not, they will be cast into hell. The reason they are judged according to their sins and deeds is because that will affect their rewards as well. Though in this case, it will affect the level of their suffering in hell.
I realize this is not the standard teaching of the church. The typical belief is that sin sends us to hell. The problem is, that just is not what the Bible actually says. We are saved by faith and faith alone. Sin will do two things. It will take away our rewards in the afterlife, and it will be a stumbling block in our relationship with God.
What about 1 Corinthians 6:9-10?
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
So many love to use these two verses as proof that sin sends you to hell. Unfortunately they never share the next verse…
11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
When you read verse 11, you realize something very important. Those first verses were not saying those sins send you to hell. Those first verses were giving titles to different types of sinners. They were speaking about the unsaved. When you are a sinner, you are an adulterer, and Idolater and a fornicator. When you get saved, you are washed clean and no longer one of these sinners. Do we still sin? Yes, but we are no longer one of these sinners.
As you actually get down and start studying the Bible, certain things begin to come clear. It never actually says sin will send you to hell. The Bible says we are saved through faith and never says we are saved by works of any kind. In fact it clearly states we are not saved by works. Sins is only mentioned in connection with rewards, and your relationship with God. It says sin separates man from God and people think that means we go to hell. It doesn’t say that. It never says it separates us in the afterlife or that we go to hell. It just says it separates man from God, and it does. Here on earth. Sin comes between us and God and builds a wall up to keep us from having a close relationship with God. It never sends us to hell though.
Another belief is that Salvation is through doing what Jesus commands. There are plenty of verses where Jesus says if you love me you will do this or that. There are many verses telling us to keep the Lord's commandments. You know what the Bible never comes right out and says? That you must keep His commandments to go to heaven. The reason it never makes that statement is because if it did, then it would be saying we are saved through our own accomplishments. If that were so, we would be able to boast that we saved ourselves. And that is not the way Salvation works.
Now let me be very clear here. I am not saying we don't have to follow the Lord's commands. I am not saying good works is not important. Both of those are extremely important in our walk with God. They simply are not the necessary ingredient to salvation.
When we truly believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, and we confess aloud that Jesus is Lord, we are saved! Period! So long as we keep that faith, and it is from our hearts and not just in our minds, we will be saved! If your faith is truly in your heart, then you will do good works. You will follow Jesus' commandments. We will bear good fruit!
However, I do believe it is possible to believe in God, believe in Jesus and the Bible in our heads and not our hearts. One can look at all of the evidence of God and the truth of the Bible and come to a logical assumption that God and Jesus and the Bible are all true and real. They will believe in their minds it is all real. But that does not mean they believe it in their hearts.
Think of an old story of a kingdom. There will be people in the kingdom who serve the king because it is their job. They accept the king as their ruler. Then you will have those who are not only loyal to the kind because its their job, but because they truly see him as their Lord in their heart. They will stay loyal to that king unto death.
When we serve Jesus, it is important to know you truly serve Him as your Lord from your heart and not just because it is logical. Not just because you are supposed to. That is the type of faith James mentions when he says Faith without works is dead. It is a faith that seeds itself in the mind but not the heart. For if the faith was truly in your heart, you would naturally want to do good things.
If you disagree with this article, please email me and give me your best argument. Just be sure to back it up with verses from the Bible.
Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
