How to refute the Idea that we are saved by faith alone?

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Since each Protestant must admit that his/her interpretation of the Bible is fallable, how can any Protestant in good conscience know what “faith only” to believe in? There are 33,000 to 40,000 “faith only” to believe in.

Another thought.
 
As long as James 2:24 is in the bible and inspired by God–“faith alone” will never save and everyone who claims it does is saying that God lies in James 2:24!
 
Wanttobechaste said:
I am debating with an Anglican (he says that he has fundamentalist beliefs too), and I am having a tough time convincing him that we are not saved by faith alone, but that we are saved by grace, faith, and works. I am getting really frustrated. Can someone please give me some help?
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My advice is to have him read 1 Cor 10:1-13…he shows the new Christians in Corinth the warning of what happened to the Israelites in the desert…they were given all of God’s blessings, manna, glory cloud to protect them etc and yet they still lost it all with their choice of immorality, idoltary, grumbling and testing the Lord. St. Paul says this could happen to them if they fall into sin.

Point out that we are saved by **“grace” alone **which is because of what Jesus did for us on the cross…faith is a gift we receive as a result of this grace, and we choose to accept this faith by acting out in love(which is our works). However, as St. Paul says, we can lose this gift if we fall into sin and don’t repent.
 
Jerry-Jet said:
As long as James 2:24 is in the bible and inspired by God–“faith alone” will never save and everyone who claims it does is saying that God lies in James 2:24!
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Jerry,

This faith alone discussion is very common and it seems people talk past each other. Of course Martin Luther taught salvation by Gods Grace thorough faith. But this is how he explained that faith and works cannot be separated.

“Faith is a living, unshakable confidence in God’s grace; it is so
certain that someone would die a thousand times for it. This kind
of trust in and knowledge of God’s grace makes a person joyful,
confident, and happy with regard to God and all creatures.This is
what the Holy Spirit does by faith.Through faith, a person will do
good to everyonewithout coercion, willinglyand happily; he will
serve everyone, suffer everything for the love and praise
of God, who has shown him such grace. It is as impossible to separate
works from faith as burning and shining from fire.”

This seems to me very close to the Popes opiniion as follows.

“For this reason Luther’s phrase: “faith alone” is true, if it is
not opposed to faith in charity, in love. Faith is looking at
Christ, entrusting oneself to Christ, being united to Christ,
conformed to Christ, to his life. And the form, the life of
Christ, is love; hence to believe is to conform to Christ and
to enter into his love. So it is that in the Letter to the
Galatians in which he primarily developed his teaching on
justification St Paul speaks of faith that works through
love (cf. Gal 5: 14).” (Pope Benedict XVI,11/19/08 General
Audience)

So understandiing it in this manner is Faith Alone true or false?

Peace, JohnR
 
mskejj said:
My advice is to have him read 1 Cor 10:1-13…he shows the new Christians in Corinth the warning of what happened to the Israelites in the desert…they were given all of God’s blessings, manna, glory cloud to protect them etc and yet they still lost it all with their choice of immorality, idoltary, grumbling and testing the Lord. St. Paul says this could happen to them if they fall into sin.

Point out that we are saved by **“grace” alone **which is because of what Jesus did for us on the cross…faith is a gift we receive as a result of this grace, and we choose to accept this faith by acting out in love(which is our works). However, as St. Paul says, we can lose this gift if we fall into sin and don’t repent.
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msk,

Of course we should live a life of repentance. To stop repenting is to lose ones faith. Here is how Martin Luther explained it in the first of his 95 theses.
  1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.
So we are in agreement that we are saved by grace through faith alone.

Peace, JohnR
 
As long as James 2:24 is in the bible NO–we will never agree that we are saved by “faith alone”!

James 2:24 says we aren’t saved by faith alone!

Here’s the way I would formulate it: we are grace fully saved by that faith which CONTINUES THROUGH “God willed works” unto death.

Faith alone has not–does not now–and never will CONTINUE THROUGH.

God is I AM.

He is continual–he is not discrete.

Faith alone is not continual. Faith alone is discrete.

And as James says it is not faith alone but WORKS that save!

Those works ARE NOT “works of the law” as Paul says–they are not “man initiated works” that Luther and Protestants and the devil would have people believe that Catholics are preaching and doing–NO!!!–they are “God willed works” that God wants us to do so we can continue our salvation journey–become perfect–and join WITH Jesus in His redemption of others as Paul said in Colosians 1:24.

“FAITH ALONE” is the trap of the devil!

Faith alone means that faith is SEVERED from Continuing grace that is required for man to be saved.

See the “God willed works”–such a those mentioned in James–Abraham preceeding to offer up Isaac in sacrifice or Rahab helping out the Israelite spies–THOSE “God willed” WORKS are the perfection of initial faith.

Sure–faith by itself is INITIAL–but it is only when it is CONTINUED in “God willed works” that it is perfected.

In other words–we wouldn’t have been saved if Jesus had only the faith to get up on the Cross and then if He had climbed down from it!!!

The reason the devil wants people to believe in “faith alone” is so they won’t be concerned with committing a sin and then unexpectedly DYING–they’ll die in a state of mortal sin and he will laughingly take them off to Hell!

“Faith alone” is an alluring lie told by the devil to separate faith from continuing “God willed works”.

In other words–

IT’S EASY!!! And that’s why people fall for it!

Is there any faith alone supporter in the world with the intellectual capacity to understand the concept of CONTINUANCE?

That’s what it all boils down to–are we BRANDED with salvation in a discrete manner–or are we CONTINUALLY transformed?

Not initially transformed but

CONTINUALLY TRANSFORMED and in that state at death?

Faith alone people could care less!

And you know what–the devil could care less too!!
 
Jerry-Jet said:
As long as James 2:24 is in the bible NO–we will never agree that we are saved by “faith alone”!

James 2:24 says we aren’t saved by faith alone!

Here’s the way I would formulate it: we are grace fully saved by that faith which CONTINUES THROUGH “God willed works” unto death.

Faith alone has not–does not now–and never will CONTINUE THROUGH.

God is I AM.

He is continual–he is not discrete.

Faith alone is not continual. Faith alone is discrete.

And as James says it is not faith alone but WORKS that save!

Those works ARE NOT “works of the law” as Paul says–they are not “man initiated works” that Luther and Protestants and the devil would have people believe that Catholics are preaching and doing–NO!!!–they are “God willed works” that God wants us to do so we can continue our salvation journey–become perfect–and join WITH Jesus in His redemption of others as Paul said in Colosians 1:24.

“FAITH ALONE” is the trap of the devil!

Faith alone means that faith is SEVERED from Continuing grace that is required for man to be saved.

See the “God willed works”–such a those mentioned in James–Abraham preceeding to offer up Isaac in sacrifice or Rahab helping out the Israelite spies–THOSE “God willed” WORKS are the perfection of initial faith.

Sure–faith by itself is INITIAL–but it is only when it is CONTINUED in “God willed works” that it is perfected.

In other words–we wouldn’t have been saved if Jesus had only the faith to get up on the Cross and then if He had climbed down from it!!!

The reason the devil wants people to believe in “faith alone” is so they won’t be concerned with committing a sin and then unexpectedly DYING–they’ll die in a state of mortal sin and he will laughingly take them off to Hell!

“Faith alone” is an alluring lie told by the devil to separate faith from continuing “God willed works”.

In other words–

IT’S EASY!!! And that’s why people fall for it!

Is there any faith alone supporter in the world with the intellectual capacity to understand the concept of CONTINUANCE?

That’s what it all boils down to–are we BRANDED with salvation in a discrete manner–or are we CONTINUALLY transformed?

Not initially transformed but

CONTINUALLY TRANSFORMED and in that state at death?

Faith alone people could care less!

And you know what–the devil could care less too!!
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Jerry,

Maybe we are not so far apart. Here is how Martin Luther explained it.

“Faith is a living, unshakable confidence in God’s grace; it is so
certain that someone would die a thousand times for it. This kind
of trust in and knowledge of God’s grace makes a person joyful,
confident, and happy with regard to God and all creatures.This is
what the Holy Spirit does by faith.Through faith, a person will do
good to everyonewithout coercion, willinglyand happily; he will
serve everyone, suffer everything for the love and praise
of God, who has shown him such grace. It is as impossible to separate
works from faith as burning and shining from fire.”

Peace, JohnR
 
ChrisCath said:
It is often useful to be prepared with the most common bible verses on Sola Fide:

Sola Fide

Sola Gratia

Salvation Verses
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One thing to keep in mind… you can ask him for every single verse that he claims says “faith alone” – and you can point out to him that nowhere does that say what he thinks it says (i.e. faith alone!)

These links should help, as well:
biblechristiansociety.com/newsletter_details.php?id=22
biblechristiansociety.com/newsletter_details.php?id=23
biblechristiansociety.com/newsletter_details.php?id=24
 
Wanttobechaste said:
I am debating with an Anglican (he says that he has fundamentalist beliefs too), and I am having a tough time convincing him that we are not saved by faith alone, but that we are saved by grace, faith, and works. I am getting really frustrated. Can someone please give me some help?
Click to expand...
Ask him, “Does love have anything to do with our salvation? In other words, if we are saved by faith “alone,” then are you saying that love has no role in our salvation? So, as long as we have faith, we don’t need to have love, right? We can hate our neighbor…we can even hate God…but as long as we have faith, we’re in, right?”

According to salvation by faith alone, love has nothing to do with one’s salvation. So, you don’t have to love God or your neighbor (in other words you can completely ignore the two Great Commandments), and still be saved. Yet, 1 Cor 13:13 tells us that love is greater than faith. How can that be if it is faith alone that saves us?
 
Wanttobechaste said:
I am debating with an Anglican (he says that he has fundamentalist beliefs too), and I am having a tough time convincing him that we are not saved by faith alone, but that we are saved by grace, faith, and works. I am getting really frustrated. Can someone please give me some help?
Click to expand...
Everyone knows, or should know, we aren’t saved by faith, we are saved by Jesus. Jesus saves, nothing else. “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Of course, in order to call upon the name of the Lord, one must first have faith in the Lord. That’s where faith comes in. One must have faith in Jesus as opposed to faith in the Mosaic Law, or faith in dead idols.

Because we have faith, or trust, in Jesus we go to him, and do as he says, that is, follow the law of Christ. Not to follow the Law of Moses, but the law of Christ. Galations 6:1-10, and the gospels. This is where “works” come in. Grace, because Jesus freely washes away our sins in baptism. Faith, because without faith we would not call upon Jesus to begin with.

We can say, as a matter of speaking, we are saved by faith alone, if by that we mean faith alone in Jesus.
 
‘Alone’ was added by Luther. It’s not in the original Greek manuscripts.

Blessings to all,
 
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