Saved by Faith

At the last trump, shall we proudly march up to Jesus pushing a wheel-barrow full of our 'good works' and triumphantly heap them at His feet, demanding, 'Where's my reward?' We might just as well try to barter the Trump Tower for a pile of filthy rags and colored beads.  What we're offering is worthless!: "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6).

Grace is not dependent upon our works: "And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work." (Romans 11:6).

What is Faith?

"Faith is a living, unshakeable 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 everyone without coercion, willingly and 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." (Martin Luther, Preface to Romans).

What are Works?

"Yet the law of not of faith, but 'the man who does them shall live by them.'" (Galatians 3:12).

Paul finds in Leviticus 18:5 proof that the law is not of faith but of works: "You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD." That's all it takes for Paul to make this classification, that the law is not of faith: "...if a man does..."

Devils

"You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!" (James 2:19).

The devils believe...what? That there is one God! Just like one billion Muslims believe. Must those who uphold the Bible teaching of salvation by faith admit the devils are saved, because they believe that there is only one God...along with, presumably, the one billion Muslims as well? Surely we can join James in ridiculing the notion that 'demon-faith' saves. A mental or verbal affirmation that there is only one God saves no one. But is James' 'demon-faith' exactly what Paul is talking about? Or does it not matter Who or What you believe in, just so long as you believe...something?

Suppose I say, 'The late Madlyn Murray O'Hair believed taxes were too high.' (I'm just making this up, I don't know whether she believed taxes were too high, too low, or just right.)

Legalist: 'Aha! You claim Madlyn Murray O'Hair was saved!'

'What?'

Legalist: 'You just did! You said she believed!'

Believe in Whom? Those who repudiate the Bible teaching of salvation by faith are often found to define 'faith' as 'mental assent to a proposition.' There are several cases in the Bible where the word 'believe' is used in this weak sense: "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him...I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you." (John 8:31-37). These 'believers' may have concurred with some aspect of Jesus' pronouncement of the kingdom, but can scarcely have placed their hope for life in Him, if they sought to kill Him! Jesus may, it is true, have turned His attention to a different audience segment at the end of the discourse than at the start.

Another case is that of Simon the sorcerer, who is said to have believed: "Then Simon himself also believed..." (Acts 8:13). But his scheme to purchase the Holy Spirit does not show good faith, and tradition recalls Simon as an arch-heretic. Saving faith is an allegiance, a heart-felt trust, not mere mental assent. Recall how Martin Luther defined it: "Faith is a living, unshakeable confidence in God's grace; it is so certain, that someone would die a thousand times for it." But in spite of generations of preachers expounding this message from the Protestant pulpit, there is continual pressure to revert to the 'demon-faith' definition, of a mental or verbal assent to a proposition. See, for instance, Deal Hudson:

"Not only is the role of reason in religion misunderstood, but so is faith itself. To most people, even many believers, faith is conceived as some kind of feeling or emotional state. Looking at the passion displayed by some Evangelicals, especially Pentecostals, it's easy to see how faith can be identified with these emotions. But, whatever strong feelings are associated with religious faith and practice, faith itself cannot be one of those feelings or one of those emotions. Faith does not give believers emotions; it gives them intellectual content for their minds. When a Catholic for example, recites the creed (a term derived from the Latin for 'I believe,' credo), a whole series of intellectual propositions are affirmed, beginning with God exists and created the world, Jesus Christ his only son was born of a young virgin, lived, suffered, died, and was resurrected from the dead. Volumes of religious content has [sic] been gleaned from the Bible constituting the fundamental beliefs, or creed, for the believer. To have faith is the mind's affirmation of those ideas, which is called a 'sacred deposit.'

"Faith has a content that can be put in sentences, and those sentences can be put in a creed or a catechism. The meanings of those sentences are recognizable to anyone who understands language, even someone who does not believe they are true. In this way, faith itself exists as a form of reason and rationality." (Deal W. Hudson, 'Onward, Christian Soldiers,' pp. 200-201)

Why is it so important to redefine 'faith' so that it does not mean trust or confidence reposed in God, but rather the affirmation of "intellectual propositions"? Because this is how they propose to use James as a crow-bar to eject Paul's teaching of salvation by faith from the Bible. And make no mistake, they are not enlarging or complementing Paul's teaching that salvation is by faith and not by works by amending it to read, salvation is by faith plus works; they are denying this teaching, which is quite plainly set forth in letters like Romans and Galatians. If salvation is by faith and not by works as Paul explicitly teaches, then it cannot also be by faith plus works. 'Plus works' affirms exactly what 'not by works' intends to deny.

James' letter does seem to have been written in response to Paul's letter to the Galatians, even in small points, whether James had this letter in front of him or had heard reports of its contents. Paul curses those who have taught the Galatian Gentile believers their men must be circumcised, a popular opinion at the time amongst the Jewish believers who were James' principal constituency: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8-9). James is duly appalled that any Christian could curse another: "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.' (James 3:8-10). Paul, incidentally, never does it again.

On the larger issue of salvation by faith or by works, James seems to take a different tack than does Paul: "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." (James 2:24). This verse is the Counter-Reformation Catholic's life raft. Can these two writers simply be offering two different opinions? The reader of the Talmud understands that the authorities whose opinions he is perusing do not agree with one another. But in a work like the New Testament, whose every word is God-breathed, there is no possibly of contradiction. The early church wisely realized that Paul and James are not, in fact, contradicting each other, though verbally they seem to be, because they are talking about different things. They are two ships passing in the night, they are not on a collision course, and each can take his rightful place in the canon. James provides a healthy correction, a protective side wall against which to skid if anyone reads Paul with the deficient concept of 'demon-faith.' The trouble is, some people want to insist upon that very definition, even though, as James points out, adopting it leads Paul's program of salvation by faith into absurd terrain. Moreover they want to adopt this erroneous definition precisely because its adoption creates a contradiction, which they then intend to use to eject Paul's teaching from the New Testament!

For two statements to present a contradiction, the word which is their common term must be used univocally, understood the same way in both statements. The astronomer who says, 'Mars is an arid rock,' and the literary critic who says, 'Mars loves Venus,' are not saying the same thing nor can their statements be easily reconciled. How, indeed, could an arid rock love the tempestuous Venus, or anything else? Yet each can rest comfortably in his corner of the faculty lounge, because they are not contradicting each other: they are ultimately talking about different things. Although the pagan mythographer did identify the god who loved Venus with the planet lately visited by landers and probes, the literary critic who advises his students, helpfully and productively, about the love-life of a conventional character who turns up in ancient poetry is really just talking about something else than what the astronomer is talking about. They do not need to get into a screaming match, shouting 'You lie!'; they simply mean different things by their shared term, 'Mars.' Since the common term is not used univocally, there is no contradiction.

When Paul talks about faith, he is speaking of Martin Luther's trust and confidence. Indeed it is difficult to see how the common New Testament concept of faith: "And Jesus said unto them, . . .for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." (Matthew 17:20),— could possibly be imagined to mean affirming an intellectual proposition. James is aware of the more compendious definition of faith, because he says, "I will show thee my faith by my works." (James 2:18); works demonstrate true faith, not 'said' faith. But James is also capable of contracting the definition down to demon-level. Demons repose neither trust nor unshakeable confidence in God, rather they are His sworn enemies, they are not even on His side. The only faith they can claim is to give mental assent to a proposition, which is Deal Hudson's highest conception of faith. James means to say, 'Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by mental assent to a proposition only.' Yet neither Paul nor any else ever claimed (prior to Mohammed ibn Abdallah, who sometimes makes salvation contingent upon a certain verbal affirmation) that assent to an intellectual proposition saves. Although the same word, 'faith,' is used in both statements, it is used equivocally; Paul means by it, throwing oneself upon God with no other plea, James means assent to the proposition that there is only one God. Since these authors are ultimately talking about different things, James cannot serve as a fit crow-bar to pry the doctrine of salvation by faith out of the Bible; it stays.

Antinomianism

Those who believe in salvation by faith often hear tales about 'A sincere believer who turned to the Lord in faith, nothing wavering, and was left a child molester.' Don't believe it? Ever heard the question, 'So aren't you saying a believer who molests children will be saved?' Look at the sentence, 'The present king of France is bald.' While there are various ways of analyzing this sentence, one way runs thus,

a.) There is at present a king of France,
b.) and, he is bald.

But given the French predilection for guillotining their kings, there is at present no king of France. So when skeptics ask about a child molester who is also a believer, are they not asserting that a believer may be left as a child molester? What great promise of God does this assertion deny?

God gave us this promise: that those who turn to Him in faith will be given a new nature, renovated in the image of God: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:..." (John 1:12). Those who stand upon this promise not only have the merits of Christ imputed to them so as to be found guiltless though guilty, but also begin to feel the workings of God in their heart, remolding them to conform to His image. This rebirth is a supernatural work of God; there's no reason in the natural realm to suppose that turning to God in faith would produce any character reformation, the sole and only reason it does so is because God promised. And what He promises, He does.

Those who stand upon the promises of God find Him not to fail. It's when our faith fails that we sink. So where are the "believers" who have stood upon God's promise, but have found Him to fail: that He's left them mired in their sins? Aren't these rather 'disbelievers', not 'believers'?

Without One Plea

The Biblical order is grace ----> faith ----> works.  Faith, the gift of grace, is the engine, works are the caboose. 'Oneness' Pentecostalism inverts that order, holding out the hope that, if you faithfully pay your tithes and wear approved styles of clothing, then maybe...just maybe...God will 'reward' you with salvation.  But this train doesn't run in reverse! The caboose makes a fine caboose, but a mighty poor engine. There's only one plea that can win acquittal, whether you've been walking with the Lord eight days or eight decades: "Could my tears forever flow, Could my zeal no languor know, These for sins could not atone — Thou must save, and Thou alone: In my hand no price I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling." (Augustus M. Toplady).

"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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Notice the Biblical order: we are not saved by good works, which would require us to produce good works out of our own (non-existent) store of righteousness; we are saved "for" doing good.  From whence do works come, except from grace? To reverse the Biblical order and demand that works come before salvation is to demand that the train run in reverse, with the caboose pulling the freight.  It's God who works in us, producing works worthy of His approbation, otherwise unattainable by us.  It is only by the grace of God that we are empowered to do anything acceptable to God! Biblically, our good works are the fruit of grace, not a pre-condition for it: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23).  God works these things in us, since we have no power to produce them on our own.

The utmost legalism can produce is a grudging obedience. But that is not acceptable to God, who looks at the heart. Only God's writing on our hearts can enable us to do works acceptable to Him: "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Jeremiah 31:33). Paul the Pharisee kept the law outwardly: "If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eight day, of the stock of Israel...concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." (Philippians 3:5-6). Though outwardly "blameless," Paul knew that in his "inward parts," he was not keeping the law, but was a rebel and a sinner: "For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good." (Romans 7:15-16).

'Oneness' Pentecostals have nothing against faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ; they cheerfully number it as the first step on their 1,001 mile long march of salvation.  It's just that it's not enough, by their accounting methods.  All manner of things need to be added to it. Faith, they tell us, is the first step, baptism next, then speaking in tongues...then come the 'holiness standards.' Has a woman been covered with the blood, but cut her hair short? Another one fallen into the pit.

But the Bible's own salvation plan is so much simpler.  It has one step, one plea, like the song says, "Just as I am, without one plea but that Thy blood was shed for me..." (Charlotte Elliott).

Exalting our own efforts leads us away from God, not towards Him: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psalm 51:17).  Salvation by works shoves God off the throne, and elevates sovereign, all-mighty man in his place.  But we can't save ourselves — if we could, we wouldn't be in this mess! Even our best deeds are stained with unworthy motives like filthy rags.  We can't lift ourselves up out of this mire and restore our broken fellowship with God, unless He lifts us: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:44).

The One in whom we've put our trust is able to save us to the uttermost: "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25).  At no time can we let go of His hand and trust to our own strength; this is why the boasting and preening of works righteousness leads nowhere but to disaster.  God is faithful to us if we are faithful to Him; it's only unbelief which results in our being cut off: "Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:..." (Romans 11:19-20).

Piece-Work

We all know people who 'recycle' gifts, re-wrapping the unwanted Christmas presents they received from one and passing them on to another. That strikes some folks as tacky. But imagine an ungrateful receiver who takes the sweater Aunt Mabel lovingly knit for him up to the counter at the sweater factory and demands to be paid piece-work wages!

Think it couldn't happen? What of those who expect their good works to be rewarded by God? From whom did they obtain grace sufficient for those good works?:

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10).

The good works of the saints are God's working in them: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord." (Ephesians 5:8-10). Since good works are the fruit of God's grace, how could the saints demand to be paid...for what God has given them?

Given the gulf into which sinful man has fallen, it could not be otherwise. The demand that we save ourselves by our own efforts is like asking a chimney sweep to clean a dusty mirror by wiping it with his hands. There is no source of good in the universe but one, God: "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." (Mark 10:18). This is where the good works which ornament the lives of the saints come from: from God, not from ourselves: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13). To be saved, we must look to Him, not to ourselves.

Everyone

"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses." (Acts 13:38-39).

To some readers, "everyone" means 'some: namely that subset of those who believe who also are baptized, speak in tongues, and do various other things.' Certainly whose who understand "everyone who believes" to mean 'some of those who believe' cannot be accused of a pettifogging literalism.

What Must I Do?

"And he brought them out and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'  So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.'" (Acts 16:30-31).

The Bible asks the question what we must do to be saved...and answers it.

"Here is the sum of the whole gospel, the covenant of grace in a few words: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." (Matthew Henry Commentary)

What have you Got?

The Bible asks, "...And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (1 Corinthians 4:7).

A good question! What of our own can we barter for our salvation? Belief?

But the Bible says belief is the gift of God, "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;..." (Philippians 1:29).

It is by faith that we approach God to receive His blessing of a new heart: "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." (Hebrews 11:6).  But wait - where does faith come from? Do we here have something to boast in? - something of our own we can bring to God and lay at His feet, demanding our reward? No, faith itself is a gift of God:

"On the contrary, It is written (Eph. 2.8,9): 'By grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves...that no man may glory...for it is the gift of God.'...Hence we must assert another interior cause, which moves man inwardly to assent to matters of faith.  The Pelagians held that this cause was nothing else than man's free choice.  And consequently they said that the beginning of faith is from ourselves, in so far as, namely, it is in our power to be ready to assent to things which are of faith, but that the consummation of faith is from God, Who proposes to us the things we have to believe.  But this is false, for, since man, by assenting to matters of faith, is raised above his nature, this must exist in him from some supernatural principle moving him inwardly, and this is God.  Therefore faith, as regards the assent which is the chief act of faith, is from God moving man inwardly by grace." (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part II of Second Part Q. 6, Article 1.).

The Bible says that faith is the gift of God: "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." (Romans 12:3).

The Bible says repentence is the gift of God: "When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." (Acts 11:18).

Why rush to trample underfoot God's gifts while piling up the scaffolding for a Promethean project of scaling heaven by your own might? Did that work in Babylon?

This is why the direction in which to look for salvation is upwards: "Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me." (Micah 7:7).

Savior Will?

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37).

There is something that frustrates God's will, because it is God's will for all to be saved, yet not all are: "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 1:3-4). Hearing this, some leap to the conclusion that it's the human will which saves. They're leaning on a broken reed indeed!

Sin afflicts what part of the human constitution? The will: "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.(James 4:1-2). People desire what is wrong, and this wrong desire gives birth to crimes and misdeeds. Crimes committed under duress, when the robber puts a gun to your temple and orders you to hand the note to the bank teller - are not counted as such, because they are involuntary.

So it's the will which is ruined by the disease of sin. So what do some 'physicians' prescribe as the remedy for sin? The human will, of course. They perceive sin as something 'out there,' external to the human psyche, not itself a disorder of the will.

God's grace is the remedy for this diseased will, not more willing. Nor is His therapy plan a gentle one of coaxing the old will back to health. No, He proposes a heart transplant: take out the bad one, put in a good one!: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26).

The Bible speaks of the will as the 'heart', the place where the intentions reside: "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself." (Daniel 1:8); "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." (Matthew 15:19). Some readers understand this as bad physiology, but I don't believe if you eavesdropped on a pair of neurologists having a heart-to-heart talk in the hospital cafeteria, they would say anything different from, 'I feel in the bottom of my heart,' etc. Nobody ever says 'I feel in my brain,' because you don't feel anything localized in your brain except a head-ache, whereas intense feelings - whether fear, or love - are often accompanied by sensations in the heart, such as racing or pounding. So you feel your feelings in the heart, not the brain.

God's remedy for the heart disease of sin is a new heart. So when His children run to do His will, which heart directs their way: the old, sin-sick one surgically excised, or the new one God's supplied? And if the new, divine gift, of what do they have to boast?

Let's put our faith in Him rather than in the human will — i.e., in ourselves! There's only one Savior, and it isn't us: "All flesh shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." (Isaiah 49:26).

Altoona

"To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever ['pas,' all] believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." (Acts 10:43).

The Bible teaches that all who believe in Him - not some, but all - shall receive remission of sins. The Bible also teaches:

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21).

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:..." (Hebrews 12:14).

A contradiction? Some think so, and they resolve this purported contradiction by amending Peter's words like so, 'whosoever believeth in him [and not only believes but in addition is baptized, and not only believes but in addition doeth the will of the Father, and not only believes but in addition pursues holiness, etc., etc.,] shall receive remission of sins.' Thus they're always saying, 'Faith is not enough.'

But a Bible which is pure, in which is no error, requires no correction: "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." (Psalms 12:6). Peter's statement is categorical: "whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." If it's true, then there are none who believe who shall not receive remission of sins. The proferred 'correction' does not refine, but simply negates Peter's statement.

Let's set up a brain-teaser of the form, of those seated in the bus terminal,

a.) Whosoever is named 'Edna' shall get on the bus to Altoona;
b.) None not wearing a red dress will board the bus to Altoona;
c.) Without a ticket marked 'Altoona', none shall get on board the bus to Altoona.

One proposed resolution 'corrects' the first statement to read, 'Whosoever is named 'Edna' shall get on the bus to Altoona, if and only if Edna is also wearing her red dress and has a ticket marked 'Altoona.' If Edna is not wearing a red dress, she will be barred from boarding the bus. Some 'Ednas' -- namely those without a red dress or a ticket -- will never make it.' Notice the 'correction' negates statement a.). Statement a.), a categorical statement that all 'Ednas' will board, cannot be reconciled with the prediction that some 'Ednas' will not make it.

Is it really necessary to negate one statement to preserve the others? Under what conditions can these statements all be true? If every woman in the bus terminal named 'Edna' is also wearing a red dress and if every woman in the bus terminal named 'Edna' also has a ticket marked 'Altoona,' the statements may stand as written. Look, there are the five 'Ednas' standing in the bus terminal, each of whom is wearing a red dress and each of whom holds a ticket marked 'Altoona'. We could even make it more restrictive, and say, 'Only those named Edna will board the bus,' like the Bible says, "But 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." (Hebrews 11:6). Since we're describing the same group of people each time, no statement need be negated to preserve the truth of the others.

As is common with brain-teasers, this one asks too much of coincidence to be credible; why should all the people going to Altoona be named 'Edna'? But suppose there's no coincidence to it at all. Suppose all named 'Edna' also, without fail, are wearing a red dress: "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." (Romans 8:29-30). Suppose not a one is lost along the way: "...that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, 'Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.'" (John 18:9).

What is this but the Bible doctrine known as the perseverence of the saints? You can look at the saints from whatever perspective you like, as they're lifted from the miry clay, or as they stand in glory before their Lord, without spot or wrinkle. Yet it's always the same group of people, not a one is lost. God is mighty to save - not to suggest, not just to guide, but to save to the uttermost: "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25).

Ungodly

But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness..." (Romans 4:5)

Salvation is God's free gift, not to saints but to sinners: "the ungodly."

Justified by Faith

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2).

Faith plus Works

Some hope to wiggle around the Bible teaching of salvation by faith by defining 'faith' to mean 'faith plus works,' or 'believe plus do.' This does not seem credible given the many instances in the Bible where faith is opposed to works, which would not be possible if 'works' were in fact a subcategory of 'faith':

"For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.'" (Romans 4:2-8).

Let's plug in our new and improved definition and see how it works: 'But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith plus works are accounted for righteousness...' 'Improving' the passage in this way renders it self-contradictory: 'But to him who does not work...his...works are accounted...'

Whosoever Believeth

When God makes a promise, you can take it to the bank:

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11).

He is no Florida real estate promoter, whose promise of '10 acres' needs the qualifier attached: '...at high tide'! So when God promises that "whosoever believeth" shall be saved, that means just that: not a fraction, not a subset of those who believe, but all who believe, shall be saved. And did God say it? Oh, yes!:

"...that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:15-16).

"And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40).

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?'" (John 11:25-26).

Cannot Sin

Of what sin can anyone convict those whom God has found guiltless?:

"Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." (1 John 3:9).

Who are they who are born of God? Those who believe:

"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." (1 John 5:1).

When the Bible speaks of believers being 'born again' and 'born of God' it refers to God's supernatural work of regeneration, which is imaged by baptism. And that great work is contingent on belief and belief alone: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:..." (John 1:12).

An old theory proposes that Christ's sacrifice on the cross bought for believers, not freedom from sin, but freedom to sin or not to sin: the same freedom Adam and Eve surrendered in the garden. 1 John 3:9 fails to confirm this suggestion, because it does not say that believers can sin but don't, or that some believers sin and others don't, but that those born of God,— which is to say, believers,— cannot sin. This is both an awe-inspiring promise of the perseverance of the saints. . .as well as an alarm siren to those in whose lives the unfolding of this promise is not evident.

Show Me

James makes a demand in his letter, "But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:18).

Oddly enough James' demand is often misheard, as if he had said, 'Show God' instead of 'Show me.' God's sources of information are more comprehensive than our own:

"The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings." (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

"...then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men)..." (2 Chronicles 6:30).

"As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever." (1 Chronicles 28:9).

"O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off." (Psalm 139:1-2).

God's knowledge is so comprehensive, He not only knows what we are thinking, but what we will be thinking!: "Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:..." (Ezekiel 38:10).

While God knows our thoughts intimately, one human being can only infer what another is thinking indirectly, by evidence. A man may testify to his thoughts: but is he lying? As James points out, what a man does is more compelling than what he says. But does God, who knows our thoughts afar off, require evidence?

James' question falls under the category of 'epistemology,' - of how we can know that something is so -- versus 'ontology,' -- of what is. Only in trampling the distinction between these two fields can one make James contradict Paul. For God, of course, epistemology is a little different than it is for us; after all, that which God knows as real is real: "...even God, who...calleth those things which be not as though they were." (Romans 4:17). Within the category of epistemology, there's a hierarchy that runs from God, omniscient, at the top, to human knowledge of the contents of other minds at the bottom. Placed midway are the contents of our mind, which we can know by introspection.

In James's letter, works are offered as sign or evidence of faith. One can check for life by placing a mirror beneath the nostrils of the decedent; if he is alive, his breath will fog the mirror. So, the proponents of 'faith plus works' sagely advise us, respiration must be 'added to' life to produce 'life.' But respiration is not something 'added to' life, it's a sign of life. Life doesn't need anything else to be life. Should respiration fail, the source of life starts over from scratch: "So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army." (Ezekiel 37:10).

The Work of God

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29).

When the crowd asked the Lord about the "works of God," they wanted to know about works pleasing to God. But the Lord's answer was not about works pleasing to God, but the work done by Him: "Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise." (Jeremiah 17:14).

Supernatural

God made promises to His people whose fulfillment is not in the natural realm, but in the supernatural. Why on earth should calling out to God in faith cause any change at all in our standing with God? Yet the Bible says, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts 2:21). Why should the blood He shed wash away our sins?: "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,..." (Revelation 1:5). Some can't think of any reason why these things should be so, so it goes right by them, and they revert to the natural human understanding that we must work out our own destiny, no one is going to save us but we ourselves. There is no reason one can think of why calling upon Him who hung upon the cross should save us, except that...God promised, therefore it's so.

Lung Cancer

Cigarette smoking causes cancer. Cigarette smoking causes stained teeth. Does it therefore follow that stained teeth cause cancer?

It's silly to suppose, but some reason just like this. They read that grace through faith causes salvation. They read that grace through faith causes good works. They conclude that good works cause salvation.

Wheelchair

Prosperity preachers are sometimes accused of blaming the handicapped for their afflictions. They look, it's alleged, at Joni Eareckson Tada in her wheelchair and say, 'That woman has no faith.' While I doubt anyone actually does that, defense against the charge may be found in those Bible incidents where disease is reported to be in God's will:

"And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." (2 Corinthians 12:7).

What would be needed to draw the conclusion properity preachers are alleged to draw, 'That woman has no faith'? What is needed is an unconditional Bible promise that it is always God's will for those who ask in faith to be healed. Then, it would be a legitimate inference to look at a woman in a wheelchair and say, 'That woman has no faith.' The reason would not be that 'faith' means 'getting up out of a wheelchair,' - 'faith' does not mean 'getting up out of a wheelchair,'- nor that it lies within the sphere of human power for the disabled to get up out of a wheelchair unaided, because it does not. Rather, if God said, then God's supernatural work of healing could be expected in all cases where invoked. But as shown, physical health is not an unconditional promise of God.

Is there such an unconditional promise in the Bible? Yes, the promise of the new birth, a new heart, a new nature, is given to all without stint, as the song says:

"Did ever saint find this Friend forsake Him? No, not one! no, not one!
Or sinner find that He would not take him? No, not one! No, not one!
Jesus knows all about our struggles, He will guide till the day is done;
There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus -- No, not one! no, not one!
(Jonathan Oatman, Jr.)

Because this promise is to all, and its guarantor is God, who cannot lie: "...in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began..." (Titus 1:2),-- then all who have stood upon the promise have seen it fulfilled. This is how James can boast, "I will show you my faith by my works."

Watchmaker God

God is not passive in salvation but active. God gave us the grace to fear: "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved..." (John Newton). Legalism posits a watchmaker God, who paints the game-board, lays down the rules and then withdraws. Some people show interest, on their own initiative advancing to meet Him. That's OK with Him; He passively permits it. How different is the living God of the Bible! He runs to meet the prodigal: "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." (Luke 15:20).

He sweeps until He finds the lost coin: "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?" (Luke 15:8). What a wonderful God we serve!

All our Works

"LORD, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us." (Isaiah 26:12).

God's children eagerly run to do good works -- but not because they hope thereby to earn their way into His favor. They've already been granted His unmerited favor, not by any righteousness of their own, by solely through His free gift.  We're called to good works: "...looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." (Titus 2:13-14).  In point of fact, it's His grace which enables us to do anything good at all. Proposing to earn God's favor through our works lands us in this endless loop: God will reward us for our good works with salvation...works which themselves issue from God's free gift of saving grace!

Nothing

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5).

Some think that there is one, or several, things that the believer can do without the Lord: baptism, for instance, or other works of obedience. But the Lord said, "nothing."

Leopard's Spots

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil." (Jeremiah 13:23).

Salvation-by-works schemes require sinners to pull themselves up by their boot-straps. Only once they change will God regenerate them. The 'Oneness' Pentecostals, who preach that water baptism is the 'birth of water' of John 3:5, offer this 'new birth' only to those who have already changed:

"The word "repentance" comes from several Greek words which mean, change of views and purpose, change of heart, change of mind, change of life, to transform, etc...The scriptural mode of baptism is immersion, and is only for those who have fully repented, having turned from their sins and a love of the world." (UPCI Articles of Faith).

Jeremiah 13:23 shows the futility of this scheme. Only God can save, only God can change the captive heart.

His Mercy

"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:5-7).

Past, Present and Future

The tenses scripture uses in talking about salvation and redemption are three in number: past, present and future. Here are some examples of past tense:

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2).

"And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:17-19).

"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever..." (1 Peter 1:22-23).

"...but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began..." (2 Timothy 1:8-9).

Salvation is also spoken of in present tense:

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18).

"For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." (2 Corinthians 2:15).

...and, of course, in future tense. Some find only this usage proper; but they are correcting the Bible.

Fathers Know Best

“And we, too, being called by His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, Chapter 32, p. 34 ANF_01).

“'Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My words, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into condemnation, but hath passed from death to life.' Thus believing alone, and regeneration, is perfection in life; for God is never weak. . .He knows, therefore, whom He has called, and whom He has saved; and at one and the same time He called and saved them.” (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 1, Chapter 6, pp. 418-419 ANF_02).

TULIP

The great Genevan reformer, John Calvin, set forth a theory which his followers would later summarize as 'TULIP:' Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance. Are these teachings fully ascertainable by Bible study, or is this yet another man-made system, too clever by half? Is James Arminius' rival theory any improvement, or are both failed efforts to catch eternity in a bottle?