The web site for the “Our Redeemer Luthern Church” states the following: “While God's grace is universal and embraces all people, we believe that this grace can be appropriated by sinful human beings only through faith. Luther had learned from St. Augustine that only the grace of God could save him. But Luther's rediscovery of the Gospel in all its clarity took place when he came to see that he did not first have to do something to merit God's saving grace. The implications of salvation ‘through faith alone’ permeate everything we Lutherans believe and teach. For example, we believe that the conversion of sinners is a gift of God and not the result of any human effort or decision, or in the words of Luther: ‘I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel’ (http://www.orlcms.org/beliefs14.htm).”  Martin Luther is commonly referred to as the most prominent teacher of the “faith only” doctrine throughout history.  His doctrine still impacts many today.

     With such a doctrine and a following of that doctrine one must ask if God formed that teaching or did Martin Luther form that teaching.  Will a lost soul be saved simply by hearing and believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  Can we have an impact on our own salvation (Acts 2:40)?  We realize that to take a position and say it is God’s truth we must be able to supply the Scriptures to support our claims (Colossians 3:17 and I Peter 4:11).  I will affirm and prove that faith without works is dead, thus concluding that faith alone has not, and will not save anyone under the New Testament Law of Jesus Christ.

     In the inspired words of James, let the case be made that faith without works is dead: (James 2:14-26) “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.  Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.  Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”  Realistically, any honest Bible student that reads the words of James would come to the conclusion that faith without works is dead.  The inspired words of James should be enough, but there is more to disprove the false doctrine of “faith only”.

     The devils believe in God.  They believed enough to confess Christ as the Son of God (Matthew 8:28-29).  The Ethiopian Eunuch, Saul (the Apostle Paul), and Cornelius believed in God, yet more was required of them that they might be saved (cf. Acts 8:25-39, Acts 9:1-18, and Acts 10:1-48).  Through the words of Ananias presented by Paul we know that baptism was required, not faith alone, to wash away Paul’s sins: (Acts 22:16) “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

     Throughout Hebrews the eleventh chapter, we find that Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Joseph, Moses’ parents, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, and many others were not saved by faith alone.  Their faith promoted them to do works unto obedience.  Faith saves, but not faith alone.  Faith leads one to follow the instructions of the Lord and to produce fruit from their works (Matthew 13:1ff.).  Clearly put, more than faith is required to be saved.

     Once one hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ and from that gains faith (Romans 10:17), there is more that needs to occur for that individual to be saved.  For example, prior to someone being converted from the lost state of sinfulness into Christ they have to repent of their sins (Acts 3:19).  If one thinks they will gain the eternal reward of Heaven by remaining a sinner, they are very mistaken (Luke 13:3; 5).

     Once someone has established faith and they have made the appropriate changes in their lives, they then must be willing to confess Jesus Christ.  Confession is something one has to do “unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).  As shown earlier in this article, the devils believe, tremble, and even confess Christ (James 2:19 and Matthew 8:28-29).  However, they are not going to be in Heaven (II Peter 2:4).  The point is simple; someone who believes and confesses is not necessarily saved.  If they believe and confess alone, they most certainly are not in a saved condition.

    (Mark 16:15-16) “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”  In the two Scriptures above Jesus is giving the “Great Commission”.  In those Scriptures you never once read “he that believes shall be saved.”  Faith throughout the Scriptures is shown to be necessary for one to be saved (John 8:24 and Hebrews 11:6).  That faith however, is just one step in God’s plan of redemption.  We see in the Great Commission that faith and baptism are required for one to be saved.  Baptism is not something that is done after, but prior to salvation.  One is baptized unto the remission of their sins (Acts 2:38).  Faith is the foundation upon which obedience is built.

     Baptism is a point wherein one has been put into Christ (Galatians 3:27) and baptism is a result of one’s faith.  Once someone has heard the Gospel (Matthew 28:19), believed it (Mark 16:15-16), repented of their sins (Acts 26:20), and confessed Christ (Acts 8:37); they then are baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:38).  At that point, being in Christ, they are saved.  However, that is not the end of the road.  We have this life on earth wherein a child of God must spiritually grow (II Peter 1:5-10 and II Peter 3:18), while remaining faithful throughout the entirety of life (Revelation 2:10).  We have the blessing as Christians wherein when we do sin we can repent and confess those faults, with the result of being forgiven by God (I John 1:9).  However, we cannot escape the fact that a child of God can fall away (I Corinthians 10:12, Galatians 5:4, and Revelation chapters 2-3).   Thus, in addition to faith we must obey the Gospel and remain faithful unto the Lord (Matthew 7:21).

     (Genesis 6:7-8) “And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”  (Hebrews 11:7) “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”  (I Peter 3:20-21) “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”  The above quoted Scriptures prove the following:

1. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord during the time in which God was going to destroy the earth with water.
2. Though Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord he needed faith to move forward.  After all, no one had seen rain on the earth at that point and time (Genesis 2:6).
3. Grace and faith did not save Noah.
4. Noah had to build the ark to God’s specifications or Noah and his family would not have been saved.