Is salvation by faith alone or works also ?

In the Epistle by James, we are told that works are important to show and prove the faith one claims. Many souls talk about faith, but it is often a shallow thing, and even misdirected. True faith in God and His "great salvation" through His beloved Son --the Lord Jesus, and trusting God and living for Him, must be shown in reality in the life of one, else it is only a concept and unprofitable to one. Read the Book of James and pray for God's teaching!

All Scripture must be in complete harmony, for there are no contradictions in the Bible.

Savedd said:

In the bible it is said that we are saved by what our Lord Jesus has done on the Cross and not by being good or works.

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That is correct.

But somewhere else it is said that faith without works is not helping. Can anyone texplain to me ? I am really confused.

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If we are truly saved, we bear good fruits (good works). This is what normally happens after salvation.

If we say that we are saved but we do not bear good fruits (good works), that means we are not truly saved. Not all who call 'Lord, Lord' will enter into the kingdom of God.

Salvation is by Faith alone and works are the fruit of our salvation. It's that simple.

Savedd said:

In the bible it is said that we are saved by what our Lord Jesus has done on the Cross and not by being good or works. But somewhere else it is said that faith without works is not helping. Can anyone texplain to me ? I am really confused.

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The only way to salvation is not by the types of works you do, but by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, and letting his blood wash away our sins. Afterall Romans 3:10 states that no man or woman is good enough to enter heaven by his/her own accord because of the doctrine of original sin(e.g. when Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit). Now our works are what we do for the kingdom once we are saved, and how we will be rewarded for them as Matthew 5:12 explains.

Savedd said:

If I die having recieved Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savoir and confessed and asked for forgiveness for my sins, can I still be rejected ?

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NO.

If Not For Grace said:

Salvation is by Faith alone and works are the fruit of our salvation. It's that simple.

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Amen!

Ephesians 2.9 is followed by Ephesians 2.10.

You'll know them by their fruit

faith alone is not good enough.
works alone is not good enough.

faith must include works.

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I think the most important and profound principal Jesus is telling us to internalize is this;
we humans need God to do good works, Jesus to get to heaven, and we must give control over to Jesus to become sanctified.
this concept of giving your trouble to Jesus, and submitting while admitting your faults is all over the place in the bible.
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proverbs 3-5
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

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its all about submission to God.
it is not enough to belive in Him....

think about this---even demons have faith Jesus is a reality-- they are not getting in heaven though--are they.

James 2;19
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

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I'll end with that and stand on the shoulders of the other previous posts

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praise Jesus--He is great--I love him so.

every knee shall bend.

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1watchman said:

In the Epistle by James, we are told that works are important to show and prove the faith one claims. Many souls talk about faith, but it is often a shallow thing, and even misdirected. True faith in God and His "great salvation" through His beloved Son --the Lord Jesus, and trusting God and living for Him, must be shown in reality in the life of one, else it is only a concept and unprofitable to one. Read the Book of James and pray for God's teaching!

All Scripture must be in complete harmony, for there are no contradictions in the Bible.

Click to expand...

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The works you are discussing are to follow Salvation that is a free gift.
So, dont elevate "works" as a requirement to be saved or stay saved, or you have made the Cross of none effect.

Also, its not "faith" that saves you.
All Faith does is RELEASE GOD to pardon you using the Blood of Christ and accept you based on HIM >giving you the "gift of righteousness".

So, works, have NOTHING to do with any of that., as works are to follow, and never to be used to try to keep or replace what God has done for you for free.
Works cant equal God's Grace and they also cant continue it.
Very important to understand the distinction between Salvation that God does for you, that is not able to be undone by your behavior..... VS, the Christian discipleship lifestyle that cant save you that James is saying needs to be active.
James is not really teaching doctrine, he is actually just rebuking a bunch of lazy Christians.

James 2:14-26.
Faith without works is dead, and works without faith is dead.

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DeepWater said:

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The works you are discussing are to follow Salvation that is a free gift.
So, dont elevate "works" as a requirement to be saved or stay saved, or you have made the Cross of none effect.

Also, its not "faith" that saves you.
All Faith does is RELEASE GOD to pardon you using the Blood of Christ and accept you based on HIM >giving you the "gift of righteousness".

So, works, have NOTHING to do with any of that., as works are to follow, and never to be used to try to keep or replace what God has done for you for free.
Works cant equal God's Grace and they also cant continue it.
Very important to understand the distinction between Salvation that God does for you, that is not able to be undone by your behavior..... VS, the Christian discipleship lifestyle that cant save you that James is saying needs to be active.
James is not really teaching doctrine, he is actually just rebuking a bunch of lazy Christians.

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Hello Deepwater! I just noted your comment on my post, and it appears you misread it. Your comments here are not relevant ---please try again.

Savedd said:

In the bible it is said that we are saved by what our Lord Jesus has done on the Cross and not by being good or works. But somewhere else it is said that faith without works is not helping. Can anyone texplain to me ? I am really confused.

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I suggest you read the parables in the New Testament, especially the parable of separating sheeps from goats.

Whatever God accepts on your behalf, is the answer.
And that is...
He only accepts what Christ did for you.
He NEVER accepts what you do (for salvation).
NEVER.
What you do has SIN on it, in it, and through it.

So, never be mislead by unsaved pretenders on Christian forums, who have no idea what Salvation is, and dont care to find out., but only want to cause confusion and strife.


Its very simple.
You take Jesus, God takes you.
He does not take your works, or JAMES works, or anyone's in place or along side the FINISHED work of the Cross.
Bottom line.
Done.

So, whenever your "friends" try to drag you to JAMES, HEBREWS, OR MATTHEW (where the Heretics hang out), that is the day you need to get rid of these people and get new friends, or you will end up just as theologically backwards and lost and at odds with the New Testament as these people have become.

Fair warning !!

DeepWater said:

Whatever God accepts on your behalf, is the answer.
And that is...
He only accepts what Christ did for you.
He NEVER accepts what you do (for salvation).
NEVER.
What you do has SIN on it, in it, and through it.

So, never be mislead by unsaved pretenders on Christian forums, who have no idea what Salvation is, and dont care to find out., but only want to cause confusion and strife.


Its very simple.
You take Jesus, God takes you.
He does not take your works, or JAMES works, or anyone's in place or along side the FINISHED work of the Cross.
Bottom line.
Done.

So, whenever your "friends" try to drag you to JAMES, HEBREWS, OR MATTHEW (where the Heretics hang out), that is the day you need to get rid of these people and get new friends, or you will end up just as theologically backwards and lost and at odds with the New Testament as these people have become.

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You sounded like you are an authority on this topic. You are teaching other Christians. So you are a teacher and authority. You seemed to know more than other Christians. But where in the Bible did it say God does not accept our work??? I reckon the Bible sounds more like it is telling us to do good works.

Savedd said:

In the bible it is said that we are saved by what our Lord Jesus has done on the Cross and not by being good or works. But somewhere else it is said that faith without works is not helping. Can anyone texplain to me ? I am really confused.

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Ephesians 2:8-9. Good works are the consequences of salvation, not the cause of it. Meaning, people who have been saved will bear fruit. Does that make more sense?

Ok, correct me if I'm wrong here, but it's my understanding that you are saved by faith alone, however, while you are saved, you still need to maintain that level through works.

If it's through faith alone and only through faith alone, then Ted Bundy is saved (IIRC wasn't he Presbyterian or something?).