Is faith enough?

A person is saved by faith.

One must then understand what is meant by "faith".

"Faith" in scripture is defined in basically two ways.
1. The whole content of the Christian belief system.
2. faith that we are to live by.

The faith that saves a person is the same as the faith we live by. Rom 10:9 reveals how the faith that saves us and the faith we are to live by works.

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. KJV

The verse is not talking about a "parroting" of what the verse says, which is what many miss.

What the verse says must be done "in thine heart" or in one's innermost being.

One must believe in their innermost being that God raised Jesus from the dead.

IF a person truly believes in their innermost being that God raise Jesus from the dead they will also "confess" or say with their mouth that Jesus is their Lord.

The faith we are saved by.

The faith we are to live by is believing what God said about any life issue and speaking in agreement with it.

When one does that they also act accordingly.

Repentance is done also from the heart.

A person can repent of a fault, but fall back into it again and again and again until they eventually gain the victory.

These are all a 'part' of what salvation entails. We need to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but just that in and of it's self does not avail much for Lucifer and the fallen angels believe that. The same for confession, if there is no true repentance, then the confession means nothing. The same for good works, if done without faith avails nothind... the same for faith without works... I would also add that obedience to His Commandments is a part as well... we are admonished that those that don't keep the Commandments of God will not have right to the tree of life.

.Iona. said:

If we do not repent, or do not make efforts to change, do we still have the hope of eternal life? Is it necessary to repent?

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Seems like you know, or think so.
What did you do ? Repent and serve Jesus, or not repent and keep serving sin and the devil?

Since forgiveness is required to be free of the penalty of sin(death) ,
and since there is no forgiveness without repentance,
and since all of Scripture shows clearly the need for continual repentance toward God (always turning to Him, relying on Him , living a life of trusting Him based on faith) as well as away from sin...
then yes, as Scripture repeats many times in many ways ,
repentance is required for eternal life, as God Planned since before the world was created.

Conversion is the start of the process, we are saved by faith through God's Grace alone. Salvation is a lifelong process, we are saved (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5-7, John 6:54), are being saved (2 Corinthians 2:14-16, 2 Corinthians 4:14-16), and will be saved (Mark 13:13, Romans 5:10, 1 Peter 1:5).

faith and repentance go together and can not be divided since faith is the same spirit as repentance

faith is not merely an intellectual belief. genuine faith inevitably results in repentance.

.Iona. said:

Is faith enough?

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That depends on how we understand the faith. If it means that you are faithful (=loyal) to God and keep His commandments, then I believe it is enough.

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not give false testimony," "You shall not covet," [TR adds "You shall not give false testimony,"] and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love doesn't harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:8-10

I believe loyalty is the true meaning of faithfulness, because:

By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went.
Heb. 11:7-8

Noah trusted to God and was loyal to His words and it was seen in his actions.

.Iona. said:

I have been reading various chapters in the Bible over the last few days and they all seemed to be connected to faith being what is needed to be saved and to give the hope of eternal life (I love how the Lord connects these things!!)

When it says that faith in Christ is all that is needed - what about sin? If we do not repent, or do not make efforts to change, do we still have the hope of eternal life? Is it necessary to repent?

I know that in my relationship with the Lord, I want to do right by Him and change to become more Christlike, but if someone has faith, but does not repent and continues sinning with no intention to change/ stop... does this make much difference in the end?

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Lets not forget that we are saved by grace THROUGH faith, not saved by faith, although I trust that this is what has been meant by many here who have added 'what is meant by or how do we define faith'. Faith working through love is how we can accept the gift of grace in our lives...but even the best of our faith, with the best of our efforts, with the best of our love will still fall short of the glory of God and we will still 'require' His grace.

We should exercise caution when seeking 'all that is needed', as in seeking 'just enough' or 'with only this one thing' and come to a deeper understanding of what faith really calls us to be. You are on the right path when you say above that in your relationship with The Lord that you want to do right by Him and change to become more Christlike; this is the call to all believers.

In looking at some of your other questions: 'Is it necessary to repent'? Yes. Repentance makes up part of faith. So I think it could be argued that the hypothetical person in the next question does not actually exist: the person who claims to have faith but does not repent and has no apparent intent to change, is precisely the type of person pointed out by Jesus in Luke 6:46, 'Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I command'? So while this hypothetical person might verbally say that they have faith...they have a house that is built on sinking sand as the song goes...

So Jesus teaches that obedience is also part of faith.
He also teaches that forgiveness is part of faith.
Loving God and loving others is part of faith.
Our sufferings, and 'enduring' through them is part of faith...St. Paul tells us that these sufferings and enduring them (which can be said to mean not giving up in our faith) are what unites us to Christ.
Our baptism joins us to Christ too: we share in His death and Resurrection, and thus baptism is part of faith.
The Eucharist (Lord's Supper if you prefer) is also part of our faith: Scripture reveals that in 1 Cor. 10:16: 'Is not the cup of blessings which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread we break a sharing in the body of Christ?' It is through faith that we can believe St. Paul's words to be true.

Faith thus has many moving parts...some, we as individuals, 'get' better than other parts. And even when we get it 'right', we must be humble enough to still know that we need His grace. Our faith is in Him and His promises, and not in our own feeble selves. Which is why, in judgement, God looks heavily upon our intent, and not necessarily at our 'outcomes'...there are many parables that demonstrate this: the parable of the widow who gave two pennies comes to mind...outcomes are nice and can be useful, but the intent of the heart matters more to God.

As to the last part of your question: 'does it make much difference in the end'? God is both merciful AND just: He offers His grace to everyone; but not everyone accepts His grace through faith. It is also important to keep in mind that it not for us to judge, and your hypothetical person could have a 'death-bed' conversion and would recieve eternal life from God through His grace...the same gift a person who lived their faith every moment of their life would (parable of the laborers). For while we will fail to live up to our end of the Covenant, God is always true to His end, and He never ceases in calling us to Him. Our faith, which can include all that I mentioned above, is the answer of our heart to His call.

Helpful?
Peace in Christ
Hawkiz

when God saves people, He also CHANGES them.
'change' includes believing, repentance, obedience, etc..

God does not leave His people out in the jungle allowing them to figure things out by themselves.

.Iona. said:

I have been reading various chapters in the Bible over the last few days and they all seemed to be connected to faith being what is needed to be saved and to give the hope of eternal life (I love how the Lord connects these things!!)

When it says that faith in Christ is all that is needed - what about sin? If we do not repent, or do not make efforts to change, do we still have the hope of eternal life? Is it necessary to repent?

I know that in my relationship with the Lord, I want to do right by Him and change to become more Christlike, but if someone has faith, but does not repent and continues sinning with no intention to change/ stop... does this make much difference in the end?

Click to expand...

Faith:

The act of the intellect assenting to a Divine truth owing to the movement of the will, which is itself moved by the grace of God.
ST II-II iv a 2

.Iona. said:

I have been reading various chapters in the Bible over the last few days and they all seemed to be connected to faith being what is needed to be saved and to give the hope of eternal life (I love how the Lord connects these things!!)

When it says that faith in Christ is all that is needed - what about sin? If we do not repent, or do not make efforts to change, do we still have the hope of eternal life? Is it necessary to repent?

I know that in my relationship with the Lord, I want to do right by Him and change to become more Christlike, but if someone has faith, but does not repent and continues sinning with no intention to change/ stop... does this make much difference in the end?

Click to expand...

Having faith that Jesus died for our sins is enough to earn salvation. It's important, though, for Christians to make an effort to live without sinning after achieving salvation. Hebrews 10:26-27 says, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God."

It's true that some Christians will fall into sin after being saved, but they will always need to repent and get right with God. If, on the other hand, a Christian continues to sin thinking it's okay and does nothing to change his ways, he will face the judgement of God.

.Iona. said:

If we do not repent, or do not make efforts to change, do we still have the hope of eternal life?

Click to expand...

No.
Read the Bible - all through Scripture is opposed to this way of thinking, OT and NT.

this is true faith and repentance distinguished from false:

Ps 1:1-6 (YLT)
O the happiness of that one, who Hath not walked in the counsel of the wicked. And in the way of sinners hath not stood, And in the seat of scorners hath not sat; But--in the law of Jehovah is his delight, And in His law he doth meditate by day and by night: And he hath been as a tree, Planted by rivulets of water, That giveth its fruit in its season, And its leaf doth not wither, And all that he doth he causeth to prosper. Not so the wicked: But--as chaff that wind driveth away! Therefore the wicked rise not in judgment, Nor sinners in the company of the righteous, For Jehovah is knowing the way of the righteous, And the way of the wicked is lost!