I was taught that if you believe your works will save you, you are not saved even if you believe that Jesus existed and that he is lord.
The reason I got was that they didn't have faith in him, that he alone saves. They didn't believe his death on the cross was sufficient for salvation basically.
So is this true that Faith+Works=Salvation theory damns someone? But they believed, this topic gets really confusing.
Your issue really comes down to what "saving faith" is. What it isn't won't save. What it is, will save.
Regarding "having faith" or "believing" there are 2 essential components.
1. The first component is the object of faith, or what is being believed in. The clear biblical answer is the Lord (Deity) Jesus (humanity) Christ (Messiah-Savior), who is the Son of God, lived a perfect life and is uniquely qualified to die for the sins of sinners, and did that. If the resurrection isn't believed, then our faith is "in vain" as Paul wrote in 1 Cor 15. The Christian faith demands the resurrection. Every other religious leader in history has a rotted body in a grave somewhere. But not the grave of Jesus. He arose as He said He would. Demonstrating His power over death.
2. The second component is the goal or purpose of faith, or why do you believe in the object? Or "for what" are you believing?
This is just as critical as the first component. The goal of our faith is to be saved, or delivered or rescued from the lake of fire, where every unbeliever will end up on the basis of their not believing.
The promise of God is eternal life. Titus 1:2 says, “a faith and knowledge resting on the hope (confidence) of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.” Titus 3:7 says, “so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope (confidence) of eternal life.” 1 John 2:25 says, “And this is what He promised us - even eternal life.” And John 20:31 says, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have (eternal) life in His name.”
John 20:31 is actually the definition of “saving faith”. John told us what we must believe in, that being Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and the result or consequence of that faith, which is having eternal life.
So, “saving faith” is quite simple to define, in spite of all that has been written about it that has served only to confuse countless believers. We must do as John wrote: believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and the result of that faith is having eternal life.
So someone has to strictly believe that Jesus died for their sins and rose on the third day to be saved, anything else added damns them like if they add works in order to be saved aswell?
Here is the problem. By adding to saving faith anything that is not Scriptural for salvation (like works, water baptism, etc), takes away from the perfect work of Jesus.
There is nothing that we can do as fallen sinners that can add to what Jesus DID in order to save us.
So, to add something, anything, to the Work of Christ, is to diminish His Work and elevate our own. And Eph 1:8,9 doesn't let us get away with that.
I'm not sure how this makes sense.
If I need to clarify anything further, don't hesitate to ask.