Real Bible Truths There is no doubt that Faith is necessary for our salvation and without it we can not be saved. In fact it is our first step towards getting saved and without it we can never go any farther. But faith in God and belief in Jesus alone can never save us if we don’t put that faith into action. So can faith save us? Absolutely Not, not by itself.
According to the Bible, there are other things we need in order to be saved. Repentance and Baptism being by far the most critical parts and you can read the whole study on Baptism by clicking Here. But works are also necessary according to the Bible, see this next scripture;
18 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.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Could it be any clearer that faith alone can not save us without the works to back it up? James makes it very clear, yet I’ve heard some pastors say that it is “Faith, Faith, and Only Faith”. How can any pastor teach such nonsense? If faith were the only thing that was important, then why is the Bible such a big book and why even bother with all the other rules and regulations that we are supposed to go by as Christians?
In fact according to the Bible, there is something more important than faith. Lets read it below.
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
So there it is, charity is greater than faith. And what is charity? It is love in action! If we say we love someone but are not willing to lift a finger to help them then it really isn’t love at all. But when we help people and do things for them we prove our love for them.
God is not going to let haters or people that could care less about others enter His Kingdom because He is a God of Love and He expects us to love others as well.
So if we do everything else right and even get baptized but have no love for others, we are missing the mark and will also miss the Kingdom. God wants us to love, respect and care for others including those who are not Christians.
See the verses below about how we should treat all men.
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
Heb. 12:14
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
And why should we treat all men right and decent? Well for one, they may also be saved one day. See the next verse.
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
But it is also the right thing to do. God created all of us and wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves even though our neighbors may not be Christians. The Bible says that He causes it to rain on the just and on the unjust.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
But now back to the main subject of Faith and Works.
So our faith is extremely important and must come before anything else but it doesn’t stop with faith. Our faith must be put into action and fruit and works is the action that should follow our faith.
Attitude of works; Works should be done for the right reasons, not for the glory of men
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