| A response to the one who believes the "Faith Alone" or "works alone" doctrine: Nowhere in the Bible does it say we are saved by faith "alone" neither does it say we are saved by "works alone," but instead we see that they work together because James said so.
Consider the very simple passage in James 2:24 which says we are NOT saved by faith alone. " 24 "You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone". It gets no more plain than this. Can we find one other verse besides James 2:24, which couples the two words "faith" and "alone" together as a phrase? The answer is no. In fact, if you do a word search for the phrase, "faith alone" in the entire bible, the only one that comes up is, in fact, James 2:24. It is clear, that the "saved by faith alone" doctrine and the saved by works alone are incomplete doctrines by themselves. It seems some want to remove the word "not" from James 2:24. And, to other scriptures they quote, they add the word, "alone," yet these verses don't have the word in the original text nor in any subsequent translation.
James clearly tells us we are not saved by faith alone, but its faith (not of the law), in concert or working together with works. There are no contradictions in the bible, but precept is built upon precept. In addition to the verses sited, we must add to it, all of James 2:14-26, because 2:24 is not the only scripture that addresses this simple fact. But, instead James clarifies in no less than 12 verses what he was talking about even by giving us examples.
This does not mean the verses that speak of being saved by faith are not truth, naturally they are, just as all scripture is. However we can't ignore or twist scripture we don't like either. All scripture that speaks of being saved by faith are truth, but no one should add the word "alone" to any of them, because adding to or taking away from scripture comes with severe punishment. In fact Rev 22:18-19 proclaims that anyone who adds to or takes from the word of God will not make it to heaven, no matter how religious they may seem.
But equal weight must be given to all scripture, not just those that bolster our favorite pet doctrines. A faith alone posture is not only unscriptural, but it dangerous and has lead to many people falling away from the faith because it is easy believism run wild, just as works alone is. This is why James clarified this doctrine for us, in not just one verse though one would be enough, but the entire passage of 2:14-26. In verse 25, he tells us Rahab was made right with God by something that she did. She welcomed the spies into her home and helped them escape by a different road. By anyone's definition, doing something is a work. Every verse that the "faith alone" camp sites, does not negate the truth of James here and in fact none of the verses they site say we are saved by faith alone, but instead they say we are not saved by works "of the law". We are not saved by works alone, but James tells us it is a balance between works of faith and faith. So we also need to separate works of faith and works of the law, because James did not expand his doctrine further. So we are saved by faith, but not faith alone, not because I say so, but because James did.
Could James have given us other examples of those who were not saved by faith alone besides just Abraham and Rahab? Sure he could have, because the bible is full of them. The thief on the cross, was not saved by faith alone but by his testimony(which is a work of faith) as well. If he had never opened his mouth to defend Jesus, which was a word of mouth testimony, he would not have been saved. So salvation does not only come by believing as James so clearly shows us, if that were the case then Satan and his demon pals could still be saved, for we know they believe in God and tremble. (James 2:19).
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