January 2, 2025
Have you heard that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone? Saved by grace through faith? Absolutely! But alone?
Which One Is Alone?
“Alone” twice is self-contradictory. It would be like saying that a baby is born from a woman’s egg alone, through a man’s sperm alone. As long as both egg and sperm remain alone there will be no baby. Likewise, unless grace and faith are joined, there will be no new birth. The best that can be said for the “alone” concept is that it is over-simplistic, self-contradictory, and misleading. It’s an overreaction to false Roman Catholic doctrine at the time of the Reformation that has persisted in many Protestant churches to this day.
We all are tempted to emphasize our favorite teachings and marginalize (or even deny) other teachings. I am reminded of Jesus (in Matt. 23:23) pointing out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees because they “tithe mint, dill, and cumin, [tiny herbs] and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith.” So, should they have ignored the tiny matters in favor of the weightier? No! Jesus continued: “You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.” Jesus did not propose they either tithe the minor things or carry out the weightier things of the law. He proposed “both/and,” not “only.”
It can sometimes be confusing when certain texts seem to contradict one another. But the solution is not to add “alone” or “only” to one and marginalize the other. The solution is to better understand both sides of the issue. Here’s an example: “Don’t answer a fool according to his folly… Answer a fool according to his folly… ” (Prov. 26:4-5). Solomon was wiser than to contradict himself. Read the context; there are truths on both sides, like two sides of a coin. Nor was John contradicting himself when he wrote, “The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Truth is often deeper and more complex than one simple statement can express. We do ourselves no favor when we tack “only” on one portion of truth.
But what if “grace alone” speaks of God’s part, while “faith alone” speaks of our part? Fair question. Let’s examine that.
Is God’s Grace Alone?
A simple definition of “grace” (related to salvation) is that grace is God’s free gift (unmerited favor) by which He grants what no one deserves – forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Wonderful! Praise and thank God for His unspeakable gift!
Grace is a choice God made: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men… being justified by his grace (Titus 2:11; 3:7). But is that choice alone? Is the application of that grace based on something else? Did it cost God anything? Was it just a decision flowing out of His fantastic love? If we think carefully about it, we know better. “You were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20). What price did the Father and the Son pay in order to offer us grace?
There is nothing in the world that has come at a greater cost than the grace of God! “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). How could a just Judge commute our eternal death sentence and give us eternal life? That’s not just. Three chapters earlier, Paul grappled with this issue, explaining how God “might himself be just, and the justifier.” How? “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice” (Rom. 3:24-25). Did you catch that? God’s grace is not alone. It cost God the offering of His Son as a sacrifice for sin! God’s grace is available “through” all that Jesus suffered on Calvary for you and me.
At best “grace alone” is an over-simplification of something that is far from simple. At worst, the term is often used to deny that humans have any part in obtaining salvation – which takes us to the next point.
Is Faith Alone?
The place of “faith” in our salvation is not a simple subject either. Indeed, the NT seems to contradict itself on this matter. Of prime concern is the relationship between faith and “works.” Notice these chief examples:
Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast.”
James 2:20, 24 says: “Faith apart from works is dead… You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith.”
Which one is right?
What does “not saved by works” mean? Several times when the NT speaks of not being saved by “works,” it more fully reads “works of the law.” “A man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law” (Rom. 3:28). We can’t be saved by keeping the OT law. Belonging to the people of God is no longer a racial or national issue. Physical Jews are no longer God’s people (except those converted to Christ). Since Calvary, “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek” (Rom. 10:12). That was a major issue in the infant church. Nevertheless, the NT is clear. Today there is no salvation through the works of the OT law.
Another sense in which works do not save is clearly expressed in Romans 4:4: “Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed.” We are not saved by “works of merit.” We can do nothing to earn, merit, or deserve salvation. As Ephesians 2:9 says, “Not of works, that no one would boast.” The issue is not that we do nothing. The issue is that no matter what we do, there is no room for us to boast. No matter what we do, God owes us nothing! We are saved because of God’s grace through the death of Jesus!
Just as God mentally being gracious was not enough for our salvation, so our mentally believing in Jesus is not enough. As James said, “Faith apart from works is dead.” Such faith is useless. “The demons also believe, and shudder” (2:19). Faith does not mean simply mentally assenting with no resulting action.
What Must We Do?
Absolutely, we cannot earn, merit, or deserve salvation. However, that in no way means we cannot “do” anything to be saved. Saving faith is not a faith that stays locked up in our heart-mind-soul, doing nothing. When speaking of salvation, it is popular today to say something like, “There is nothing you can do; Jesus did it all on the cross.” Sounds good, but is that what the Apostle Peter proclaimed on the day of Pentecost?
The multitude asked, “What shall we do?” Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit replied, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38). Without repentance, there is no forgiveness. Years later, this same Peter wrote that God is “not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). Jesus himself said, “Unless you repent, you will all perish” (Luke 13:3 and 5). We must not only acknowledge our sinfulness, but we must make a definite decision to change our old way of sinful living. Faith without repentance is a dead faith.
One day, the unconverted Pharisee Saul (Paul) asked Jesus, “What shall I do, Lord?” The vision did not save him. Rather, Jesus told him, “Go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are appointed for you to do” (Acts 22:10). Saul was not told to pray a two-minute, man-made “sinner’s prayer” to be saved. Rather, in Damascus, after he prayed and fasted for three days (Acts 9:9, 11), Jesus sent Ananias to Saul, who told him, “Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). That is the way you call on the Lord for salvation. Baptism is not a work that merits salvation. Rather it is a humble submission and calling on the only One who can save.
The Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…’ They spoke the word of the Lord to him… the same hour of the night… was immediately baptized” (Acts 16:30-33). Some think this is a contradiction to the former cases. However, note that “believe” was just the introduction to “the word of the Lord,” and baptism was “immediately” a result. And notice that “believe” was the answer to the “do” question. Believing itself is “doing” something. But it is not a work of merit.
What must we do? As already seen, Acts 2:38 answers: “Repent, and be baptized… for the forgiveness of sins.” Further, Romans 10:9 says “that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Believe, confess, and be baptized. As for man’s part in salvation, it all begins with and is based on faith in our Savior Jesus Christ, culminating with baptism into Christ. It is never faith alone.
Beware of the “Alone” Doctrine The Bible nowhere says, “There is nothing you can do; Jesus did it all for you.” We have seen that the “do” question is answered in different ways (never “only believe”). Too often “alone” is used to emphasize certain truths and ignore – or even deny – other truths. If two truths seem to contradict one another, we do ourselves no favor by choosing one and ignoring the other. Rather, we dig in and seek to discover how they complement each other. We must seek and follow all truth – not just our preferred portion. As Jesus told the Pharisees, “You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.”