BT-Faith and its Relatio

Mark 16:16 says "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." This clearly shows that the prerequisite for one being saved is believing, AND being baptized. Those that say salvation comes at the point of belief must think that the Holy Scripture says "He that believeth and is saved shall be baptized," which it most certainly does not. There are those that would have you believe that all that is necessary to be saved, is believe. They go on to say that baptism is not necessary for salvation, being that baptism is a "work," but you should get baptized anyway. If an atheist gets baptized, is he saved? The answer is an obvious no, because the Hebrew writer tells us in chapter eleven, verse six that "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is ..." If one is saved by baptism, are they earning their salvation by a work of merit, or is it rather salvation by a work of obedience? The answer seems clear, apart from looking at scripture, if you consider whether you earned that money that you received as a gift on your birthday. You did not earn it, but rather you simply met the requirement necessary for receiving that gift. It is the object of this study to show that faith and works go hand in hand, and that one without the other the useless.

Some have used the following passages to show that works are not necessary, but they are mistaken in their understanding of what these passages mean: Romans 3:20, 24, 28; 4:2-3, 6, 14, 16; 5:1-2, 15-19; 9:30-33; 10:3-4, 9-13; 11:6; Galatians 2:16, 21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:9; Titus 3:5-7. These works referenced here can refer to either works under the Mosaic Law or simply and kind of works done by man meant to justify himself based on his own merits. The reference to works of law is talking about the Mosaic Law, and in no way refers to works of obedience under the new Testament system of law. This Mosaic Law is what the Jews were subject to, in which no flesh could be justified. No man could give faultless obedience to this law, and is why is was imperfect and was done away with (Hebrews 7:11-19; 8:6-13; 9:11-17; 10:1-10; Romans 7:2-4; Galatians 3:13; 3:23-25; 4:4-5; 5:1-4; Colossians 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:14-18). In its place, the New Testament of Christ has brought to all, (Jew and Gentile) the law of faith (Romans 3:27). We understand that one cannot "earn" his way into heaven through works of merit, that which is under consideration in Ephesians 2:8-9, but rather we must meet God's requirements through our works of obedience (Luke 6:46; Matthew 7:21; James 2:14-26; I Peter 1:22; Romans 6:16-18).

Some assert that works are the results of salvation, but this line of thinking has no biblical backing. Matthew 7:21 says "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that DOETH the will of my Father which is in heaven." Pardon is CONDITIONAL based on four things which are as follows: 1) Believe (Mk. 16:16); 2) Repent (Lk. 13:3; Acts 2:38); 3) Confess (Rom. 10:9-10); 4) Be baptized (Mk. 16:15-16; Acts 2:38). Then, of course, the new child of God must remain faithful (Rev. 2:10). We cannot single out verses like John 3:16 and twist the scriptures by concluding that all one must do to be saved is to believe, for to do such is to clearly make a contradiction with such verses as Mark 16:16. II Peter 3:16 tells us that there are those that twist the scriptures to their own destruction. Rather, we must look at ALL the verses in order to know what must truly be done. Psalm 119:160 says "The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth forever (ASV 1901)." "The entirety of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous judgments endures forever (NKJV)." Look at the case with Felix in Acts 24:24-25, which tells us that Felix TREMBLED. He obviously BELIEVED, but he was not receptive, and told Paul to "Go thy way for this time." The wayside soil in Matthew 13:4 is that which characterizes Felix. This man believed but rejected being OBEDIENT. Acts 16:25-34 tells us of the jailer's conversion. In verse 30-31 he asked them "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Does this mean that belief only is all that's necessary for this jailer to be saved? In verse 32 it says "And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house." It is clear that this jailer had to be told what to believe (Romans 10:17 - "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."). The result of this preaching the word of the Lord to the jailer in his house is shown in verse 33, in which it says "And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his, straightway." Belief led him and his house to do the will of the Lord by being baptized. In Acts 2:37, those that were receptive to the word asked "what must we DO?" The answer given to them by Peter in verse 38 was "Repent, and be baptized every one of you ... for the remission of sins." As pointed out earlier in this article, in Mark 16:16, Christ says "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." One needs help in misunderstanding that baptism is definitely a prerequisite for being saved. This is not a work of merit, rather it is a work of obedience. Saying that you are saved before baptism renders this verse as saying he that believeth and is saved shall be baptized, which it clearly and most certainly does not say. Faith is indeed an action word.

John 6:27 says "Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." John 6:29 says "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." From these verses we learn that, 1) the gift of eternal life does not exclude a response by man. 2) Even believing is a work. I Thessalonians 1:3 also informs us that faith is a work saying, "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith ..." Mark 2:5 tells us "When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, 'Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.' " The people in verses 3 and 4 did not have access because of the multitude that had blocked the normal entrance to the house. Christ saw the action of these men going to all the trouble of climbing on the roof and dismantling it to lower their sick friend down to him. The ACTION of these men was called faith. In Galatians 5:6 which says "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love," makes it clear that the only faith that avails is that which WORKS through love, for when we love God, we will seek to DO his will, thus pleasing Him. Philippians 2:12 says "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." As shown here, we must understand that when we comply with the conditions set forth by God by DOING his will, we will be WORKING OUT our own salvation (WORK OF OBEDIENCE, not merit). James 2:17-18 says "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 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." James 2:20-23 says "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the alter? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" James 2:24 says "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." These scriptures from James show conclusively that faith alone will not save, but faith with works most certainly does. In John 3:16, we have a very popular verse in which those that advocate salvation through faith only, use quite often. In this passage, does "belief" include or exclude obedience? If you read Hebrews 5:9 it says "... he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." The Hebrew writer tells us that eternal salvation is a result of OBEDIENCE to Christ. The true faith that is spoke of in the Bible is more just a simple mental assertion of belief. Therefore, the "belief" that is spoke of in John 3:16 involves OBEDIENCE. In Galatians 3:26-27 Paul says "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For [website author - any time you see the word 'for,' it is giving you additional information in correlation to the previous thought before it and explaining it] as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Pauls tells us here that through faith in Christ Jesus, we are all sons of God. He then goes on to explain in verse 27 the means by which this occurs which is baptism, an ACT OF OBEDIENCE. John 1:12 says "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe on his name." This verse clearly shows that those who believed had been given the "right to become" children of God, but had not at the point of faith (mental assertion). An act of OBEDIENCE has to occur before one becomes a child of God. John 12:42-43 says "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of man more then the praise of God." Here it is understood that one may believe on Christ, but that belief alone is simply not enough. In closing, we will look at Ephesians 2:8-9 which says "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." First let us understand what grace is. In the preceding verse 7, it says "That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." This shows us that grace is unmerited favor and kindness of God, shown for us through Christ. Titus 2:11-12 tells us "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodly and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world." Paul said that the grace of God appears, bringing salvation to all men "TEACHING" them. Paul tells us in Romans 5:21 "That, as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." Here it shows that grace reigns through righteousness and David declared in Psalm 119:172 that ALL of God's COMMANDMENTS are righteous. This fits with Paul's statement in Romans 1:16-17 which says "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed ..." The righteousness of God is revealed through the gospel, and we also have learned that grace reigns through righteousness, so therefore the grace of God by which all are saved is revealed through the gospel of Christ, and by obeying all his commandments. One of the commandments that is so often shoved to the side as being necessary for salvation is baptism. Christ himself said in Mark 16:15-16 "... Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is BAPTIZED shall be saved ..." From this we learn that faith that works through love (Galatians 5:6) leads one to do God's will, thus, purifying our souls through obedience (I Peter 1:22). As James 2:22 says "Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" And again, in James 2:24 "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." Faith alone does not save, but faith with works most certainly does! One without the other is useless.