Not by "Faith Alone"...

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I do not pretend to be a Church historian. I have gathered from what reading I have done that the concept of "faith alone" was a reaction against Catholic theology, especially against indulgences and penances, including self-abuse. The cry went forth by the Reformers: "We are not saved by religious works but by faith."

Whether or not my conclusion is correct, this watchword currently is being used to mean that we are not to attempt to obey Christ and his Apostles. Salvation, it is maintained, is a sovereignly imposed work of God and we are not to seek in any manner to add to it. We are saved by faith alone.!

(5/22/2011). Perhaps we ought to try to do good, as long as we keep firmly in mind that our behaviour has no impact on our salvation, which is by "faith alone." This is what is claimed by so many of today's Christian teachers. However, trying to do good doesn't go very far in our demon-infested atmosphere!

The faith that is stressed by the "faith alone" proponents is not Bible faith. Bible faith is obedience to the written and personal Word of God, not belief concerning the several facts relating to Christ. Belief in Christ has come to mean belief about Christ, or about theological facts.

Since Satan and all his helpers are only too aware of the several facts relating to Christ, it is quite obvious that belief about Christ does not bring about salvation from Hell, or eternal life. Satan and his helpers, while well versed in the facts concerning the "holy One of God," are of Hell and have no eternal life. The last two verses of the third chapter of the Book of Hebrews may reveal that obedience and belief are synonymous:

And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:18,19—NASB)

If we believe in Christ we will obey him. How could we say we believe in Christ, and then not do what he and his Apostles have commanded? This assuredly is a delusion.

The third chapter of the Book of Hebrews is using the account of the Israelites attempting to conquer Canaan as an example of our attempting to enter the rest of God. The rest of God is that place where we are resting in the fullness of the inheritance God has promised us, and God is resting in us.

Some of the aspects of the rest of God to which we are to enter, are as follows:

We have been promised that if we overcome we will sit on the highest Throne with the Lord Jesus Christ. We will be termed "God's sons."

We will inherit all that God makes new after the present heavens and earth pass away and the new world of righteousness comes into view.

We will be filled with all the fullness of God, the same fullness that has been written concerning our Lord, although Christ remains the supreme Head and Lord of all.

We have a physical body now, which even the angels do not have. Also, we have the opportunity to attain to the resurrection of our inward nature so we will be qualified and competent to have our body filled with eternal resurrection life in the Day of Christ.

We will rule the nations of the earth with a rod of iron.

We will be loved by the Father as He loves his Firstborn Son.

We will receive the glory which has been given to the Lord Jesus.

We will be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus.

We will dwell in Christ as part of the Father.

We will be crowned with righteousness and eternal life.

We will be more than a conqueror through Christ.

We will be filled with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.

We will attain to the standard which is the full measure of Christ.

We will bear much fruit—reproducing Christ's image in ourselves and others.

We will inherit the nations of the earth.

We will bring justice to the nations of the earth.

We will inherit the farthest reaches of the earth.

We will be a living stone in the eternal Temple of God.

We will receive an eternal, Spirit-filled body in the Day of Resurrection.

We will know the Father.

We will see God.

We will be a member of the Royal Priesthood.

We will be a brother of Jesus Christ.

We will gain total victory through Jesus Christ over all sin and disobedience.

The problem with entering the rest of God, that which has been promised to God's Royal Priesthood from the beginning of the world, is that there are enemies living in our inheritance. We have to fight continually to make our way into the good things of God. Instead, we have created a doctrine of "grace" that permits the enemy to live with us in peace. No deadlier device could be invented by our enemies.

In addition to the current perversion of the intent of the Protestant Reformers, we have misunderstood the Apostle Paul's use of the term "works." We of today are defining "works" as attempts to live righteously, to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.

If Paul meant that "works" were our attempts to overcome our sinful behaviour, and we are not saved by "works" but by faith, contrasting godly behaviour with "faith," he would be contradicting much of what he had written in his epistles, including Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians.

The expression "the righteous shall live by faith," means that we are not to follow our self-will but to walk hand in hand with Christ, looking to him for every aspect of our thinking, speaking, and doing.

When Paul spoke of "works" he was referring to the works of the Law of Moses, such as circumcision, not to our efforts to obey the commands of Christ and his Apostles. Such a simple misunderstanding but so profoundly destructive of the moral character of Christian people!

A third force driving the current misunderstanding of salvation by faith is the influence of the religion of Gnosticism. This ancient religion has invaded Christian thinking from the days of the Apostles, apparently. Since Gnosticism emphasizes the primary virtue of knowledge and of man's spirit, viewing the flesh and the rest of the physical realm as evil, it does not emphasize righteous conduct.

In actuality, righteous conduct is the sceptre of Christ's Kingdom. There is no Kingdom of God apart from righteous conduct.

Gnostics teach that since our flesh is evil, it does not really matter how we behave. The issue of importance is the special knowledge we receive.

There is no question in my mind but that the prevailing Christian understanding that spirit is good and flesh is evil, and that if we profess correct knowledge concerning Jesus Christ we will enter a spirit realm superior to the physical world, is far more Gnostic than it is apostolic. The truth is, once the spirit world becomes one with the physical world, when Christ returns, this new world of righteousness will be far more wonderful than either the present physical world or the spirit world.

The Bible teaches us that when God made the physical world, including people, he pronounced it "very good." The evil came from the spirit world in the form of the serpent. Interestingly, one branch of the Gnostics claims to have received secret knowledge from a serpent.

The philosophy of humanism, which began about 1400 A.D., is powerfully affecting the thinking of people today, including Christian believers. Humanism discards supernatural factors in favor of human reasoning and values. Humanism is the agent behind the current movement to do away with the thought of Hell, the idea being that God is too "good" to put anyone in Hell. All people eventually will be brought to Heaven because of God's "love" for human beings.

Our Lord Jesus stated that if our eye offends us we would do well to tear it out rather than to have our whole body throne into Hell. Yet Christian ministers of our day are playing with the notion that there is no Hell. They are in love with themselves and their congregations. They are not prophets of God or witnesses of God. They do not understand the goodness of God because they do not understand the severity of God!

So we see we have four forces affecting the current teaching of salvation by faith alone.

First, the change from the Reformers' use of the term "works" to refer to Catholic religious practices, to the modern definition of "works" as attempts to obey the commands of Christ and his Apostles. Thus we are saved by "grace" rather than by obeying Christ and his Apostles, it is maintained.

Second, the misunderstanding of Paul's use of the term "works." Whereas Paul was referring to the works of the Law of Moses, the term "works" currently is used to mean any effort on our part to obey the commands of Christ and his Apostles.

Third, the Gnostic emphasis on spirit as good and flesh as evil. The Christian redemption is pointed toward the resurrection of our physical body. We will answer to Christ at the Judgment Seat for what we have done in our body, whether good or evil. We will reap corruption rather than a body of eternal life if we continue to live in the desires of our sinful nature. Fourth, the deadly epidemic of humanistic thinking that suggests God loves people too much to assign them to Hell or to the Lake of Fire. The teachers of humanism do not understand that, after making every effort to convince people that the Lord Jesus Christ is their lawful King and must be obeyed diligently, God will incarcerate people in areas of torment.

The people who are admitted to the new world of righteousness will aid in preserving righteousness, love, joy, and peace. If the wilfully disobedient, those driven by self-love and self-will were permitted to enter the paradise that soon will come to the earth, they would destroy the righteousness, love, joy, and peace, in short order.

During my career as a public school teacher, I noticed that if unruly children were permitted to disrupt the class, the obedient children were distressed. They wanted to do their studies. They were pleased when the teacher disciplined the trouble makers. For this reason there indeed is a Hell and a Lake of Fire.

One self-willed individual would destroy the righteousness, love, peace, and joy of Paradise, bringing misery to all those whose desire is to serve the Lord Jesus. Therefore God, in his unfathomable love for his creatures, indeed will remove incorrigible people from his new world of righteousness; just as a loving, strong teacher will remove an incorrigible, unruly child from a classroom.

It is apparent that Satan is determined Christian people shall not live in a godly manner. Why do you suppose this is? Why does Satan emphasize that we will go to Heaven regardless of how we behave? Why does Satan emphasize knowledge about Christ (referring to knowledge as "faith"), while minimizing the importance of our obeying the commands of Christ and his Apostles?

Why does Satan point toward eternal residence in the spirit world (Heaven) as the goal of salvation? Why does Satan emphasize a pre-tribulation "rapture" of God's people so they are removed from the earth and confined in the spirit world?

Why are our attempts to obey Christ regarded as an affront to God's plan of salvation? The answer to these questions is that Satan regards the earth and the bodies of people as his domain. He desires to have unhindered control of the bodies of people. Satan would be pleased if every devout Christian were removed to Heaven so Satan could inherit the earth.

What then is the result of trusting in faith (knowledge; belief) alone to present us faultless before God? There are at least two primary results of relying on our faith (belief and knowledge about Christ) instead of pressing forward in Christ each day as we endeavour to overcome the aspects of our personality that are not in the image of God.

First, we do not have the rod of iron righteousness created in us that is necessary if we are to govern the nations with the Lord Jesus. The rod of iron is created as we renounce that which is evil and embrace that which is righteous.

Second, we cannot enter the rest of God, which is our goal. The rest of God can be entered only as we overcome through Christ the enemies currently striving to maintain their residence in our inheritance.

Let us deal with the first issue, that of the rod of iron righteousness. As we strive to obey Christ each day, both as to his general will found in the Scriptures and also his specific will to us as it is impressed upon us personally, spiritual iron is formed in us. As we follow the Spirit of God, renouncing evil behaviour and embracing righteous behaviour, we are fed in the spirit realm with the "hidden manna," that is, with the body and blood of Christ.

The body and blood of Christ are the power of endless resurrection Life. They contain far greater power than any other form of life. If we persevere in obeying Christ, we finally gain the crown of righteousness and life. In the Scriptures, eternal resurrection life follows righteous behaviour. We shall govern the works of God's hands throughout the endless ages of eternity by the power of an endless life, by the rod of iron righteousness, by the Life of Christ.

If we are content to receive the righteousness ascribed by initially receiving Christ, and then do not press forward into righteous behaviour, the Life of God we were given at the first will leave us. We will be spiritually dead. No rod of iron righteousness will be formed in us. We then will be unable to preserve the righteousness, love, joy, and peace of Paradise when God returns Paradise to the earth..

Righteousness is ascribed to us when we, in obedience to God, first place our confidence in Christ. But if after that we do not obey Christ, we no longer are regarded as righteous. We no longer will be qualified or competent to be clothed with immortality when the Lord returns to earth and thus work with Him in the task of installing the Kingdom of God on the earth.

How many millions of "Christians" are looking forward to a pre-tribulation "rapture" into Heaven, or to being changed into immortality when Christ appears? Their hope is in vain, unless they are serving Christ diligently day and night. Their hope does not conform to the Scriptures, only to the traditions of today, which are based on misunderstanding, self-love, and a touch of Gnosticism.

Going to Heaven by "faith alone"? Not if the Bible is the Word of God!

If no rod of iron righteousness has been formed in us, we are not competent to install the Kingdom of God on the earth when the Lord returns. If we have not lived as an overcomer, we are not qualified in terms of the Scripture to receive the promises to the overcomer, which include governing with Christ. Faith (head knowledge; mental assent) alone leaves us incompetent and unqualified to have fellowship with Christ and to rule with him. Faith apart from a new moral creation is "dead." True faith lives in behaviour.

The second deadly result of the "faith alone" error is that we accept the enemy in our personality and surroundings. We compromise with him. He dwells in and with us without being dislodged. He steadfastly enjoys that which God has offered to us.

Spirits do not have a physical form. Satan and his angels do not have gender, as people do. Therefore Satan and his demons use every device they know that will enable them to enter and influence people. In this manner they maintain their position in that which God has given us, especially our physical body.

How many times did God tell the Israelites to totally destroy the Canaanites who were living in the area God had assigned to them! The Lord commanded the Jews to show no mercy. The reason for this destruction was that God knew if Israel permitted the Canaanites to live among them, the Jews soon would be worshiping the idols of Canaan. And when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. Deuteronomy 7:2—NASB)

The original land promised to the Jews included a far greater area than is viewed today as "Israel." All of the east bank of the Jordan to the Euphrates, and the land of the Hittites, for example. But the Israelites were not faithful to obey God.

Had they done what the Lord commanded, it is possible they would to the present hour have the full possession of the land promised to Israel. But, as in the case also of us Christians today, they were not diligent to wipe out the enemy. They compromised, using the aliens to serve in various sorts of duties, such as cutting firewood.

The Israelites fell further and further away from the Lord's commandments until they were conquered by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. It is a sad story. They never again were able to regain the glory they had experienced under David and Solomon. To this day the small part of their inheritance that they have held onto is being threatened. What a lesson we can learn from this!

But we have not learned the lesson. We have allowed Satan to frighten us. Our heart in many instances is not set on possessing the marvellous promises that have been made to us, such as being a coheir of Christ; sitting on the Throne of Glory with Christ; being filled with the Fullness of God; attaining to the inward resurrection in preparation for the giving of eternal life to our body in the Day of Christ. All we want to do is to flee to Heaven where we will live in a mansion and do nothing of consequence for eternity.

Yet we know from the Book of Revelation that the marvellous promises found therein are to whoever conquers the enemies that have come against him or her. Still we speak of grace, grace, grace, faith alone, faith alone, faith alone. How ridiculous!

We cannot enter our inheritance in Christ until we are willing to fight the enemy in Jesus' name until he is totally destroyed. There is no question of compromise. The enemy, Satan, is to be crushed under our feet, as the Apostle Paul wrote.

We do not waste our time rebuking Satan. There is no scriptural basis for the believers rebuking Satan. Rather, we resist the devil. We fight by patiently carrying our cross behind Jesus; by practicing righteous behaviour; by obeying our Lord diligently every hour of every day and night.

Who among us has a heart to fight, not by rebuking the devil but by resisting the temptation to do what is evil? Who among is ready to discard the unscriptural notion that all we are to do is believe that Christ has done it all for us?

Christ has not done it all for us! It is the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. If Gideon does not do his part, neither will the Lord. We cannot enter our inheritance in our own strength and wisdom. But Christ will enable us to be more than a conqueror if we put on our armour and hold up the shield of faith. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, by far the most powerful weapon in the universe.

But the Spirit will not wield his sword until we stand resolutely in Christ and obey him every moment of every day and night.

"Faith alone?" By no means. The Apostle James informs us that faith without works is dead. It is only our self-love, spiritual laziness, ignorance of the Scripture, and perhaps cowardice, that cause us to be unwilling to press with all our might toward the fullness of the inheritance. Yet the Apostle Paul exhorted us to maintain the attitude of conquest, using himself as our example.

Spiritual growth is an increase in the ability to recognize evil, and the willingness and strength to totally reject the evil and embrace righteous behaviour. This is the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:13,14—NIV)

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