Faith's Role in Salvation

We hope you will, with an open Bible and open mind, consider the role of faith in our salvation. Jesus said, “…for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). The Hebrews’ writer said, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). It should be clear from these passages that faith is very important to salvation; without it, there simply is no salvation! However, there are many who teach that salvation comes at the moment of faith, with no further acts of obedience. Therefore, we want to honestly consider the question, “What role does faith play in our salvation?”

Many have misused John 3:16 to support the idea that salvation comes at the moment of faith; however, one must consider a couple of things about this passage. First, Jesus did not say “he that believeth alone in him {the Christ} should not perish.” Second, those who promote this passage as teaching salvation by faith alone, also say one must repent. If one can read repentance into this passage, you can read confession and baptism into it also. Third, one cannot base any teaching on one passage alone, and ignore all other passages; for example, Mark 16:16.

Another passage misused to justify the doctrine of salvation by faith alone is Romans 10:9- 10. The reason this passage is misunderstood and misused is a failure to understand one little word used by Paul. Paul said in verse 10 that “with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” What does the word “unto” mean? It describes movement toward or in the direction of a place or thing. Paul was teaching that when one has faith and is willing to confess Jesus as the Christ, they are “unto” righteousness or salvation; the person is moving in the right direction, but not there yet.

Many have misused Romans 5:1 to teach salvation by faith alone. Yet, in the context of this passage, the word faith is not used to describe our personal faith, but rather the gospel system of faith. Does the Bible ever do this? Consider such passages as Acts 6:7, “…and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith,” or Galatians 3:23 (as well as verse 24), “But before faith came {the Gospel system of faith}”.

Those who teach salvation at the moment of faith with no further acts of obedience usually will go to a few passages that mention faith in connection with salvation and ignore other passages that deal with salvation. So what is faith and what place does it have in our salvation?

The Hebrews’ writer said, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Paul said, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17; also consider John 20:30-31). Bible faith is based on what God has revealed in His Word, which motivates a person to obey what God has commanded therein.

In the book of Hebrews, the writer was trying to convince Jews who had become Christians and were returning to Judaism not to do such. In doing so, he argued that God had made them a promise of salvation and then proceeded to give them the formula to obtain that promised blessing. In chapter 10, verse 36, he wrote, “For ye have need of patience {endurance – TAC}, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” The writer then proceeded in chapter 11 to give example after example of those who, by their faith, obeyed the command God gave them and obtained the promised blessing. It is important to notice that the promised blessing NEVER came at the moment of faith; only after, by their faith, they obeyed. Notice the example in verse 30 “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.”

So what about us today and the salvation of our souls? God has clearly made us the promise of eternal salvation, but one must understand that salvation only comes to those who, by their faith, obey all the commands God has given (Hebrews 5:9 and James 2:10). We know we are not saved by faith alone, James 2:17-24 clearly teaches such. So what is involved? By our faith, we must repent of our sins (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30); we must confess Jesus as Christ (Matthew 10:32-33; Acts 8:37); we must also obey Jesus command to be baptized (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27; I Peter 3:21).