What do we mean when we speak of faith alone. Because both Protestants, Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox believe faith is necessary for salvation. Faith as in we trust, we trust in Jesus to save us from God’s righteous wrath.
How do we understand faith?
All analogies are imperfect, but if we think of faith as that which connects us, much like the hose of a petrol pump, connects a car to the petrol. The hose by itself does nothing and can do nothing unless connected to a petrol pump that has petrol in the tanks underneath.
The same is true of salvation of faith. Faith connects us to Jesus Christ. Faith is our certain trust in things unseen (Hebrews 11:1).
Think of jumping out of an airplane, you trust, you have faith in your parachute (hopefully because you had a backup chute and have checked it!). The same goes for biblical faith.
Looking at the Bible
Ephesians 2:8-9
This would be the classical text on faith alone. Paul says so succinctly and so wonderfully, you have been saved by grace through faith, not of works, so no one may boast.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)
If you had to hang everything on this one verse, it would bear the weight. Notice what Paul says, we can see the instrumentality of faith, faith is the instrument (the hose!) that connects us to Jesus Christ and all his blessings. This happens by God’s gracious actions. All of this then has the outcome of us boasting in Christ alone for our salvation.
Works are excluded. Paul has been making this point in chapter 1, that God has foreordained, predestined us to adoption as sons, before the world began. So our works are excluded from God’s basis of our salvation (grace). We obtain that, not by works, no one can earn salvation, but by trust in Jesus Christ
James 2:14-18, 26
But what about works? Are works necessary to salvation? The Council of Trent would say that anyone who believes in justification (being made right with God) by faith alone is to be anathema’d (you can read more 9 Things You Should Know About the Council of Trent [TGC]). They are to be cast off and cursed, excluded from the church and from salvation! Now whether Rome actually understood the Protestant principle of sola fide is beyond my 5 minutes.
2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. (ESV)
But note what James says, faith without works is dead. Does that mean, faith, saving faith, needs works to go along with it to be saved?
You have several ways of approaching this. If James says faith needs works to be effective, he contradicts the clear statement of Paul. If on the other hand, James says faith shows forth its evidences _by works_ suddenly you have this rich harmony between Paul, James, and of course Jesus who says, in him we bear much fruit. He is the vine, we are the branches (John 15:4-5)
You show your trust and faith by how you act.
This same thing occurs in Paul. We are united to Christ and produce good works! In fact, those works must be excluded from our salvation because those works are already prepared for us, so the works that we produce are still gracious and cannot be a part of our justification.
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)
Conclusion
We can end simply. Faith alone is a biblical doctrine. Justification is solely on the basis of Jesus Christ. This is such a huge principle and was one of the primary flash points of the Reformation. The reason it is so important is its ramifications for everything else.
If justification has any kind of works in it, it’s no longer gracious. If it’s not faith alone, this trusting in Jesus, then you run the risk of working yourself out of salvation. Committing sins, losing your faith, etc.
Then on the other hand, we must learn that faith produces works. Those who are truly united to Jesus Christ actually produce fruit, they actually are growing in holiness.
Coda: Alternatives
Think about the alternative? If our works contribute to our salvation there is always the possibility of undoing it! Think how this also lowers the standard of God’s holiness. Consequently, this means that being righteous with God is not a statement or a declaration, but rather transformative (the Roman Catholic view), this introduces all sorts of problems, such as the need to do good works in order to stay saved. You constantly need infusions of more righteousness.
Whereas, faith alone teaches that salvation is first to last a gift from God. It is gracious. We contribute nothing to it. Even our good works flow out of this, from God. This gives the believer tremendous security.
Paul fought long and hard to defend Christians from works-based righteousness that was prevalent in Judaism at the time. Would we really want to go back to that? Sola Fide is not just the teaching of the Bible but simply the only way to have true confidence.
Now, believing in justification by faith alone is not necessary to be saved! And it’s not even faith that saves us. Rather, we must remember it’s Jesus who saves us.
