Faith Only Heresy
by Terry Wane Benton
Daily Points of Light from Heaven
Probably one of the most deceptive and soul-damning doctrines to ever ruin souls and deceive the world is the doctrine of “faith-only” salvation. This doctrine has variations; some contend that a few seconds of believing in Jesus is enough to seal the deal from that moment into eternity, even if ten seconds later you decide you were wrong in those earlier ten seconds. Some are drenched in Calvinism and would argue that we are so depraved that we could not have believed in those ten seconds unless God gave the gift of faith, even if it only lasted for ten seconds. If you were to search the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, you will never find “faith” and “only” together except in James 2, where James said we are “not” saved or justified by faith only (James 2:14-26). It is baffling that the faith-only heresy still tries to work around James and either contend that he was wrong or try to explain away his words.
Jesus clearly denied the doctrine when He said, “For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother” (Mark 3:35). This means He has no relationship with people who claim only a ten-second faith, but with people who do the will of God. In Matthew 7:21-23, He said that calling Him “Lord, Lord” would not get one into the kingdom of heaven. If you called Him Lord for years, to say nothing of a mere ten seconds, you are not saved and going to heaven. More “doing” of the will of God is involved, and that is not “faith only.” Jesus and James are correct, and they agree perfectly that man has not been promised salvation by faith that does not include repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38).
Faith-only people love to appeal to the thief on the cross as an example of someone that was saved by faith only, however, they don’t seem to realize that the thief is not an example of someone who was under the new covenant of Christ, and even as a penitent man under the old covenant, he confessed his guilt and asked for mercy which is more than ten seconds of faith only. The new covenant demands that we confess Jesus' resurrection (Romans 10:9-10). The thief was not under that covenant rule as he died before Jesus was raised from the dead. Confessing Jesus’ resurrection is more than faith only. So, you cannot use a man under the old covenant that was not subject to the ruling of the new covenant that Jesus be confessed as raised from the dead to tell people under the ruling of the New Testament that you don’t even have to confess the resurrected Jesus and that you can be saved like the thief under the former covenant. We are not under that covenant, and we have to confess the risen Savior.
Furthermore, the thief was not under the ruling of Mark 16;15,16. He did not have to hear of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection (I Corinthians 15:1-6), as all nations must hear and believe today. The gospel first presented in Acts 2 had thousands of Jews asking, “What shall we do?” Here would be a perfect time for Peter to clarify that they could all be saved under the terms of the Old Covenant just as the thief on the cross, but Peter told them that they had to express faith a certain way. They had to express faith by repenting and being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins (Acts 2:37-41). This is how you confess the risen Jesus and receive forgiveness of sins (justification by faith). A faith conviction did not save them. Faith only did not give them remission of sins until faith was expressed in repentance. Repentance starts with godly sorrow and “leads to salvation” (II Corinthians 7:7ff). A faith alone that does not repent of sin will not receive “remission of sins”. Jesus came to call “sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17). Unless people repent, which is more than faith alone, they will all perish (Luke 13:3f). Ten seconds of faith alone never saved anyone.
Furthermore, faith is produced by planting the word of God (Mark 4:2-20). Life was produced in the stony ground but due to no depth it “withered away”. The ten seconds of faith died because faith only must go for depth and production, and without depth and production it is of no use. It cannot live long if it has no depth and production.
Saul's (Paul's) conversion proves he was not saved by ten seconds of faith alone. He was confronted on the road to Damascus (Acts 9 and his own retelling of his moment of salvation in Acts 22), asked what he should do, and after three days of praying and fasting, Ananias told him to “Arise, and be baptized, washing away his sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (22:16). Three days of faith with fervent prayer did not get him remission of sins. He had to call on the name of the Lord as he was being baptized before his sins were washed away. Ten seconds of faith alone did not get him into Christ where all the spiritual blessings are (Ephesians 1:3,7). He waited in prayer until he was “baptized into Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27), and only in Christ could his sins be washed away. Those who fight these facts in defense of the heresy of salvation by ten seconds of faith-only are sorely mistaken.
Don’t let yourself be deceived by such a heresy!
