How Many Facts in “Faith Only”?
by Terry Wane Benton
Those brethren who now teach that salvation is at the moment of faith before repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins (they say that is “faith plus works”) never seem to get around to telling us what all is included in their “faith only” concept. For example, how many facts, and what are those facts that trigger the grace? How much “work” will it take to learn those facts? Doesn’t the work of learning those facts shoot the whole argument of faith only in the foot?
Does someone have to learn and believe that Jesus came in the flesh (I John 4:1ff)? A person might believe in a "Jesus" but not believe He was deity come in the flesh. Must he work to learn the truth on this issue? John says yes.
So, faith must include learning the right facts about Jesus. That takes a form of effort or work. Is that "faith plus works"? There was faith in a Jesus and work to ensure it was the right Jesus. Must a person "labor for the food that does not perish" (John 6:26)? Is that faith in Jesus plus the labor it takes to obtain and utilize His food? Is that "faith plus labor?"
How many facts about Jesus must be learned and claimed before that faith is the saving kind? Was Muhamed's faith in Jesus as a prophet the saving kind? No? Then there has to be a certain content that must be obtained to have the right saving facts, and that, my friend, takes far more effort than letting someone dunk you in the water in Jesus' name.
"Labor" (work) is involved in learning and coming to the correct and sufficient facts that enter us into salvation. You can't believe anything you want to about Jesus and be saved. Jesus made that very clear in Matthew 7:21-23.
Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9), not to all those who believe a few selective facts about Him. The Bible never says you can be saved by faith alone, and it certainly does not let us choose which facts we will believe. Be careful that you have not been fed the wrong information that results in you having "another Jesus" (II Corinthians 11:3-4), the wrong one, and the wrong content of faith in the wrong Jesus. The wrong Jesus will never save us! Be very careful here!
