Interesting Questions-158
'Sola Fides'
Letter to the Editor:
GOD'S MESSAGE, October 2012, p.3
I LEARNED THAT your Church opposes the teaching
that faith alone matters in salvation.
Some religions indeed dismiss it as flawed ..... But how can it be
faulty when it is the Bible
itself that teaches it? John 3:16 states: "For God so loved the
world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 substantiates, "For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not
of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone
should boast.” Notice the phrase,
"you have been saved through faith not of works”. So where does
Church membership
come in here?
"The Believer”
Address withheld upon sender's request
Editor's reply:
If the verses you quoted
were the only verses in the Bible, then perhaps faith alone would be
sufficient for salvation. But that is not the
case. For instance, the following are also biblical
verses—they are teachings of no less than the
Savior Himself also about attaining eternal life
or salvation and becoming His true servant:
"If
anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I
am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My
Father will honor.” (John 12:26, New King James
Version, emphasis ours).
”... The time is coming
when all the dead in their graves shall hear the voice of God's Son,
and shall rise again—those who have
done good, to eternal life ...” (John 5:28-29, Living
Bible, emphasis ours)
Following Christ and
doing good, which the Bible teaches as essential to attain salvation,
obviously entail actions or works. So why did Apostle Paul say in
Ephesians 2:8-9, "you have been saved through faith not of works"?
Which works is he referring to? In chapter 3 of his letter to Titus,
Apostle Paul discusses the same topic and clarifies:
”he saved us. It was
not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but
because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit,
who gives us new birth and new life by washing us (Titus 3:5,
Today's English Version).
"Once we, too, were
foolish and disobedient; we were misled by others and became
slaves to many evil pleasures and wicked
desires. Our lives were full of resentment and
envy. We hated others and they hated us.”
(Titus 3:3, LB)
By "works which cannot
save", the apostle clearly refers to the "good deeds that we
ourselves had done”—something which really will not matter to
salvation because no matter how we try to do good, by ourselves, we
are just often "misled by others and became slaves to many evil
pleasures and wicked desires”.
Disproving further the
interpretation that faith alone matters in salvation, Apostle James
emphatically expressed:
”What does it profit,
my brethren, if someone says ‘he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have
works, is dead But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith
without works is dead?
. .. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith
only” (James 2:14, 17, 20, 24, NKIV).
”So it is with faith:
if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead. You fool!
Do you
want to be shown that faith without actions is
useless? . . . You see, then, that it is by his actions that a
person is put right with God, and not by his faith alone” (lames
2:17, 20, 24, TEV)
So what about membership
in the Church Of Christ? Where does it come in? Actually, the verses
you quoted (Ephesians 2:8-9 and John 3:16) lay basis to the
importance of being
members of the true Church. Christ
distinguishes those who truly “believe in God's only be-
gotten Son” and thus ”have been saved through
faith”:
”But you don't believe
me because you are not part of my flock. My sheep recognize
my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”
(lohn 10:26-27, LB).
The ”flock” referred to
where Christ's sheep or true believers are members of is none other
than the Church Of Christ:
”l'ake heed therefore
to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has
appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has
purchased with his blood" (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Translation).
Biblically speaking,
therefore, one cannot be a true believer of Christ—and thus, could
not have received God's gift of salvation—without being a member of
the Church Of Christ.
To learn more on God's
commandments and good works one should follow in order to attain
salvation, we invite you and everyone to attend our worship services
and studies on biblical doctrines.
___________________
Note: Some cited verses are
printed in full to facilitate study.
Bible Study
Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free
to visit the
Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or
an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question
you have in mind. For the latest Worship Service Directory of
Iglesia ni Cristo Locales and Congregations outside the Philippines,
please visit www.iglesianicristoworshipservice.com or just click
link at home page.