What Happens If You Deny Justification by Faith Alone?

R.C. Sproul warns of the serious consequences of denying the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

[HopingforGodsreturnsoon]

Love love love RC Sproul, he is amazing....God Bless You and Keep with you us in these difficult times. Thanks for all and glad to see you without the oxygen. :)))

[Packardphaeton]

I really appreciate that R. C. Sproul mentioned the in-efficacy of creed.   The IRONY is that when I challenge my Reformed friends (with which I agree on all but their theology of the Lord's table---there is no presence in the elements, either physical OR spiritual), to defend their faith in an additional presence of Christ in the supper from the Scriptures, they cannot do it----they always revert to Confessions, such as the Westminster.

[DainisStikuts]

James 2, 24
You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

[timothykring]

I wish that it were mentioned that it is more properly ' justification by grace, through faith. ' And that it is God who justifies. Some people want to take credit for their justification (before men, ) rather than attribute it as being by God and before God.

[jrsherridan]

Amen. Pray for the people in the comments.

[jesuschristiseternallife]

I would say, if we believe our Bibles to be true, then not believing in faith alone would make us correct, not damned. James 2:24 says, "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." Now, i also agree when Paul says that we are not justified by the works of the law, but by faith. But you can't discount the first verse. It says clearly, "NOT by faith alone." So to say, "Its by faith alone", might be the most blatant example of twisting scripture known. Before viewing everything through our John Macarthur, John Calvin, and Martin Luther glasses, consider what is said. Those men are not my authority, scriture is. And it is clear, "NOT by faith alone." So do we deny those words of James, and therefore his authority? "well, here is what James really meant." Careful. "If you live by the sword, you will die by the sword."

[jeffouellette]

You're not saved by faith alone you're saved by grace.

[hardcorejab]

If works don't matter why do I have to carry my cross. Faith comes first followed by works.

[captainmarvel]

As Jesus Christ said "blind guides." True heresy on display

[TheBibleSays]

"Faith alone" is not enough. Abraham was promised blessings if he would leave home and journey to the promised land. Without any faith, he would have shrugged off the promises as unreal and that would have been the end of the story. But even with faith Abraham could have said to himself, "Well, even though I trust God's promises I'd really rather stay home, in my comfort zone, so I'm not leaving." Would he have received the promises? Of course not.

Abraham *_obeyed._* He acted on his faith. He left home, journeyed to the promised land and received the blessings:

"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went" (Hebrews 11:8).

*_By_* or *_through_* faith he realized he had a real choice to make, and he *_chose to obey._* The Lord explained to Abraham's son Isaac that Abraham received the promised blessings because of his *_obedience:_*

"Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws" (Genesis 26:5).

The apostle James wrote "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and *_not by faith only"_* (James 2:24). Abraham's obedience was his "works." He *_believed_* in the true, complete sense of the word _believe:_ he *_acted_* on his faith. If you'll look up the original Greek for "faith" and "believe" you'll find that they are not the same: they come different Greek words. "Faith" is a noun but "believe" is a verb: committing to your faith or trust through action and obedience.

So it is with us today. We are called to confess and forsake sin, and to seek God and do His will. This is how we receive mercy:

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).

If we'll obey we'll be forgiven and redeemed, by grace, from the death penalty earned for past sins. We'll receive His spirit: God gives His spirit "to them that obey Him" (Acts 5:32). Jesus will lead us out of slavery to sin and into His righteousness IF we'll abide in Him, continuing in repentance. It is only through Him that we can be overcomers:

"He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." (Rev 21:7)

"Easy believism" says "just have faith that Jesus did it all for you on the cross. You don't have to do anything more than that." But Jesus calls on us to follow His example and overcome, just as He overcame:

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." (Rev 3:21)

Jesus is "the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him" (Hebrews 5:9).

We are not saved *_by_* faith. We are saved by grace, _through_ faith. *_It is through faith that we can come to choose to repent and seek God._* Without faith that God exists and is responsive, no one would be bothered to repent and seek Him:

"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).

Sadly, many are being deceived, being told that Jesus did it all for you on the cross, so your sins - past present and future - have already been covered, forgotten, paid for. Sorry, but NONE of our sins are forgiven until we confess them. The apostle John's words make it very clear that our sins remain, and are not forgiven until we confess them:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

We have all earned death, perishing in death, as the penalty for our past sins (Romans 6:23). We can be redeemed from that death penalty by the ransom that Jesus finished on the cross, His death in place of ours. That redemption is available if we'll choose to turn from sin, sin that earned us the death penalty in the first place. Jesus did not die to make it okay for us to continue in sin! No, the grace is that we can be spared - redeemed - from perishing for our past sins IF we'll choose to turn from sin.

If we choose not to turn from sin, we remain unredeemed and will surely perish in death for our past sins. That's why Jesus said "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5).

"Faith alone" is not enough! Like Abraham, we must believe: we must act on our faith and obey. God "now commands all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30).

If you assume "believe" means "faith alone" then John 3:16's "whosoever believes in him should not perish" appears to contradict Jesus' warning "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Perhaps now you can see that "believe, " properly understood, is more than "faith alone"; it is commitment - through faith - demonstrated by action and obedience.

[LetsgoB]

Faith as defined by repentance, grace, charity, and trust…maybe, but that certainly doesn’t sound like faith “alone”.

[TheBibleSays]

R. C. Sproul said:
*_"What happens if you deny the doctrine of justification by faith alone? And that's a different matter. Because now you're denying you're saved by Christ and by Christ alone. And that denial may be enough to damn you."_*

What??? By what stretch of the imagination is denying "faith alone" tantamount to denying we're saved by Christ? Of course we're saved by Christ, but faith alone will never merit His saving grace. Why? Because Christ is . . .
⚫ "the author of eternal salvation unto all them that *obey* Him" (Hebrews 5:9).

Salvation is by *_grace._* We enter God's grace *_through_* faith (Eph 2:8) . . . not just because we *_have_* faith. *_Through_* faith we see we have a choice—and a decision— to make: to obey and "come to God" (Heb 11:6) on His terms (Acts 17:30), or else just continue in our old life, apart from God. Without faith we could neither see the choice nor make that decision:
⚫ "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)

Faith is necessary. But is the decision—to "come to God" on His terms—that matters, and pleases God . . . and for which we receive His promised mercy and grace:
⚫ "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30)
⚫ "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." (Proverbs 28:13)
⚫ "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him . . . " (Isaiah 55:7)

Faith is given to us (Eph 2:8) to call us. Question is: Will we answer the call and "come to God" on His terms?

"Faith alone" is a slick, sneaky way of saying neither obedience nor repentance are required! Did Jesus tell His disciples to preach "faith alone"? No: He told them to preach "repentance and remission of sins":
⚫ "Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
And that *repentance and remission of sins* should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (Luke 24:45-47)

What did John the Baptist preach?
⚫ "John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3)
Come to repentance . . . receive mercy: remission of sins.

How did Nineveh receive mercy? They "turned from their evil way":
⚫ "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." (Jonah 3:10)

Here's what Jesus had to say about Nineveh:
⚫ "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here." (Jesus, in Matthew 12:41)

*Outside of repentance, we face condemnation. It is obvious that "faith alone" or "just trust" is not enough.*

Again: Jesus is "the author of eternal salvation unto all them that *obey* Him" (Hebrews 5:9).

[mektonpower]

God offered the salvation to humanity not just because of faith but through greatest work of love and charity by sacrificing his only begotten son at the cross. His son Jesus say "if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me". He didn't say I will take up the cross and you just need to trust me and follow me. By translating this into reality, beside faith (i.e trust and follow Him) it also require act of sacrificial, hope, love & charity as symbolised by "deny yourself, take up your cross". I trust God's work more than trusting a blind teaching such as in this video.

[Rbl]

But it is not "our faith" ..it is the faith from Christ "of Christ".. And our justification was given us before the world began because it is a component of grace which includes salvation which was given us before the foundation of the world. 2. Timothy 1:9-10. And the Scripture say that we are justified by his death. And we are justified by his blood.
And the Scriptures say Christ was slain before the foundation of the world.
All our salvation has its beginning and promise of fulfillment before the world was Wow!!!

[Ryan_Zell]

The Early Heresy of Faith Alone.

The Three Heresies Found in the New Testament

The Judaizers Requiring Gentiles to be Circumciszed (Acts 15)

Justification by Faith Alone (James 1 and 2)

The Early Heresy of Gnosticism/Dualism (1 John 1:1-2)

[weobeyjesus]

Well I am damned because I am trusting in repentance of sin not faith alone which is lawlessness.

[danielverhulst]

For most of church history, salvation was seen as comprehending all of life: Christians believed in Christ, were baptized, and were nurtured in their salvation in the Church. Key doctrines of the faith centered around the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation of the Son of God, the atonement.
In Western Europe during the sixteenth century and before, however, justifiable concern arose among the Reformers over a prevailing understanding that salvation depended on human works of merit, and not on the grace and mercy of God. Their rediscovery of Romans 5 lead to the slogan sola fides: justification by faith alone.
This Reformation debate in the West raised the question for the Orthodox East: Why this new polarization of faith and works? It had been settled since the apostolic era that salvation was granted by the mercy of God to righteous men and women. Those baptized into Christ were called to believe in Him and do good works. An opposition of faith versus works was unprecedented in Orthodox thought.
The Orthodox understanding of justification differs from the Protestant in several ways.

1. Justification and the new covenant. When Orthodox Christians approach the doctrine of salvation, the discussion centers around the new covenant. Justification—being or becoming righteous—by faith in God is part of being brought into a covenant relationship with Him. Whereas Israel was under the old covenant, in which salvation came through faith as revealed in the law, the Church is under the new covenant. Salvation comes through faith in Christ, who fulfills the law. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, leading us to the knowledge of God the Father. Rather than justification as a legal acquittal before God, Orthodox believers see justification by faith as a covenant relationship with Him, centered in union with Christ (Rom 6:1–6).
2. Justification and God’s mercy. Orthodoxy emphasizes it is first God’s mercy—not our faith—that saves us. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom 5:1, 2). It is God who initiates or makes the new covenant with us.
3. Justification by faith is dynamic, not static. For Orthodox Christians, faith is living, dynamic, continuous—never static or merely point-in-time. Faith is not something a Christian exercises only at one critical moment, expecting it to cover all the rest of his life. True faith is not just a decision, it’s a way of life. Thus, the Orthodox Christian sees salvation in at least three aspects: (a) I have been saved, being joined to Christ in Holy Baptism; (b) I am being saved, growing in Christ through the sacramental life of the Church; and (c) I will be saved, by the mercy of God at the Last Judgment.

Justification by faith, though not the major New Testament doctrine for Orthodox as it is for Protestants, poses no problem. But justification by faith alone brings up an objection. It contradicts Scripture, which says, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (Jam 2:24). We are “justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Rom 3:28), but nowhere does the Bible say we are justified by faith “alone.” On the contrary, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (Jam 2:17).
As Christians we are no longer under the demands of the Old Testament law (Rom 3:20), for Christ has fulfilled the law (Gal 2:21; 3:5, 24). By God’s mercy, we are brought into a new covenant relationship with Him. We who believe are granted entrance into His Kingdom by His grace. Through His mercy, we are justified by faith and empowered by God for good works or deeds of righteousness that bring glory to Him.

[mj]

Reformed theologians are afraid to read the book of James 😂

[mb]

this is an oversimplification of justification, the real disagreements are over the efficacy of grace vs the imputation of righteousness. Romans 2;13. doers, not hearers...we r justified by grace through faith Acts 15:11, romans 3:22-25, eph 2:8, titus 3:5. Not by faith alone - Jas 2:24. unaided works and mosaic law does not save. Baptism now saves. obedience mat5:20 (love) saves.