I ask this because as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka Mormon's) I have been repetitively accused of being not a true Christian, or of being part of a cult, and the one commonality that all of the accusations have is relating to the idea that because I believe that I must obey the God that I worship (aka works) I will be sent to hell. And also because of that belief I cannot be worshiping the real Christ.
A passage from the Bible has recently come to my mind that has me wondering what Evangelicals, or any other Christian sect, will say about it relating to this subject.
In James 2:19 we read (in most any English translation) that demons have faith in God. James brings this concept up as part of a discourse on the need to keep the commandments (aka works).
So my question is if faith alone saves, and the servants of Satan have enough knowledge and belief in God to fear and tremble and thus recognize His authority then are they saved, or is James lying or wrong in his statement about the faith of devils?
From my perspective faith is hope put into action, so I personally see no conflict in the idea of faith verses works, I see them as part of the same whole.
PS. Please keep this respectful. I will report any copy and paste rants that attack my faith and any answer that does not make any actual attempt to answer my question. Thank you in advance for your civility and maturity.
Stan J2011-10-19T06:01:09Z
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I think the idea of salvation by faith alone really misses the key element of salvation: The Lord Jesus Christ.
While I suppose that it's usually assumed that "faith" in the sense of salvation is "faith in Jesus Christ," I think it's important to keep the qualifier there more often than we seem to.
Jesus saves. Our job is to accept His salvation and grace by doing as He has asked. I'm not really sure how we can expect to receive--or even accept--His grace if we're living lives of sin and disobeying His commandments.
Conversely, mere obedience to commandments won't save us any more than obedience to the strict laws of the Jews at Christ's time would have saved them. Salvation is really a two-part deal: Christ already did His part, and it's up to us to determine whether we're going to do ours.
He asked us to trust Him, to give up our sins, to be baptised (as He was), and to seek for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and endure in righteousness to the end.
As to your question about James chapter 2, I think that illustrates the point that we need to live lives that are in accordance with God's will as a part of accepting the grace of Christ. Demons might tremble at His authority, but--and this is just the "Gospel according to Stan J"--something tells me that those demons would never be comfortable living in the presence of God because of who they are and what they have done.
Will we really be comfortable in Heaven if we're living with an endless, burning sense of guilt? Even on Earth, where others don't know our hearts and minds the way God does, we condemn ourselves often enough to persuade me that endlessly living with an all-knowing God while knowing that we've rejected Him through our actions seems like it would be more a "hell" than a "Heaven" to me.
James is very accurate in his statement, I think. I believe that we are the ones more likely to be wrong, just by misinterpreting what James meant.
You are misinterpreting the Bible to some degree. James 2:19 doesn't say that demons have faith in God. It says devils "also believe and tremble". Simply believing in the existence of God is not the same as having faith in Jesus Christ to save you.
no. faith alone is not sufficient Grace alone if applied is sufficient but only for salvation that is "Free"
exaltation cost the saviour the stripes on his back, the blood from his pores, the crucifixion and 2000 years of ongoing works.
look it up, paul said there are different resurrection types and a resurrection greater than all. a free salvation does not give a greater resurrection. i have said before, it only gets you in the door.
after that faith brings us to works, and callings and deeds bring us to sanctification and if converted justification brings us to the ultimate salvation.
Sure. But faith without works to back it up is simply lip-service. You may be saved, but you will never be exalted. You will never live with God. Sure, you wont be in hell eternally, but you will dwell in the same mediocrity you lived your life in.
One who is faithFULL to God, cant NOT follow him. Even when they mess up they rely on repentance to cleanse those sins. They are continually perfect*ING* themselves through God's grace.
So really, I can see both sides. One with faith in God isnt damned, but faith without works is really just a halfhearted lie. And to clarify, its not those works which save OR exalt, but rather that they are a natural product of a heart which is turned to God.