"Why is faith not enough?"

Are There Reconcilable Differences? A discussion continued from the previous blog post...

A real email exchange between two Protestants discussing the difference between the Roman Catholic and the Reformational view of salvation.

This discussion is also pertinent to some discussions among protestants thinking about reformulating justification.

Mr. Faith Plus Works
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Thank-you for your response. I have not read Dr. Sproul's book, Faith Alone-Doctrine of Justification but I have heard his argument and read his short explanation in Now, That's a Good Question. The question that comes to mind each time is what precisely does it mean to have the existence of each element?

Mr. Faith Alone
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It means that -

1. you know certain facts (ie. I know that a chair is a piece of furniture that holds you up);


2. you believe the facts that you know (ie. I have the conviction that if I sit on the chair that it would hold me up);


3. you place personal trust in the facts you believe (ie. I sit in the chair and allow it to hold me up).

Mr. Faith Plus Works
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What if one has intellectual awareness, intellectual assent, and personal trust in Jesus and yet leads a life filled with sin? Are
we to suggest they are actually missing one of the elements or is there something more fundamental at work? Is the root cause simply that they are sinners and always will be and therefore never reach the plateau of perfect faith or belief?

Mr. Faith Alone
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If the person in question does lack any one of the mentioned components of saving faith then what he has is not saving faith. So it should not surprise us that he "leads a life filled with sin," because he is an unregenerated person. If the person in question does have all the components of saving faith then he is regenerate. The fact that he is not sinless should not surprise us. The Apostle Paul was a man with saving faith, but he was not sinless (see Romans 7:14-25). So the "root cause" is that we are simultaniouly saints & sinners and will not be free from sin until our glorification at Christ's second coming.

Mr. Faith Plus Works
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One other question why does it require all three elements to have saving faith?

Mr. Faith Alone
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Let us look at my chair example. I can neither believe that a chair will hold me up nor can I trust it to do so if I don't know things about it. I can have knowledge about a chair & how it functions but not trust it to do so if I don't believe in the facts. I can have knowledge about a chair & how it functions as well as believe the facts but not trust the chair to hold me up. Now take those examples and apply them to Jesus Christ and the gospel. If any of the three are lacking then you either -

1. don't know Jesus;


2. don't believe in Jesus;


3. are not trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior to uphold you. Demons know the facts about Jesus and believe the facts about Jesus, but I do not think anyone would say that demons have saving faith. Demons do not trust in Him as Lord and Savior (a couple of simple examples are Luke 4:33-35 and James 2:19).

Mr. Faith Plus Works
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Why is faith not enough?

Mr. Faith Alone
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It is enough. That is the point. Faith is the instrument that we use to take hold of the righteousness and atonement of Jesus Christ. Our works lend absolutely nothing to our justification. Beware, however, some people tend to think of faith as a work that justifies you although they would not state it like that. Jesus Christ's life and death justifies us before God. When people say that we are saved by faith alone, they say that it is the means to take hold of Jesus Christ's works.

Mr. Faith Plus Works
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And, what good is faith if I need to prove it to myself? If I have to know what is behind the door then I would be a liar to say I know what is behind the door by faith.

Mr. Faith Alone
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The issue is not proving your faith to yourself. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). The issue was sparked by an inquiry about "what does one mean when one says faith?" What is saving faith? This implies that Christians needed to use precise language to articulate a sufficient answer to minimize the vagueness of the term. The reformers articulated this formulation because they had the same question asked of them long ago. I feel that it is an accurate summary of biblical teaching.

Mr. Faith Plus Works
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I don't raise these questions to be argumentative, although I do enjoy that on occasion, but I raise them because I do wonder.

Mr. Faith Alone
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I hope this was helpful. I would really recommend the books I mentioned earlier, "Faith Alone-Doctrine of Justification by R.C. Sproul and especially Redemption:Accomplished and Applied by John Murray. They would be clearer and articulate the issue better than I could.

May the grace of Jesus Christ be with you,

Mr. Faith Alone

The photo is Borgund stavechurch by Per-Andre Hoffmann