Basic Beliefs of Christianity: Sola Fide

Martin Luther said that on this doctrine "the church stands or falls". Clearly he thought it was important. But are Christians really saved by faith alone? The words faith alone only appear once and they might surprise you:

"You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." (James 2:24)


So how could the reformers say that Christians are saved by faith alone?



At first glance it may seem like the reformers have got it really wrong. Whilst it may seem this way there are other passages that talk about faith (trust) in the Bible. Romans 4 is one of the most important:


Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. (Romans 4:4-5)


This passage talks about not working for God's righteousness. It even talks about how God justifies the wicked who trust in him. Does this then mean that these two passages contradict each other? There is a simpler answer than this. As always it is important to remember that how words are used is just as important as the word itself. James uses the word faith in a very unique way. He is talking about intellectual assent or agreement. He is talking about a dead faith. He is talking about that faith or a belief like the demons that believes God exists but still rejects him as King (v. 19). 

What we need to do is separate the root from the fruit. Trusting God is what saves us but if our trust is genuine it will change our attitudes, our desires and our behaviour. If we have real faith we will do good works. 


We are not saved by works. All the works that needed to be done were done by Jesus. But if we trust Jesus and don't do works, you should really wonder whether you actually do trust Jesus. It is just like the chair above. If you trust that the chair will hold you, then you will sit on it. If you don't then you won't. Your trust will lead to action, it is the sign that you actually trust something. To put it simply faith gives a Christian salvation and a changed heart to follow Jesus.


If we do not have faith alone we do lose a lot though. If salvation is won by faith and works all of a sudden we have no assurance. If works somehow save me can I really know that I am saved? Can I ever have confidence that I have done enough? Being saved by faith alone means I can know for certain that Jesus has saved me. My works show that I have faith but it is only the works of Jesus that make me right with God.


If you want to let things get really interesting think about this, faith is a gift from God. Faith is something that God enables Christians to have. The Bible unashamedly claims that God has chosen those who are his. God has predestined everything and even the faith Christians have is a gift from God. Spend some time thinking about that!


But here is the final thing we need to remember. Faith is like open hands. It is how we can receive God's gift of grace that came by the death of Jesus (even though faith itself is a gift). All I need to do is trust that what God says about Jesus is the truth. If I do this, I am saved but if I am saved I will be thankful and will respond with good works. I think I will leave the last words to Luther's comments of James 2, "we are saved by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone."