What about those other things, according to Scripture, by which we are saved? As Paul puts it in Ephesians 2 "by grace ye are saved through faith." Notice, "through" faith. Not "by" faith.
It takes more than faith all by itself to save someone. Scripture demonstrates that there is but one thing that "alone" can be considered to save us: grace. Without the helping grace (termed Actual Grace) from God we cannot respond positively to His offer of salvation. Only by cooperating with that grace can we possibly consider accepting His gift. After that, in order to be justified and sanctified and ultimately get into heaven, we must believe (have faith) and repent and be baptized and obey and love. Faith is first, after grace, but these other things must follow, while being based on that faith. Neglecting any of these can lead to loss of salvation, but doing all these things without underlying faith will do nothing for you in the first place. It's not that these "works" cause our salvation, but that these works are required in order to grow in sanctity and even to remain in the justified state. Justification is simply the state of divine son-ship. To be justified is to be an adopted child of God. Baptism is the Sacrament of initiation into God's family (as circumcision was, in the Old Covenant). It is a sign and it brings about the regeneration of the believer, by the Holy Spirit indwelling him. This indwelling is also called Sanctifying Grace. This grace differs from the initial grace God gave us in order to enable us to accept His gift. ("Prevenient Grace" is a term used by the Reformers to describe the initial Actual Grace we need in order to be able to accept the gift. We receive actual grace throughout our lives to help us grow. The Sacraments are the primary means of dispensing this grace but we can also receive these graces through other ways of obedience to God, such as fasting & prayer & good works, etc., done in faith.)
Salvation by faith alone is actually a new & novel concept, popular among Christians for less than 500 years. Historically, until the 1500's, this doctrine cannot be found, at least not among the early Christian writings.(
http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/page5.html,
http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/fathers.html . Here's a piece by a former Catholic presenting evidence that the church Fathers did believe in Faith Alone:
http://www.girdedwithtruth.org/2009/09/21/sola-fide-by-faith-alone/#.Ufq6Rm0pjNE, but as you can see in matt1618's page, those quotes are isolated from the rest of the Father's writings and hence are taken out of context. )
Grace is necessary, unearned & unmerited:
Romans 3
23 For all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say,
at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him
which believeth in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but
by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that
a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
29 Is he the God of the Jews
only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
30 Seeing it is
one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision
through faith.
31 Do we then make void the
law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Ephesians 1
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us
accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Ephesians 2
AND you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses
and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the
lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and
were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he
loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in
heavenly places in Christ
Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his
grace in his kindness toward us
through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of
God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in
them.
Titus 3:
5 Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his
grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Faith is also necessary:
This is the first necessary reaction to the grace God gives everyone. Without faith you'll never really repent. Without faith, it won't matter if you're baptized and obey and love. Those things depend on underlying faith for them to be effective. (Notice these passages don't say "faith alone". They simply state that faith is necessary, not that faith is the exclusive means by which we are saved.)
Mark 16:16
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
John 3
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Romans 3
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Galatians 3:14
"...that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
Galatians 5
"6
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision;
but faith which worketh by love."
... but faith alone won't get you into God's family...
Repentance is also necessary:
After we come to believe, we must repent of our sinful ways...
In the Gospels you'll see that people are called to "repent", not mentioning faith. (Faith is presumed, however.) Matthew 3:2, 3:8, 3:11, 4:17, 9:13, 11:20, 11:21, 12:41.
Acts 2:37-38
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 3
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord
Acts 5
31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 8
22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
Acts 11
18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Acts 17
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Acts 20
21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 26
20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judæa, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
Baptism is also necessary:
Then we must be baptized, in order to be brought in to God's family. We don't just believe ourselves into God's family. We believe and repent and are baptized into the body of Christ...
Under the Old Covenant a requisite of membership was circumcision. Even a non-Israelite could join God's covenant family by circumcision. And it was mandatory for Israelites, in order to be in covenant with God. (Moses failed to circumcise his son and almost died because of it. Zippora's intervention by circumcising the boy saved Moses.)
The New Covenant has fulfilled & superceded the Old. The sign of this New Covenant is Baptism (Colossians 2:11). Baptism is an oath of the Covenant. The latin word for oath is sacramentum. That's why Catholics call Baptism a Sacrament. Basically, a Sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible reality (the imparting of Grace). A Sacrament is a visible sign instituted by Christ to give grace in order to sanctify us, to conform us to God.
We don't just believe ourselves into God's family, we are baptized into it.
Mark 16:16
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Acts 2:37-38
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 19
AND it came to pass, that,
while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came
to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
2 He said unto them, Have ye
received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not
so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
3 And he said unto them, Unto
what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.
4 Then said Paul, John verily
baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they
should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of
the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came
on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
1 Cor 12:13
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Gal 3:26-27
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Romans 6:3-4
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Ephesians 4:4-5
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Colosians 2:10-13
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
1Peter 3: 18-21
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
Baptism cleanses, regenerates us...
Acts 22:16
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
1Corintians 6:
9 Know ye not that the
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous,
nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of
God.
11 And such were some of you:
but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
1Peter 3: 18-21
The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Titus 3:
5 Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his
grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
...then we work out our salvation with fear and trembling by loving and obeying...
Love is also necessary...
(In older translations "charity" is the noun form of love, "love" is the verb form)
John 13
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I
have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to
another.
John 14
15If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
21
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth
me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love
him, and will manifest myself to him
1 Corinthians 13:
THOUGH I speak with the
tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift
of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could
remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my
goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be
burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Galatians 5
"6
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision;
but faith which worketh by love."
Obedience is also necessary...
John 14
15 If ye love me, keep my
commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
If a believer commits certain sins after being born again into God's family, he will lose his inheritance (his justification)...
1Corintians 6
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Likewise in Ephesians 6... Paul is addressing believers, telling them to "walk as children of light" and not do such things, because doing them would mean they would not get to heaven.
It seems we are also justified by what we say...
Mattew 12
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word
that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified,
and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Perhaps Matthew 12:37 should be interpreted in the context of Paul's statement that we are saved if we believe and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. Even so, this shows that we are saved by more than just our faith.
Romans 10
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
And, lastly, we must persevere in that saved state to the end of our earthly life...
Romans 2:7
To them who by patient
continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal
life
Galatians 6:9
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we
faint not.
Hebrews 3:14
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
Revelation 3:11
Behold, I come quickly:
hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
In closing, we are not justified by faith alone. Through grace we can have faith and that faith enables us, and is absolutely critical, to be a child of God. Without faith, additional grace and these other requirements of justification are fruitless. But also, without these "works" faith is unfruitful, unsaving. On the other hand, if we neglect these "works" we might not see heaven. It's what's in the heart that counts. That's how the thief on the cross was saved by his faith "alone". Even though he could not go on to be baptized, etc, he still was saved because he had faith and likely would have done those things had he the chance.
The Process of Justification, part of a study of Paul's letter to the Galatians:
http://www.instituteofcatholicculture.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Galatians_Handout.pdf
