“Can That Faith Save Him?”
Charles G. Maples Sr.
“What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14 NASV)
Since man; of his own free will; separated himself from God (Genesis 3; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23, etc., it is inconceivable that man could be returned to fellowship with his Maker, without FAITH IN HIM, and in Him through Whom God would extend His Grace; His “Only begotten Son!” In fact, through the Inspired writer of the book of Hebrews, He tells us that “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes (back-cm) to God must BELIEVE that He is, and that He is a rewarder of all those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6) And in John 8:24 we hear the Savior say, “…if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
From our knowledge of Scriptures such as John 3:16; Mark 16:16 Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8 and others, we must conclude that FAITH DOES SAVE. In the case of the conversion of the Jailor at Philippi (Acts 16), when he asked Paul & Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to BE SAVED (v. 30), their answer was, “Believe (have faith in) on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…” (v. 31) We know that salvation; both of the alien sinner and the child of God; is “BY FAITH.” When one reads in the KJV or the NKJV of the above text, the question is, “CAN FAITH SAVE HIM?” The answer to that question is, YES. But note that in the NASB rendering of it, the question is, “Can THAT faith save him?” – that is, can the kind of faith that is under consideration in those verses – faith WITHOUT WORKS – save him? And the answer is “NO!”
There are several KINDS of “faith” which CANNOT SAVE. Let us consider three of them:
1) Faith from the WRONG SOURCE cannot save. In I Corinthians 2:5 we read, “that your faith should not stand in THE WISDOM OF MEN, but in the power of God.” (Caps mine, cm.) In Matthew 15:9 we hear the words of Jesus, “And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.” The only SOURCE of saving faith is the Word of God, as we find it clearly stated in Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing…the Word of God.” In John 20:30, 31 we have stated by Inspiration the only source of Saving Faith, “…Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book; but THESE ARE WRITTEN THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST….”
2) Faith that WILL NOT “WORK,” CANNOT SAVE! Or, “Faith Only,” as we hear taught and believed by so many; cannot save, as is clearly shown in our text of James 2:14-19. Consider v. 17, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, IS DEAD.” Such faith CANNOT GIVE “LIFE,” as spoken of in Ephesians 2:1. It is no better than that of demons! (v. 19) Then consider verse twenty-four of this context, “You see then that a man is justified by works,, and NOT BY FAITH ONLY.”
3) Faith that “draws back” WILL NOT SAVE! In Hebrews 10:39 we read, “But we are not of those who DRAW BACK TO PERDITION, but of those believe to the saving of the soul.” That same writer urges Christians to “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of UNBELIEF in departing from the Living God.”(3:12) In other words, “faith” that will not KEEP ONE “FAITHFUL,” will not save! Hear the admonition of the Savior, as found in Revelation 2:10, “Be FAITHFUL until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
BUT CONSIDER THE KIND OF FAITH THAT WILL SAVE:
1) Faith that comes from HEARING THE WORD OF GOD; He “…has spoken … unto us…” (Hebrews 2:1f). We are urged to “Give earnest heed..” to the things which He has spoken!(2:1f) As we have before seen, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”(Romans 10:17) As Paul urged Timothy, “…give attention to reading…meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all…continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” (I Timothy 4:13-16)
2) Faith that OBEYS – Inspiration speaks of “OBEDIENCE OF FAITH” in Romans 1:5 & 16:25. You will find that everyone of those EXAMPLES OF SAVING FAITH, recorded in Hebrews eleven was faith that MOVED THEM TO OBEDIENCE UNTO GOD! Abraham, in a wonderful way, demonstrated the kind of faith that WILL SAVE! Consider what is said of him in Hebrews 11:8 and 17! His faith lead him to leave home; go into a land that he knew nothing about; and then, above all, to be willing to offer his son (“of promise”) as a sacrifice, because God was requiring it of him! Those of Rome who had become Christians were said to have ceased to be servants of sin, and became servants of righteousness WHEN THEIR FAITH LED THEM TO OBEDIENCE! ( Romans 5:1 and 6:3-18). Note that in verses three & four, they were “baptized into Christ, being baptized into His death.” The Savior had said, “…he who believes and is baptized shall be saved…” (Mark 16:16)
3) Faith that is STEADFAST, even “…until death!” (Revelation 2:10) The apostle Paul urged Christians at Corinth to “…be STEADFAST, UNMOVABLE, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:58) As we noted before, the Hebrew writer stated, “…we are of those who BELIEVE UNTO THE SAVING OF THE SOUL.” (Hebrews 10:39) The CONFIDENCE that the apostle Paul had of his eternal reward, when he faced death, was based upon the fact that he “…fought a good fight .. KEPT THE FAITH…!” (2 Timothy 4:6-8) Indeed “THAT FAITH (did) SAVE HIM!” Another expression of SUCH FAITH might be seen in Paul’s letter to the Philippians (3:12-14)
“CAN THAT FAITH SAVE HIM?” YES, the kind of faith that comes from a study of the Word of God; faith that moves one to OBEY THE WILL OF GOD; faith that keeps one “FAITHFUL UNTIL DEATH;” YES, “That (kind of) faith” CAN save; for it brings us into the Grace of God! (Romans 5:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-9) DO YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF FAITH?”