GIFT BY FAITH ALONE
Commentary
Scripture References
Salvation is an undeserved gift from God that is credited to and received by individuals solely upon them placing their faith in Jesus for what He accomplished on the cross for them. This truth is often referred to as “faith alone” or “saving faith,” which means to trust exclusively in God’s gift of grace for forgiveness and redemption through Jesus Christ. Salvation is not earned through good works of any kind nor obtained through religious ceremonies or partaking in biblical ordinances like communion or water baptism. These practices are acts of obedience that follow one’s salvation but are never a means for obtaining it.
Salvation is a choice on the part of God and sinful people. From the very beginning, God chose to save sinners because of His unconditional love for them. He sent His Son, Jesus, to pay their “sin debt” in full with His blood so they could be forgiven, redeemed, and reconciled to Him. Therefore, God is always ready to impart His gift of salvation to anyone who comes to Jesus in sincere faith. However, sinners must willfully choose to receive God’s gift for it to take effect or be “credited to their account.” Salvation is never automatically imputed to or received by anyone, despite Jesus doing everything necessary to provide for it. Sinners must exercise personal faith in Christ for God to transfer His gift of redemption to them. When they do, God immediately responds by redeeming them and giving them eternal life. He sends the Holy Spirit to live inside of them and exchanges their sinfulness for Jesus’ righteousness. God also makes them a new creation in Christ, grafting them into His family.
One of the clearest, most compelling, and straightforward passages establishing salvation as a gift obtained and sustained exclusively through faith is Ephesians 2:8-9. The apostle Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Paul did not need to use the phrase “through faith only” or “through faith alone” to convey his intended meaning or for others to understand it. Additionally, his use of the Greek word “ergon” for “works” encompasses any deed, act, effort, labor, or toil—clearly excluding all human endeavors from the salvation equation.
Consequently, according to Paul’s divinely inspired statement in Ephesians 2:8-9, forgiveness and salvation cannot be “by grace through faith and not of works” but also of works. Neither can it be “by grace through faith and not of works” after the required works are done. Nor can it mean that salvation is by grace through faith and some works but not others. Such interpretations are internally contradictory and, therefore, false.
Instead, Paul’s words plainly establish God’s gift of salvation as an unearned, undeserved, and immediate work of grace imputed to sinners through faith exclusively. Additionally, Romans 11:6 confirms the exclusivity and incompatibility between grace and works by stating, “If by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise, work is no longer work.”
The book of James is commonly used to refute salvation through faith alone, based specifically upon James 2:14-26. In these passages, James seemed to contradict Paul’s statement in Ephesians 2:8-9 by implying that salvation is obtained through faith plus good works. However, when these verses are understood and interpreted in their surrounding context, James distinguished genuine salvation (saving faith) from pretense or charades (dead faith), using the evidence of good works as a determining factor. James contended that if someone claimed to be born-again but did not exhibit good works, their “faith” was not legitimate but imaginary and nonexistent.
James' negative reference to "faith alone" does not oppose salvation through faith alone but disputes the claim of one's salvation through faith alone without any accompanying works verifying its authenticity. James presented Abraham's good work of offering Isaac to demonstrate that saving faith naturally produces good works. If James intended to teach that Abraham's good works caused him to be righteous before God, he would contradict Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:1-24, and Galatians 3:6-9, which emphatically state the opposite. Consequently, correctly understood verses will never contradict correctly understood verses.
Another fact establishing salvation as a gift obtained exclusively through faith is that God never imparts salvation through varying means, whereby He saves one sinner through faith and another through other means. Likewise, God does not make “exceptions to the rule” when redeeming sinners. He saves every person alike when they trust exclusively in His Son by faith. Examples of this fact are the thief on the cross, Cornelius, and Cornelius’ relatives (Luke 23:42-43; Acts 10:44-47).
In Luke 23:32-43, a convicted thief deserving of death was crucified next to Jesus. This criminal did not perform any good works or participate in religious ordinances during his crucifixion but expressed sincere faith in Christ. He was born again immediately, which Jesus confirmed by telling this man he would enter heaven that day.
In Acts 10:1-48, Cornelius and his relatives were devout, God-fearing Gentiles who prayed regularly and were full of good works. Yet none of them were born-again because of it. Upon hearing Peter preach about Jesus and declare that whoever believes in Him will be forgiven, Cornelius and his relatives put their faith in Jesus. Immediately, they received the Holy Spirit, which was infallible evidence of their salvation. In these examples, neither the thief on the cross nor Cornelius and his relatives were special circumstances or concessions for redemption but are biblical models demonstrating the truth of salvation through faith alone as taught in passages like Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-7, Romans 3:21-26, and Romans 5:1-2.
Finally, God does not save sinners “initially” through faith alone but “sustains” their salvation through good works. This misconception opposes 1 Peter 1:5, which clearly affirms believers are “kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” It also undermines the nature of salvation itself by assuming one’s forgiveness or forgiven state remains intact through human effort. Remission of sins is only attainable through the shedding of innocent blood — specifically Jesus’ blood (Hebrews 9:22; Hebrews 9:14; Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7).
Additionally, God’s requirement for dwelling in heaven is absolute righteousness. Therefore, since believers still sin after becoming born-again (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8; Isaiah 64:60), the only way to achieve absolute righteousness is to continually trust in the Righteous One, whose perfect life of obedience and substitutionary death qualifies them for heaven. That is why the Bible proclaims only one Savior, Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12), and only one way to the Father exclusively through the one Savior (John 14:6). Therefore, salvation is by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
Note: The belief that God requires anything other than faith exclusively in Jesus Christ for salvation results from misunderstanding and combining discipleship passages with those on salvation—concluding that redemption mandates faith plus works. This practice is dangerous for several reasons: First, it removes passages from their surrounding framework and assigns different meanings than their context conveys. Next, it undermines the text's integrity, creating contradictions that alter Scripture’s consistent and reliable message. Finally, adding any condition to faith as a means for receiving God’s gift of salvation not only modifies the plain meaning of salvation-based passages but completely contradicts it. Therefore, any such methodology and its accompanying interpretations are false.
The Old and New Testaments are not a collection of fragmented verses where each one is understood and interpreted at face value apart from its context, chapter, book, and the rest of Scripture as a whole. Instead, the doctrines taught in the Bible are consistent and reliable and fit together within a logical framework. Therefore, correctly understood verses will never contradict correctly understood verses but harmonize with the rest of Scripture and its overall message.