Often, we are saved by consciously and explicitly placing our only hope and faith in Christ. But then something happens. Perhaps we begin to doubt that His grace could really be so great. Perhaps someone introduces an argument that makes us insecure. Perhaps the continuing presence of sin in our lives causes us to question our salvation. Or perhaps we encounter a biblical passage that seems to teach something contrary to what we originally believed.
And so, gradually, we begin adding good works to the equation, thinking they must somehow make up for whatever is lacking.
This is understandable. And such a theological error could not possibly, by itself, undo something that was genuinely eternal just moments before. Otherwise, it was never eternal to begin with.
Such a person is still saved.
But what about the person who was introduced to Christ through a system of cooperative works, who has never really trusted in Christ alone, whether consciously or subconsciously? That is a different matter. It is possible to believe many correct things about Christ without ever having rested one’s hope of salvation upon Him.
But I must be careful here as well. We do not know the heart as God does. Someone may have genuinely trusted Christ while being taught and holding to a terribly confused understanding of justification.
We all stumble in many ways (James 3:2). And those stumbles are not limited to just our moral behavior. They include our theology. Once justified, we do not become unjustified because we misunderstand something about the very grace that saved us.
Once forgiven, all is forgiven—even our post-justification theological errors.
Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient. Completely sufficient. Whether that sounds too good to be true or, for some, too bad to be true.
Our works are the result of our salvation, not the basis of it.
Sometimes clichés, like this familiar theological formula, are exactly right:
- Faith + Works ≠ Justification
- Faith + Grace-Empowered Works ≠ Justification
- Faith = Justification + Works
As Paul says:
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
— Romans 5:1 (NASB 1995)
We are not saved by faith plus works. Nor are we saved by a lifetime of faithful cooperation with grace. And we are certainly not saved by the theological precision with which we explain justification.
We are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
But what if you don’t know whether you ever truly trusted Christ alone?
Here is my cliché answer:
Trust Him now.
Not your memory of a prayer you once prayed. Not the sincerity of a decision you once made. Not your ability to reconstruct the precise theological understanding you possessed at the moment of your conversion.
You do not need to figure out whether you were saved yesterday in order to trust Christ today.
And you do not need perfect theology about justification by faith alone in order to be justified by faith alone. You need Christ.
The question is not ultimately whether you can prove that you once trusted Him sufficiently, but whether you are trusting Him as your sufficient Savior.
And remember what Christ Himself promised:
“The one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”
— John 6:37 (NASB 1995)
Faith does not save because it is sufficiently strong, sufficiently pure, or sufficiently conscious of all its theological implications.
Faith saves because of the One in whom it rests.
And He is sufficient.
Stop looking for assurance in the perfection of your faith. Look to the perfection of your Savior.
It is not faith in your faith that saves you. It is faith in Christ.
This is my position. What do you all believe? Can someone who believes in faith plus works be justified? Note: this is not asking whether faith plus works justifies.
