Think on These Things
December 1998
This word only is a very powerful word in that it changes the entire meaning of the word or term that it qualifies. John 3:16 also teaches the necessity of faith. Some believe that it teaches faith only, but it does not. To teach faith only it would have to be worded something like: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever only believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The correct rendering of the verse makes faith a condition of salvation, but it does not disallow other conditions, some of which might be included within the general meaning of the word faith (see Hebrews 11 for this definition and note all of the examples).
In this issue we wish to demonstrate that the bible tells us of a large number of things that save. If we put the word "only" after any one of these things (e.g., faith only), this excludes all of the others. We must conclude that no one thing "only" saves, but that God expects us to understand and combine all of those things that he has declared necessary for salvation in order for us to be acceptable to him. To do otherwise is to eliminate vital parts of God’s word (see Mt. 4:4), and to fall under the condemnation expressed in Rev. 22:19 by taking away from the full truth of God’s word.
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What does this have to do with gambling? The commonality is in the rationalizations that are used to justify both sinful practices. Some believe that Kavorkian is not committing murder because the victim has requested him to do it. In the case of gambling, most believe that the unjust gain (i.e., stealing) is justified because all parties enter into the game willingly. Both rationalizations are wrong. The fact that a man agrees to be victimized does not give another person the right to victimize him, whether it be by murder or stealing.
Recently the Governor of Alabama was elected on a single issue — the "education lottery." The majority of citizens saw nothing wrong with a tax based on personal weakness and covetousness. In a state that has one of the highest rates of church membership, church leaders are now organizing efforts to defeat the measure in the legislature, since the lottery will surely pass the required statewide referendum. These efforts would not be necessary if their memberships understood the sinful nature of gambling and its consequences. In most states where lottery money is pledged to education, the money that was previously allocated to education is used for something else. But few recognize this lie. Gambling cannot create money. It just takes money from the poorest (as evidenced by the dramatic increase in bankruptcies) and places it in the hands of politicians so that they can increase their control over those trying to get something for nothing.
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2. Hope. Rom 8:24-5: "For we are saved by hope ..." Are we saved by hope only?
3. Faith. John 3:16: "...that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Is this faith only?
4. Repentance. 2 Cor 7:10: "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." Clearly this is not repentance only.
5. Calling on the name of the Lord. Acts 2:21: "...whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Does this mean calling on His name only?
6. Faith and confession. Rom 10:9: "... 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." Can we be saved by faith if we refuse to confess? or by confession if we do not believe?
7. Faith and baptism. Mark 16:16: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ..." Can we be saved by faith if we refuse to be baptized? or by baptism without faith?
8. Baptism. 1 Pet 3:21: "The like figure whereunto [even] baptism doth now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) ..." Baptism only?
9. Obedience. Heb 5:9: "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Does this say obedience only?
10. Enduring to the end. Mat 24:13): "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
This is not an exhaustive list, but it demonstrates the point. The word only does not appear in any of the scriptures presented above. To take any condition of salvation and place the word only after it is wrong because it changes the meaning from that given in scripture and communicates something that is completely different.
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but James stated in James 2:24:
"Ye see then how that by works a man is justified,
and not by faith only."
Check your concordances. Run your computers. See that this is the only place in the bible that the words faith and only fall together in the same verse. Does it say that we are justified (saved) by faith only? How can so many teach this when the bible says just the opposite?
So what about all of the verses that say that we are saved by faith? The only consistent understanding of these verses that harmonizes all of the conditions of salvation taught in the New Testament is that the word faith means a living faith — one that will motivate all of the other conditions. This is validated by James’ definition of the meaning of saving faith in James 2:26: "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." What is faith only if not faith without works? James defined faith only to be dead faith — a faith that absolutely cannot save. The faith that is capable of saving cannot be faith only, because it will always motivate obedient actions, i.e., good works. Read Hebrews 11, where all the examples of the people of faith who were acceptable to God demonstrated their faith by being obedient to the true and living God. Religious leaders: stop teaching a plan of salvation that is not the gospel (Gal. 1:8).
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