Are we saved by faith alone or is works necessary?

Titus 3:4-8 “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Does this mean that the faith they speak of is of the mind only, or does our faith have to include acting out our faith?

Scripture does not answer this question directly, but James tells us faith without works is dead and Christ tells us that being a Christian is not a matter of only how we think but includes what we do.

"Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven."(NASB) Matt. 7:21

Only a few people have even looked at this thread and none of them want to post their view of this question. Come on, what are your thoughts about this? What is the faith that scripture tells us is necessary for salvation?

“by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,”

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭6:63‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.( 1john 5:20)

I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17:3-6, 8, 14, 17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:3-4,

the gospel is revealed to us step by step of we begin to accept and believe the thkngs jesus the lord of all heaven and earth , taught it’s going to be a progressive thing that won’t condemn us but will lead us into maturity and when maturity comes we’re going to be the result of this just by hearing and believing his word that’s certain forever

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
‭‭Titus‬ ‭2:11-14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

we just believe the gospel and we become new people by the word we receive because it’s truly Gods word pure from his own mouth no mediator just God speaking to man life into them

it’s not about what we do or can achieve it’s about what we’re willing to believe and that creates new minds and hearts which leads to new ways and actions all sources in our belief he doesn’t demand we do anything he calls us to learn from him and that’s the power to bring works that are not works we “ have to do to be saved “ but it becomes good works being an expression of the new heart created by believing the gospel

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:23, 25‬ ‭KJV‬‬

the gospel of the kingdom is of God and is living and active within a believer to create this praise made of grave learning about repentance and right living from the gospel we grow into maturity through belief and then doing good is just expressing Christ within us and no longer is a labor but rather a joy

this is all we need to do and trust he will accomplish what he promises

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5:24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

that’s all we have to do and if we reject that one thing it’s the only thing that can condemn us

“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”
‭‭John‬ ‭12:48-50‬ ‭KJV‬‬

You are not being clear. You speak a lot about beliefs, but little about whether action is required as a result of those beliefs, except what I underlined. Would you make your position clear?

The question is simple: does faith require action. Try to be concise, not wordy . We all have a bible.

it’s alright I didn’t mean offense and ok I won’t bother with any scripture to you anymore you have a Bible too

God bless

The faith that God is Who He says He is, has done what He says He has done, and will do what He says He will do.

I am so so sorry, for I have been too curt and offensive. I have been too deep in the worlds traning to be concise. Please, forgive me and tell me what you think the Lord means to tell us about that faith only saves? Does the Lord expect that faith to be backed with works?
Do you interpret scripture as telling us we need to confirm our faith with works, or does the Lord say that faith needs only be mental faith?

Blik, please don’t think me pedantic, but how do you define “saved” in your question?

you have nothing to be sorry for concerning me blick I love you the same as I always have I enjoy your posts here even if sometimes it might seem like I’m opposing you , it’s never my intent


but please forget any worry that you have offended me in any way I never perceived it was just trying to respect your request because I seemed to have offended you

God loves you deeply beyond any measure we can make

gee I wonder why that would be since you have posted this exact same type of op multiple times, only changing the wording to confuse the uninitiated

so basically this is another 'here we go again' thread

you could do well with a one stop thread entitled 'lets talk about works all day and all night'

Faith does require action, but it is SIMPLE FAITH that justifies the sinner and the ungodly. The best example is the criminal on the cross beside Christ. He was about to die when he put his faith and trust in Christ. And that was sufficient to justify this criminal, and guarantee him a place in Paradise (Heaven, since Paradise is in the New Jerusalem in Heaven). We do not need to complicate things. Genuine saving faith does result in action. But that follows salvation by grace through faith.

We're saved by grace through the faith God bestows as his gift. Its not our doing, but God's.

Our good work after that is evidence of our salvation, as we follow God's leading to serve his kingdom. It is not what saves us.

You are Absolute Correct. Ephesians 2:8-10.

YOu are so correct, but I still wonder if God doesn't see our faith as more tham what we think, but our thinking needs to have accepting Christ within us by following through with actions. If this is not so then why are we told that it isn't by saying Lord, Lord but doing the will of the Father? That verse makes me question faith without actions, do you have an explanation of it that shows faith does not need action to complete it?

it’s a process like a seed planted in our hearts


“And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;

And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:26-29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

We are the ones receiving the seed and believing , God is who brings us to the harvest

Were you commenting on someone else's post? I didn't make a statement. I was asking how you defined "saved" in your question.

This will clear up any doubt that it is salvation that is the gift not faith.

Salvation - the Gift from God Eph_2:8-9


Dr. William Mounce oversight committee of ESV

For centuries, Bible commentators have differed on the precise reference of the pronoun “that” in Eph_2:8. Does “that” (touto G5124) refer to faith, as many have stated (e.g., Augustine, Chrysostom, Westcott, Lenski, etc.), or, does “that” refer to salvation from sin? Is faith “the gift of God,” or is this gift salvation by grace through faith?


Admittedly, from a cursory reading of Eph_2:8, it may appear that the relative pronoun that has faith as its grammatical antecedent. Those who believe that faith is a gift (i.e., miraculous imposition) from God, often point out that in this verse “faith” is the nearest antecedent of “that” (“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God”). However, when one examines Eph_2:8 in the language in which it was written originally (Greek), he finds that the pronoun that G5124 (touto) is neuter in gender, while the word faith G4102 (pistis) is feminine. Since the general rule in Greek grammar is for the gender and number of a relative pronoun to be the same as its antecedent (Mounce, 1993, p. 111), then some extenuating linguistic circumstance, special idiomatic use, or other mitigating factor would need to be demonstrated to justify linking “that” to “faith.” If such reasonable justification cannot be made, then one is compelled to continue studying the passage in order to know assuredly what “that” gift of God is.


When no clear antecedent is found within a text, Greek scholar William Mounce wisely recommends that the Bible student study the context of the passage in question in order to help determine to what a relative pronoun (like “that”) is referring (1993, p. 111). The overall context of the first three chapters of Ephesians is man’s salvation found in Christ.

• “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph_1:7).​
• The heavenly “inheritance” is found in Christ (Eph_1:11).​
• After believing in the good news of salvation through Christ, the Ephesians were “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph_1:13).​
• Sinners are made “alive with Christ” and saved “by grace” (Eph_2:5).​
• Sinners are brought near to God “by the blood of Christ” (Eph_2:13).​
• Paul became a servant of Christ “according to the gift of the grace of God…by the effective working of His power” (Eph_3:7).​

Not only is the theme of salvation the overall context of the first three chapters of Ephesians, but the immediate context of Eph_2:8-9 is of salvation, not of faith. Paul is talking about HOW A PERSON IS SAVED. The main idea of the sentence is found in the verb phrase "you have been saved" G4982. How is a person saved? Eph_2:8-9 answers this key question.


Salvation is by grace.

Salvation is through faith.

Salvation is not of yourselves.

Salvation is the GIFT OF GOD.

Salvation is not of works.


Paul is not giving a dissertation on faith, but he is giving a brief dissertation on salvation. SALVATION is his main subject. Faith is mentioned because you cannot answer the question "HOW IS A PERSON SAVED?" without mentioning faith. A person is saved by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ (Act_16:31). God's gracious gift of salvation must be personally received, and it is received by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But the main thing that Paul is talking about in these two verses is salvation, not faith

See post # 17 for a clear teaching from a Greek Scholar who happens to be a Calvinist.

it’s not about what we do or can achieve it’s about what we’re willing to believe and that creates new minds and hearts which leads to new ways and actions all sources in our belief he doesn’t demand we do anything he calls us to learn from him and that’s the power to bring works that are not works we “ have to do to be saved “ but it becomes good works being an expression of the new heart created by believing the gospel ”

I my opinion, I believe that Pilgrimshope is saying that if you truly believe in the Holy Trinity and give yourself over to God, that it will reflect in your actions because you will have a changed heart, mind and soul, just as the disciples. By the way it is only by God’s grace that you can be saved.

That would be the faith of Abraham.