In this video teaching Brother Eli Soriano deal with the question "faith alone will save?" Brother Eli begins by citing a research conducted on the sentence “Only faith” in various Bibles versions from Genesis to Revelation. The results are quite eye opening: there was no mention of faith alone in the Bible from the computer’s search.
This goes against what we often hear that faith alone can save us. However, brother Eli points out that if “faith alone” was truly biblical then it should be supported by scriptures. Therefore, since it cannot be found anywhere in the written word, this implies that there may be more to faith than faith alone.
Brother Eli then states that faith without works is dead. He teaches about the law of Christ being synonymous with the law of faith. When we have faith in Christ we also have faith in His laws and commandments. Our obedience to Christ’s teachings becomes our act of believing.
To support this, Brother Eli cites the well-known verse in Matthew 28 where Jesus instructs His disciples to teach all nations, baptizing them and observing all that He commanded. This shows that true faith in Christ involves following His instructions. It is not enough to have faith alone without living according to His ways.
There would be no point for Jesus to stress obedience of his commandments if it were enough for faith only. But the scripture Brother Eli shares makes it clear that we must teach others to observe all that Christ taught. This implies faith requires action and following God's will in our lives.
If people had a dead or hollow belief in their hearts, their faith would be empty too. And even though we believe within ourselves but do not act as stated by Him what He said, then this does not truly please God. James also says that faith without works is dead because he knows well about this fact. For one to remain on the side of God there has to be both submission and faith.
Brother Eli’s insights remind us of the need to have a balanced understanding of faith and works. Salvation is not only about self efforts but it does not mean that we are saved by a passive faith, without any action that it entails. A living faith cannot save if it does not acknowledge Christ as savior and moves in obedience unto Him every day. This is what The Bible repeatedly teaches throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament.
