Does Faith Alone Save You?
What it Means to Truly Believe
Introduction
I will discuss an interesting interaction I had on social media with another Christian, and I will also dive into some of the mistranslations in the Bible that may lead to the confusion that we see today.
The Interaction
Traditionally, I don’t engage with people on social media regarding religious differences, but for some reason, I felt drawn to respond to this man’s YouTube short where he claimed,
“The ‘faith alone Christians’ are the ones that are closest to God because they're following the ‘narrow path’ that is described in Matthew 7:13–14”
He said that works are unnecessary to get into heaven because faith alone is all the Lord asks for.
I understood what he was hinting at because I can see how the easy way out (faith alone) can be something that makes Christians feel good about the way that they spend their time in this world.
I didn’t want to seem like I was “holier than thou” per se, but I felt like this was a vital conversation to have.
I replied,
“Satan believes that Jesus is the son of God and rose from the dead to save our sins. Does this mean he goes to heaven? It’s our job to act in a way that shows our appreciation. This is not just by works, and it is also not just by faith.”
Boy. Oh. Boy.
There were some unhappy campers in the comment section.
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@GiftofGod289 said,
The Bible: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13. I’ll stick with God’s inspired word and not your ramblings.
I replied,
“I guess we are disagreeing on what it means to truly believe. It’s not just faith alone. Matthew 7:21–23 says ‘not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.’
God chooses who gets into heaven. It’s quite terrifying to be honest, but humbly accepting his mercy and being humble will allow us to be close to him.
Pride is at the center of ‘knowing’ you’re going to heaven. It’s the same sin of ‘knowing’ your sins will be forgiven so you sin anyways.”
I’ve been waiting 3 days now for a response and will update this blog if he does so…
The Mistranslation of “Faith/Belief” in The English Bible
The English language does a terrible job of expressing the emotions that the Aramaic language excelled in.
For us to understand what faith/belief means, we need to look at how Jesus meant it in their native language, right?
In the miracle when Peter jumped off the side of the boat and walked out to Jesus on the water, but falls, Jesus says to him (in the English version) “Oh, you of little faith.”
In Aramaic, the word he uses is “zeora” and with no response of “oh” in the sentence.
The word means somebody young and inexperienced.
It was used at the time to describe somebody who was a young apprentice.
Somebody who had little skill in a practice.
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Effectively, Jesus was saying,
“You are inexperienced in faith.”
If faith was a one-time decision that you didn’t have to prove and show, then, how could you be inexperienced in it?
We gain confidence through repetition.
We gain trust through repetition.
The same applies to our relationship with God.
You see, the road to hell seems to be paved through abstinence from doing what is “right.”
Abstinence in doing something that you know will PROVE your faith.
To truly believe is to do.
It changes your outlook on everything, and quite frankly, destroys any assumption of an alternative reality.
You can’t possibly be stagnant if you truly believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God.
That information is not something you just put in your back pocket for when you die.
Let me know if you think I am wrong!
I genuinely love engaging with minds that think differently than mine.
Give me some food for thought!
Your Fellow Catholic,
Christopher Brison
