I have already addressed how Some Christians believe that all it takes to get through the Pearly Gates is to believe that Christ died for your sins. I have acknowledged that there are Bible verses which tend to prove this "justification by faith alone" doctrine; however, there are certainly many other verses which suggest the opposite, that men are justified only if their faith manifests in good works. Here are just a few examples (all references are from the KJV and any highlights are my own):
Matthew 7:21-26:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand”
(In the above verses, Christ is clearly saying that those who believers who have done wonderful things in His name will be condemned if they have worked iniquity (not obeyed God's commandments).
Matthew 16:27:
“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”
Matthew 25:31-46:
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
"Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
(Nowhere in that dialogue does Christ mention anything regarding bare faith as a condition of salvation? Christ makes it crystal clear that you will be judged according to how you treat others; those who mistreat others are condemned to hell, and those who are kind to others receive eternal life with Christ.)
Matthew 19:16-21 (See also Mark 10:17-21; Luke 18:18-22):
“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”
(This is by far the most significant statement in the Bible. Here Christ Himself is specifically asked what is required for salvation, and His response is to obey the commandments.)
Luke 19:8-9:
“And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
1 John 2:3-5:
“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. ”
(This verse couldn't make it clearer: those who do not keep the commandments do not know Christ, and those who say they do are liars. This passage shows that those who believe the “justification by faith alone” doctrine simply do not know Christ. )
John 5:28-29:
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
(The above verses deal with behavior, not merely belief. There is no mention of faith, no distinction between those being saved and those being damned other than their works.)
Acts 2:38:
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
(According to the author of Acts, both baptism and Repentance (changing ones heart and conduct are prerequisites for receiving the Holy Ghost. Mere faith in Christ is not enough.)
James 1:27:
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
(This is the only place in the Bible where religion is described, and there is no mention whatsoever about bare faith being required. In this verse the Bible is confirming what Christ said in Matthew 25:31-46, that all are judged by how they treat “the least of these.”)
James 2:14-20:
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”
(This is a powerful unambiguous and irrefutable condemnation of the “justification by faith alone” doctrine preached by Paul.)
John 8:39:
"They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham."
Revelation 20:12
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."
Revelation 22
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
(The very last book in the Bible makes it plain and simple: if you obey the commandments you have the right to the tree of life. Of course, the flip side of this coin would be that if you do not obey the commandments, you will not have the right to the tree of life.)
Actually, those who believe in justification by works (obeying the commandments) are following the words of Christ, James and John (the book of Revelation). Those who adhere to justification by faith alone are following the words of Paul since it appears that all those verses which promote justification by faith alone are attributed to Paul. Here are those verses which advocate justification by faith alone: Romans 3:27; Romans 4:2; Romans 4:6; Romans 9:11; Romans 9:32; Romans 11:6; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5.
It doesn't make sense that Christ dispensed with good behavior as a condition for salvation. According to the Old Testament, God hated sin so much He drowned every man, woman and child on the planet except for Noah's small family. I cannot conceive how the Son of a sin-hating God would propose a salvation plan which embraced the concept of sin without consequences. Such a scheme would encourage sin. Everyone who has read of Martin Luther (Founder of the Lutheran Church) would understand that is exactly what has happened with those who have accepted the “justification by faith alone, no works necessary” nonsense.
For the record, I am not a Bible believing Christian, but most of my friends are. I believe that if there is a judging God, He will judge each of us not by what we believe, but rather how we live our lives in accordance with that belief. That is what I am convinced a fair and just God would do. Of course, I am not God (I applied for the position, but I was deemed to be overqualified – Joking!!)
However, I have studied the Bible for over 60 years, and I know it fairly well. I have presented Bible verses which tend to prove the “justification by faith alone” doctrine and also other verses which tend to prove the “justification by works” doctrine. It is my position that a logical analysis validates the latter.