Faith Alone Saves?

 

John 3:16 and Ephesian 2:8-9 is cited by proponent of faith alone saves, or believers of OSAS.
Let us cite the said verses: “  For God so loved the world that he gave  his one and only Son, that whoever believes  in him shall not perish but have eternal life ,For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--  not by works, so that no one can boast.”
 After citing the said verse, they will ask you this question, where does church membership come in here?  Well , it sounds logical isn't it?, if the verses quoted were the only verses in the bible, then perhaps faith alone would be sufficient for salvation.  But that is not the case.  For instance, the following are also biblical verses, they are teachings of no less than the savior Himself also about attaining eternal life or salvation and becoming His true servant.
“ If anyone serves Me, let him follow me……” (John 12:26 NKJV)

“ ……The time is coming when all the dead in their graves shall hear the voice of God’s Son, and shall rise again----those who have done good, to eternal life…..”(John 5:28-29 LB)

Following Christ and doing good, which the bible teaches as essential to attain salvation, obviously entail actions or works.  So why did apostle Paul say in Ephesians 2:8-9, “you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--  not by works, so that no one can boast.”?  Which works is he referring to?  In chapter 3 of his letter to Titus, Apostle Paul discusses the same topic and clarifies:  “ He saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of His own mercy that He saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who give us new birth and new life by washing us” (Titus 3:5TEV).

“Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient; we were mislead by others and became slaves to many evil pleasures and wicked desires.  Our lives were full of resentment and envy. We hated others and they hated us” (Titus 3:3 LB)

By “works which cannot save”, the apostle clearly refers to the good deeds that we ourselves had done”---something which really will not matter to salvation because no matter how we try to do god, by ourselves, we are just often mislead by others and became slaves to many evil pleasures and wicked desires”

Disproving further the interpretation that faith alone matters in salvation, Apostle James emphatically expressed: “ What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?....Thus, also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead….But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?.....You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2:14, 17,20, 24 NKJV)

“ So it is with faith: If faith alone and includes no actions, then it is dead….You fool! Do you want to be shown that faith without actions is useless?.....You see then, that it  is  by his actions that a person is put right with God, and not by his faith alone” (James 2:17, 20, 24 TEV)

So what about membership in the Church of Christ? Where does it come in? Actually the verses quoted in Ephesian 2:8-9 and John 3:16, lay basis to the importance of being members of the true church, Christ distinguishes those who truly “believe in God’s only begotten Son”  and thus “have been saved through faith”: “ But you don’t believe Me because you are not part of my flock. My sheep recognize my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:26-27 LB)

The “flock” referred to where Christ’s sheep or true believers are members of is none other than the true Church of Christ: “ Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy spirit has appointed you overseers to feed the church of Christ which He has purchased with His blood” (Acts 20:28 Lamsa)

Biblically speaking, therefore, one cannot be a true believer of Christ and thus could not have received God’s gift of salvation without being a member of the Church of Christ.