Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
10 3 2025
Saved by Faith… But does it require Works too?
I was teaching a “Discovering Jesus” Class, and we discussed how many people believe their expression of the sinner’s prayer after a service is all that is required to be secure in their salvation or their ticket to heaven. I proposed that it is not. I was raised a Catholic, and one in our class,
who also had that background, said that what you’re saying sounds a lot like WORKS are required,
and that doesn’t seem to stand with God’s word
that we are saved by Faith alone.
It was a great question and one that is seldom broken down today.
Let’s dig into what the Bible says… God’s word.
Many believers struggle with the tension between being saved by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 3:28) and the biblical truth that faith without works is dead (James 2:14–26).
The confusion often arises when God’s Word prompts action.
Are these “works” a means of salvation, or are they the natural fruit of a faith that is alive and obedient? The Scriptures teach both: we are saved by faith through the blood of Christ alone,
yet true faith cannot remain idle; it bears fruit.
Didn’t Jesus say we would know them by their fruit? Matt 7:16
Paul reminds us: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
Salvation is the gift; works are the evidence. They flow naturally from a heart transformed by God. Faith alone saves, but a faith that saves is never alone.
The Word of God: Sharp, Living, and Active
The Word of God is not merely information; it is living and active, you know the scripture; “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12–13).
Someone said, “You would not rest a nail against a plank of wood and suggest that the labor of construction is complete. No, the nail is not fully secure until it is driven home with a hammer. In the same way, the truth of God must be applied to the conscience. Preachers may present the Word, but its power comes from the Holy Spirit bringing it home to the hearts of hearers.
Paul exhorts Timothy: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
Doesn’t it make perfect sense that God’s Living Word guides faith into works that reflect a transformed heart?
Preaching is more than speaking; it is heralding… teaching, exhorting, correcting, and comforting, all aimed at transformation. How can someone be made new if there are no works to prove the change of a redeemed heart?
Let’s look at some Biblical and Puritan Models of Application
Jesus Himself exemplified the application of truth:
Didn’t He personally confront Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman (John 3:1–15; John 4:1–42).
He publicly rebuked the Pharisees with precise truth (Matthew 23:1–36).
The Spirit empowers believers to live out God’s character and to perform works similar to Jesus. (John 14–16).
The Puritans, following this model, emphasized bringing the Word home to the soul.
Richard Sibbes urged:
“All is no purpose else, if we do not apply it, if it be not brought home to our souls… We must say, This is from God, and this belongs to me.”
Vincent Alsop also warned that the sermon’s power lies not merely in listening but in personal and public application: “This sermon will never be complete, till you have preached it over to your souls by meditation, and to the world by a thorough reformation.”
Thomas Brooks summarized like this: “Doctrine is but the drawing of the bow; application is the hitting of the mark.”
John Owen reinforced the necessity of personal application: “A man preaches that sermon only well unto others which preaches itself in his own soul… If the Word does not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us.”
Faith in Action has a Biblical Balance.
The Scriptures insist that faith must produce works, but works are the fruit of salvation, not the root.
- Faith alone saves: Romans 3:28, Ephesians 2:8–9.
- Faith that saves produces works: James 2:17, 1 John 2:3–6.
We live in obedience as an expression of salvation, not to earn it:
“This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
The Puritans’ expectation of obedience was never legalistic; it was evangelical. They pressed believers to apply God’s Word to all thoughts, feelings, and actions (Romans 12:1–2; Psalm 119:174).
True faith delights in God’s law (Romans 7:22) and seeks to glorify Him in every act.
What are the practical takeaways for preachers, leaders, and us as disciples?
- Preach or Teach to apply: The goal is not to impress hearers but to pierce consciences, leading to transformation (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 4:1–2). So whether we have a pulpit or a kitchen table the work is the same.
- Personal application first: Leaders/Parents and Individuals must live the truths they proclaim (John Owen).
- Faith expressed in obedience: We are encouraged and commanded to teach those in our sphere of influence to act in response to God’s Word, understanding that these works are evidence of genuine faith (James 2:18). Fruit.
- Dependence on the Holy Spirit: Transformation and obedience are never mechanical; they are Spirit-driven (Galatians 5:25; John 15:5).
Look, Salvation IS by faith alone in Christ’s finished work, BUT faith is never truly alone ..it manifests in loving obedience, holy living, and good works. Do you see that? The Word of God is not a static message; it is a living, piercing, and transformative one. As preachers and leaders, and parents and influencers, we aim to apply the Word, pierce consciences, and guide believers to live out faith with visible fruit, relying entirely on the Spirit to accomplish what our words and teaching cannot do alone.
Honestly, my heart breaks that I see so many going to Church yet living their daily lives,
as if they are not a Christian. They say they believe in God.
They know sinners will go to Hell. But their fruits for the things of God barely exist.
They are lukewarm at best, and that is not going to get them through the narrow gate
on that final day. Don’t you agree that this is a critical message that believers must hear?
And before we can share it, we must first look in the mirror at our own life…
our own fruit and what we live out in front of our loved ones.
Excerpts are from Jeremy Walker pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church,
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