Salvation is by faith (John 3:16; Acts 10:43; 13:39; 16:31), but “not by faith only” (James 2:24): “The demons believe and tremble” (James 2:19); “Many among the rulers believed in him, but because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue (John 12:42).
Salvation is by repentance (Acts 11:18), but not by repentance alone, for “if you do not believe [in Jesus], you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).
Salvation is by confession (Matthew 10:32; Acts 2:21), but not by confession alone: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into heaven’s kingdom, but the one who does the will of my heavenly Father” (Matthew 7:21); “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, ‘You are the Son of God'” (Mark 3:11).
Salvation is by baptism (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16), but not by baptism alone, for (1) if you do not believe [in Jesus], you will die in your sins” (John 8:24); and (2) “except you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3); and (3) “whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15).
Should we follow “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) or only part of it?
