It can be challenging to identify false or heretical doctrine, especially those that contain a hint or fragment of the truth. For example, if someone claimed that salvation is attained through faith in Jesus Christ and good works, it might not seem obviously heretical because numerous Bible passages speak of faith, and others mention good works.
The same type of challenge might present itself if someone claimed that Jesus was not God but was only a man because the Bible does not say verbatim, “Jesus was God.” Their claim can sound convincing, given that the Bible does not spell out Jesus’ deity in that exact, word-for-word manner.
Regardless of the claim, all false and heretical doctrine can easily be identified because it will always fall into one or both of the following categories:
It will always contradict something in the Bible related to its claim.
It will always be inconsistent with some or all of Scripture as a whole.
Considering these facts and applying them to the claim that salvation is attained through faith in Jesus Christ and by performing good works, it becomes clear that this doctrine is false because it contradicts multiple Bible passages to the contrary.
One such passage is Ephesians 2:8-9, which explicitly states that salvation is a gift of God’s grace, received or attained exclusively through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by one’s own good works. It says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Another biblical text that contradicts the claim that salvation is obtained by faith and good works is Romans 5:1-2, which clearly identifies faith in Jesus Christ as the exclusive means by which believers stand justified before God and have access to His grace. It says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
A third biblical text that contradicts the claim that salvation is granted through faith and good works is Titus 3:4-7, which unequivocally excludes good works as a means of obtaining salvation and justification before God. It reads, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Therefore, since Scripture clearly teaches that salvation is a gift of God’s grace attained through faith and not works, the claim that salvation is through faith and works is false because it contradicts the Bible’s consistent teaching on redemption.
Next, when considering the claim that Jesus was not God but only human, Scripture proves it heretical by revealing its inconsistency with the Bible’s overall message about Jesus and, more specifically, the New Testament’s declaration that Jesus was fully God and fully human.
One such revelation is found in 1 Timothy 3:16, which distinctly describes Jesus Christ and depicts Him as God in human form. It states, “God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.”
Another portion of Scripture that identifies Jesus as both God and human is found in Titus 2, which describes Him as “our great God and Savior” who came to bring salvation to all men and will return again in glory. 2 Timothy 2:11-14 proclaims, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
Additional verses that identify Jesus as God and human are in Romans, Colossians, and Philippians. Romans 9:5 states, “According to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.” Colossians 2:9 declares, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Lastly, Philippians 2:6-8 says (of Jesus), “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
I hope this information equips you to identify false and heretical doctrine by examining whether it contradicts any biblical passage(s) related to its claim, is inconsistent with some or all of Scripture as a whole, or both.
