Yesterday I asked these questions:

Do you think that most people think “faith alone” excludes the thing the commenter mentions? Or do most people think that saving faith includes a certain response?

The commenter I referred to had listed “repentance, confession, baptism, or anything else.” I would argue that I have yet to meet anyone who felt that “faith alone” didn’t require some response. Most base that belief on verses like Romans 10:9

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”

I’ve generally heard it taught that there needs to be some response, be it a praying of the sinner’s prayer or a public confession of faith. Few would believe in salvation of an unrepentant person. Believing in Jesus involves some change, some response.

Where the debate comes in, in my experience, is what form that response needs to take. I’m among those who believes that the biblical response includes immersion; that view is not held by all, and is, in fact, rejected by many.

Is a faith that doesn’t respond truly faith? If you strictly believe that it is, then your view of “faith alone” excludes the need for the things listed above. If you feel that faith that doesn’t respond is sterile, then I would guess “faith alone” doesn’t mean “intellectual assent alone” to you.

I want to keep unpacking these ideas. What are your thoughts on the subject?