They Mean : “We are Saved by God’s Grace, which is conditional, through faith, a System of Faith and Work of Obedience plus Works of Obedience found in the New Testament Pattern.”

Salvation = Conditional Grace ＋ Work of Obedience ＋ Works of Obedience

Salvation is not faith alone because faith is a system requiring Works of Obedience requiring more Works of Obedience to complete and maintain salvation because God’s grace is conditional.

They believe faith alone is insufficient because faith is a Work of Obedience which is only the starting point of the Plan of Salvation. Those who are faith alone are just doing a Work of Obedience plus Works of Merit without doing the Works of Obedience necessary to complete the Plan of Salvation. They are not saved by faith ＋ good works because good works are Works of Merit, they are fulfilling Works of Obedience.

They do not believe we are saved by Works of the Law because Works of the Law are Old Testament commands, We only fulfill New Testament commands.

There are 3 categories of works, only Works of Obedience done correct and in order result in salvation.

• Works of the Law
  • Observing Old Testament rituals
  • Performing good deeds apart from baptism and faith with the idea that they earn God’s favor.
  • Moral living alone without submitting to the NT pattern.
  • Religious rituals invented by men to gain acceptance with God.
• Works of Merit
  • Fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience)
  • Acts of kindness
  • Charitable deeds beyond the NT pattern
• Works of Obedience
  • Faith (believing), repentance, confession, baptism, remaining faithful: The Plan of Salvation.
  • 5 Acts of Worship (singing, praying, preaching, Lord’s Supper, giving)
  • Other New Testament Pattern Commands
    • Male leadership
    • Autonomous Congregation
    • Rejection of Creeds and Counsels

Therefore, “We Are Saved By Grace Through Faith And Obedience to the Gospel,” means:

“We are saved because God gracefully and mercifully gave us the New Testament Pattern which contains the 5 step Plan of Salvation and the 5 Acts of Worship, the System of Faith. We can obtain salvation by choosing to obey the System of Faith, which are Works of Obedience, and our decision to fulfill the Works of Obedience commanded in the The Testament Pattern.”

Therefore, we can save ourselves by meeting the conditions set forth by God’s grace located in the Plan of Salvation:

Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, Be Baptized.

We remain faithful and maintain our salvation by continuing to fulfill the 5 Acts of Worship found in the New Testament Pattern:

Singing Acapella, Praying, Preaching, Weekly Lord’s Supper, and Giving to the Offering.

As well as other commands withing the New Testament which can include but are not limited to:

• Baptism by immersion for salvation.
• Male-only leadership in the public assembly.
• Mandatory plurality of elders in each congregation.
• Presence of deacons serving under elders.
• Strict congregational autonomy (no denominational structure).
• Weekly Lord’s Day assembly on the first day of the week.
• Weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper.
• A cappella singing only.
• Giving only on the first day of the week.
• Silence of Scripture treated as prohibitive regulative hermeneutic.
• No female teachers or preachers over men.
• Closed or semi-closed fellowship with only scripturally organized congregations.
• Rejection of creeds and confessions.
• No clergy/laity distinction; all ministers considered evangelists, not pastors.
• Evangelist authority rooted only in NT examples, not in church tradition.
• No religious titles, Reverend, Pastor, Father.
• No organized ministries or institutions without explicit NT precedent.
• No communion outside the assembled church.
• No special holy days except Sunday.
• No instrumental accompaniment, choirs, or “special music.”

Refuting This Phrase

Campbellite Church of Christ members are often trained to debate defensively and performatively; the goal of a public argument is to look correct to other CoC members, non-believers, and Christians unfamiliar with Christianity. Instead, focus on clarifying definitions, exposing internal logic, and highlighting contradictions for anyone listening. Therefore when discussing the phrase, “We are saved by grace through faith and obedience to the Gospel,” your goal is to engage Churches of Christ members in a way that doesn’t escalate into a propagandistic debate, shift from trying to win to planting seeds of critical thinking that others can observe and evaluate.

Before engaging, you need to be familiar with their internal logic. In Churches of Christ theology:

• Faith is treated as a Work of Obedience. It is something the believer performs to activate salvation.
• Grace is conditional.
• Salvation is conditional on performing the Plan of Salvation (faith, repentance, confession, baptism, and remaining faithful).
• Works of Obedience extend beyond the Plan to worship, leadership, and congregational rules.
• Works of Merit are optional good deeds or spiritual fruits, evidence of faith but not necessary for salvation.
• Works of the Law (Old Testament rituals or man-made practices) are explicitly rejected.
• The Holy Spirit is minimized in their system. Spiritual transformation is largely externalized into ritual and behavioral adherence rather than internal conviction or empowerment.

Focus on internal logic and observable consequences, not debate or confrontation.

1. Clarify Terms
   • Ask them to define: faith, grace, obedience, and salvation.
   • Ask: “If faith is a Work of Obedience, where does it come from? Does God give it, or is it produced by the believer?”
   • Point out that Scripture describes faith as a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8), which contrasts with their definition of faith as a human action.
2. Expose Rhetorical Strategy
   • Highlight how the phrase “saved by grace through faith and obedience” uses biblical language to sound orthodox while inserting works based conditions.
   • Ask: “Do you see how adding ‘obedience’ changes the meaning of grace and faith compared to the rest of Scripture?”
3. Use the Three Categories of Works
   • Works of Obedience: Required NT actions such as faith, repentance, confession, baptism, Acts of Worship, and congregational compliance.
   • Works of Merit: Optional good deeds, charitable acts, Fruits of the Spirit.
   • Works of the Law: Rejected human attempts to earn righteousness outside the NT pattern.
   • Ask: “If faith is already a Work of Obedience, how is it different from Works of Merit?”
   • Ask: “If someone performs all required Works of Obedience but lacks inward conviction, are they saved?”
4. Highlight the Absence of the Holy Spirit
   • Point out that in their system, transformation is externalized into ritual compliance.
   • Ask: “Where does the Holy Spirit fit into your system of salvation?”
   • Ask: “If someone faithfully follows all the Works of Obedience but lacks love, joy, or peace, how does the Spirit play a role in their salvation?”
   • Observers will notice that spiritual transformation is minimized, and salvation is treated as procedural rather than relational.
5. Scriptural Anchors
   • Use verses that describe salvation and faith as gifts:
     • Ephesians 2:8–9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
     • Galatians 2:16 – “A person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.”
     • Romans 3:28 – “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”
   • Ask: “How does counting faith as a Work of Obedience align with these passages?”

Ask questions to plant seeds for observers when you go over these phrases. The goal is to make contradictions visible to anyone listening, rather than to just win the member.

• “If someone misses a required Act of Worship, what happens to their salvation?”
• “If someone performs all the Works of Obedience but has no inner love or conviction, are they still saved?”
• “Faith is counted as a work, how can faith be both a human action and a gift from God?”
• “Does God accept obedience done imperfectly, or must it be perfect to maintain salvation?”
• “Where does the Holy Spirit act in your plan of salvation?”
• “If salvation requires continuous compliance, how can anyone have assurance of salvation?”
• “If someone performs a Work of Obedience incorrectly, does that negate their salvation?”