Faith Alone

I saw a poster which read "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian, believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and rose again, does." Now I have a problem with this statement because it doesn't define 'believe.' Even the demons believe but are they saved? How to believe was also debated during the apostles time and James answered fairly definitively;

“What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them ' Go in peace, be warmed and filled' without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has not works, is dead.
But some one will say, 'You have your faith and I have works.'Show me your faith apart from your works and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well, Even the demons believe... and they shudder.” James 2:14-19 RSV

Belief is only the first step, by itself, it is not sufficient. Belief needs right action. The depth of our belief and our relationship with God is demonstrated by our relationships with the people He brings to us, not by the things we claim to do in His name.

Matthew 7:21-23 RSV “Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.”
Jesus elaborates on this teaching with the parable of the goats and sheep in Matthew 25 :31-46. Both groups addressed Him as Lord, but only the group which helped those in need were commended, the others were separated from Him for eternity. Jesus tells us when we help anyone, we help him.

We need our initial faith to believe in Him and accept what He has done for us, but we have to keep renewing that faith daily, hourly, minutely. (“Lord, I believe, help my unbelief' Mark 9:24 KJV). Thinking our initial acceptance of God's grace is going to last the rest of our lives is like thinking our one and only introductory, free visit to the gym is going to keep us fit for the rest of our lives. Following Christ is hard work and maintaining faith is difficult, it's a work out. But we persevere and as we get stronger in faith we are expected to do more. As Jesus told his disciples “Freely ye have received , freely give.” Matt 10:8 KJV
Salvation and works are joined together.

“Once saved, always saved” is a heresy which can lead people to selfishness and separation from God. Our salvation is ongoing. Any time we are free to reject all that which God wants for us. No one forces us to accept the gift and no one forces us to keep it. We demonstrate our acceptance or rejection by our actions... everything we do in relationship to others.

'Saved by faith alone.' is also heretical. Martin Luther developed that dogma at the time of the reformation. He also wanted to ignore the Book of James because it contradicted him. The only place in the Bible where 'faith' and 'alone' are together (at least in the KJV) is James 2:17 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”