Is salvation faith plus nothing according to this teaching?
Salvation is faith plus nothing, with no human energy and no human merit. Entry into Christ Jesus is not gained by walking in the flesh or by walking in the Spirit; that is not what brought believers into the Body of Christ. Adding such a condition to verse 1 would contradict salvation by faith plus nothing.
Les teaches that salvation is faith plus nothing—no human energy, no human merit. He argues that the phrase “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” does not belong in verse 1, because if it did, it would make entrance into Christ Jesus depend on not walking in the flesh and walking in the Spirit. That, he says, is not what got us into the Body of Christ. The earliest manuscripts omit it, and Bible scholars agree. In verse 4 the phrase fits: because God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and condemned old Adam, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in those who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.