Unity Without Compromise with Dr. Steven LaTulippe – Some say baptism is not essential to conversion. Likewise, repentance and obedience to the faith are optional because they hint of works, and we cannot earn our way to heaven. Salvation comes by God’s grace, through our faith. But not by faith alone. This is explicitly stated in James 2:24: “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”