Foundations of Faith
SALVATION (I)
In the last three issues we have discussed the basis of salvation, namely, atonement, or the sufferings and death of Christ for our sins. We learned that Jesus Christ “is the propitiation for … the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Does this mean that the whole world is automatically saved? No, the Bible speaks of sinners who will spend eternity in the lake of fire (Mark 9:43; Rev. 20:15).
What, then, must we do to be saved? The jailer at Philippi asked this question and the Apostle Paul responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31). In this issue we shall discuss what it means to “believe on” or “have faith in” the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall also discuss the meaning of “repentance” which is often connected with faith as something required for salvation.
What is faith? Here is what my Webster’s New World Dictionary says:”Faith implies complete, unquestioning acceptance of something … especially of something not supported by reason.” This is not at all what the Bible means by “faith.” Biblical faith is not blind faith, that is, believing things that are unreasonable and unsupported by evidence. To the contrary, there is much strong, convincing evidence for the things that we read in the Bible (Feb93-May93).
Here is what the Bible says about faith:”Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). In other words, faith is accepting as true things that we may not be able to observe with our own senses. None of us has actually seen George Washington but very few will doubt that he lived and was our country’s first president. Why? Because there are many reliable sources of evidence to attest to those facts. So it is with the Bible.
What is it that we must believe in order to be saved? Surely we must believe in the existence of God (Heb. 11:6). But that is not enough, for “the devils also believe [that there is one God], and tremble” (Jas. 2:19). In addition, we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, came down from heaven to become a Man, lived a perfect life on earth, suffered, bled and died for our sins, and was buried and rose again the third day (1 Cor. 15:3,4).
It is not enough, however, simply to accept in our minds that these facts about the Lord Jesus Christ are true. Faith or belief also includes the concept of trust and dependence. I may believe that Karl Wallenda, the world-famous aerialist, is able to walk on a wire stretched between the two walls of a canyon carrying a grown person on his back. But am I willing to put that faith into action by entrusting myself to Mr. Wallenda’s skill and balance?
There is a difference between “believing in” and “believing on.” When a father tells his son, “I believe in you,” it means that he believes his son is telling the truth or capable of accomplishing a certain deed. When i tell the Lord Jesus, “I believe on you,” it means that I am placing my full trust and dependence upon Him. Saving faith, then, is placing our trust for eternal salvation totally upon the Lord Jesus Christ and the work of atonement that He completed on the cross. This is why (with the correct translation) there are over 50 verses in the New Testament that refer to our “believing on” the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation (John 1:12:3:18,36; 6:35; Acts 16:31; Phil. 1:29. etc.; also John 3:16 in which “in” should be translated “on” in the KJV).
At this point, it needs to be made absolutely clear that salvation is not produced by our works, whether our good deeds, our baptism, our confirmation, our church attendance, our prayers, our penance, or our service. After telling us that we are saved through faith by God’s grace (that is, favor shown to us who deserve the opposite), the Apostle Paul adds for emphasis, “Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9). (See Assignment 4)
Many people are wrongly taught that Christ did His part (died on the cross) and we need to do our part (good deeds). A related teaching is that we are saved by trusting in the finished work of Christ and we are kept saved by keeping the works of the law. The Apostle Paul tried to correct this wrong teaching:”Having begun in the Spirit [by faith], are you now made perfect by [the works of the law]?” (Gal. 3:2-12).
But what about the passage that argues that “faith without works is dead” (Jas. 2:14-26)? The key to this passage is in verse 14, “Though a man say he has faith.” If one says to you “I am a born-again Christian,” but shows absolutely no evidence in his life of the fruit of being saved (Gal. 5:22,23, for example), it may be appropriate for you to question that person’s faith. In such cases we can take comfort in the fact that “the Lord knows those who are His” (2 Tim. 2:19).
The Lord Jesus said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). “The Lord is … not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). The apostles called upon sinners to “repent” (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30).
What does “repentance” mean? It refers to the changing of one’s mind. In our unsaved state we were either unconcerned about our sins or we counted upon our good deeds to outweigh the bad ones in God’s eyes. “Repentance” refers to our acceptance of the biblical truth that we were lost (Luke 19:10), “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), and deserving of God’s judgment because of our sins.
Therefore, we see that repentance and faith go hand in hand. Before we can properly exercise faith or trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, we must come to repentance, realizing that we are lost and in need of a Saviour. Repentance and faith are joined together in Mark 1:15 and Acts 20 21.
Neither repentance nor faith stop with our becoming saved. Believers are called upon to trust in the Lord throughout their lives (Prov. 3:5,6; 2 Cor. 1:9; 1 Tim. 6:17). “Faith” is both a fruit (Gal. 5:22) and a gift (1 Cor. 12:9) of the Spirit. Likewise, believers are called upon to repent and turn away from their sins (2 Cor. 12:21; Rev. 2:5,16; 3:3). The more we grow in our knowledge of Christ, the more we will become aware of sin and failure in our lives, and the more we will repent of and turn away from those sins.
Running the Race
Assignment 4: Write out a verse in each of Romans 3, Galatians 2, and Titus 3 that says that we are not saved or justified by works or deeds of the law.