This is a new installment in the series by Greg Schliesmann.
My previous posts in this series referenced dozens of passages that prove there is a particular message called “the gospel” in the New Testament that the lost must believe in order to be saved. I would like to offer a second line of proof to support the same point.
Early in my Christian life, I was struck by the number of passages that predicate salvation/eternal life upon the single condition of faith. There are 85 instances in 61 different verses that I would say explicitly predicate salvation upon the sole condition of faith in the New Testament:
Matthew 21:31-32 (3x); Luke 7:48-50; 8:12; John 1:12-13; 3:15, 16, 18 (3x), 36 (2x); 5:24; 6:35, 39-40, 47; 7:38-39 (2x); 8:24; 11:25-27 (4x), 40; 17:20-21; 20:31 (2x); Acts 10:43-44; 11:17 (should be translated “when they believed”); 13:39, 48; 15:8-9; 16:31; 26:18; Romans 1:16; 3:19-26 (4x), 28, 30 (2x); 4:3, 4-5, 6-11 (3x), 13, 16 (2x), 21-22, 23-25; 5:1; 9:30-32 (2x); 10:3-4, 9-10, 11; 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 2:16 (3x); 3:1-2, 6, 8-9 (2x), 11, 14, 22, 23-29 (2x); Ephesians 1:13-14; 2:8-9; Philippians 3:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:10; 2:12; 1 Timothy 1:16; 1 John 5:1, 4-5, 9-13 (3x).
I found that these verses supported the conclusion that salvation was by faith alone. Having been so encouraged by them, I created this list of verses, which I can still recite from memory. These verses encouraged me when I was challenged by different arguments for salvation by works.
Memorizing the verses above also gave me a perspective on the way Scripture describes the object of faith for salvation. Forty of these were spoken within the Church Age about salvation in the Church Age. Believers may be interested to know that the object of faith is described in various ways in these passages—
“the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:31)
“He who justifieth the ungodly” (Rom. 4:5)
“on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom. 4:24)
“that God hath raised Him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9-10)
“the preaching of the cross” (1 Cor. 1:18)
“the foolishness of preaching” (1 Cor. 1:21)
“our testimony” (2 Thess. 1:10)
“that Jesus is the Son of God—This is He that came by water and by blood” (1 John 5:5-6)
“the Son of God” (1 John 5:10)
Some passages just use “believe” intransitively (e.g. Acts 13:39, 48; Gal. 3:22) or “faith,” without specifying the object (e.g. Rom. 3:28; 5:1; Eph. 2:8), though of course the object of faith is implied.
What I want to point out specifically, though, is that several of these passages (6 of 40) use the term “the gospel” to describe what is believed for salvation. Consider the following verses:
“And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith,” (Acts 15:7-9; cf. Acts 11:14-17).
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek,” (Romans 1:16)
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” (Ephesians 1:13).
Furthermore, notice that each of the following passages predicates salvation upon believing the gospel both positively and negatively (belief in the gospel is what separates the saved from the lost):
“For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness,” (1 Corinthians 1:17-23).
“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them,” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day,” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10).
The same truth is taught in many other passages, which teach sola fide implicitly (e.g. see Romans 10:16; 1 Cor. 4:15; 15:1; Gal. 1:6; Col. 1:5; 1:23; 2 Thes. 2:14; 2 Tim. 1:10; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 4:17).
Crossless gospel proponents have pointed out that many passages share the threads of 1) belief 2) in Jesus 3) results in eternal life. Please notice that the same threads are found in respect to the gospel: 1) belief 2) in the gospel 3) results in salvation/eternal life.
Some passages indicate both positively and negatively that belief in God’s only begotten Son is the condition for eternal life (e.g. John 3:18). The same point is made with respect to the gospel (e.g. 1 Cor. 1:17-23; 2 Cor. 4:3-4; 2 Thes. 1:8-10).
Some passages indicate that a person is born again through belief in the name of the eternal Word (John 1:12). Others indicate a person is born again through the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15).
Contrary to the claims of Crossless gospel proponents, there is no contradiction between believing the gospel and believing in Jesus Christ. The gospel is the necessary content of that faith in Christ. There are many different versions of “Jesus.” The true Jesus is identified and apprehended by the truths of the gospel: He is the Son of God who came in the flesh, died for our sins, and rose again to reconcile us to God by faith in Him alone.
GS
Excellent work again Greg. Thanks for using the word to expose the truth of the Gospel.
ReplyDeleteBret
Hi Bret:
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking in. FYI, I am in Dallas this week on business. Great hotel, and I am able to look in from here.
What I appreciate most about Greg's articles is that he speaks to the issues from the standpoint of what the Bible says.
The Scriptures are his and the final authority.
Take care,
Lou
An excellent and encouraging article. I find 1 Corinthians 1:17-23 to be particularly persuasive for a couple of reasons.
ReplyDelete1st, Paul uses "preach the gospel" interchangeably with "preaching of the cross" which indicates "the gospel" he's referring to is a somewhat specific message.
2nd, the passage to vs 25 continues to highlight the cross as essential -to-believe content of that message even though it's known foolishness and a stumbling block. To be consistent, Redefined Free Grace advocates like Antonio would have to say also of Paul "It is a fact that you may have turned such a one away from eternal life."
(I don't remember the exact context of this quote from Antonio, can either of you shed some light? I recall that he said it to Greg when Greg said he was trying to prove to a Jewish man that Jesus/the Messiah was deity.)
Stephen
Stepehn
ReplyDeleteYes, that was Antonio and it appears in one of his articles.
From my present location I am not able to locate it at this time, but that is what Antonio wrote.
LM
Stephen, those are good points that you made.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very significant that the fact he interchanges "the gospel" with the "message of the cross" indicates that the gospel is a specific message. This fact contradicts both the GES position and the Lordship position. This usage of the term "the gospel" does not refer to general Christian truth or discipleship teachings like the Sermon on the Mount. This "good news" focuses on what Christ has done for us so we could be saved, not what we must do for him.
Your second point is also important. Crossless gospel advocates have argued the cross is the best apologetic for believing in Jesus. Hodges said that it is important "especially in America" where people are "unlikely" to believe in Christ without the message of the cross. They teach we should preach the cross insomuch as it is an effective apologetic for believing in Christ. But the fact is, Scripture teaches that the message of the cross is a "stumblingblock".
So, if the cross (i.e., the message of Christ's death for our sins and resurrection) is effective as an apologetic but not essential to be believed for salvation, what happens when people do not like the message of the cross? And why did Paul insist on preaching the cross even though it was a stumblingblock rather than a generally effective apologetic? Many people have asked this question and no crossless advocates have even tried to answer it so far.
According to Antonio, issues such as the cross and Christ's deity are to be put on the "backburner" in an "evangelistic" situation if they are not appealing to the audience. Like you said, Antonio accused me of leading a Jew away from eternal life because I showed him an OT prophecy that said the Messiah is eternal (i.e., Deity).
I referenced in the "Christ Under Siege" article:
[7] In a thread at the blog site of GES that was removed by GES without explanation, I stated: "Three days ago I witnessed to an Orthodox Jew in the parking lot of a grocery store. He told me that in Jewish theology, it is impossible for someone to be God and a man. The first verse I showed him was Micah 5:2. He looked at [it] for a minute quietly before responding..."
Due to this statement, GES apologist Antonio da Rosa replied, "It is a fact that you may have turned such a one away from eternal life.
I have the post saved on my pc.
Hi Greg,
ReplyDeleteTo the honest and approved student of God's Word (2 Tim. 2:15) your Scriptural study is simple and compelling.
Like yourself, one of the first Bible studies I ever conducted concerned the truth of justification by faith alone. I found that almost 250 times in the New Testament, eternal salvation is seen to be by faith alone! Following are the details of that study:
The Scriptures give ample evidence that faith alone is the sole condition for eternal salvation. Belief (the verb pisteuo) is stated to be the only condition for eternal salvation approximately 180 times in the New Testament. Faith (the noun pistis), which is but a synonym of belief, is stated to be the sole condition for eternal salvation over 60 times in the New Testament. Almost 250 times in the New Testament justification is seen to be by faith alone!
The verb “believe” is stated to be the sole condition for eternal salvation in the following texts:
Matthew
27:42
Mark
5:36; 15:32
Luke
8:12; 22:67
John
1:7; 1:12; 1:50; 2:11; 2:22; 3:15; 3:16; 3:18(2x); 3:36(2x); 4:21; 4:39; 4:41; 4:42; 4:48; 4:50; 4:53; 5:24; 5:38; 5:44; 5:46; 5:47(2x); 6:29; 6:30; 6:35; 6:36; 6:40; 6:47; 6:64; 6:69; 7:5; 7:31; 7:38; 7:39; 7:48; 8:24; 8:30; 8:31; 8:45; 8:46; 9:18; 9:35; 9:36; 9:38; 10:25; 10:26; 10:37; 10:38(3x); 10:42; 11:15; 11:25; 11:26(2x); 11:27; 11:40; 11:42; 11:45; 11:48; 12:11; 12:36; 12:37; 12:38; 12:42; 12:44; 12:46; 12:47; 13:19; 14:1; 14:10; 14:11(2x); 14:12; 14:29; 16:9; 16:27; 16:30; 16:31; 17:8; 17:20; 17:21; 19:35; 20:8; 20:25; 20:29(2x), 20:31(2x)
Acts
5:14; 8:37(2x); 9:42; 10:43; 11:17; 11:21; 13:12; 13:39; 13:48; 14:1; 14:23; 15:5; 15:7; 15:11; 16:31; 16:34; 17:12; 17:34; 18:8(2x); 18:27; 19:2; 19:4; 21:20; 21:25; 22:19
Romans
1:16; 3:3; 3:22; 4:3; 4:5; 4:11; 4:17; 4:18; 4:24; 6:8; 9:33; 10:4; 10:11; 10:14(2x); 10:16; 13:11; 15:13
1 Corinthians
1:21; 3:5; 14:22(2x); 15:11
2 Corinthians
4:4; 4:13
Galatians
2:16; 3:6; 3:22
Ephesians
1:13; 1:19
Philippians
1:29
1 Thessalonians
1:7; 2:10; 2:13; 4:14
2 Thessalonians
1:10; 2:11; 2:12
1 Timothy
1:16
Titus
3:8
Hebrews
4:3
James
2:23
1 Peter
1:8; 1:21; 2:6; 2:7
2 John
4:16; 5:1; 5:5; 5:10(3x); 5:13(2x)
Jude
5
The noun “faith” is stated to be the sole condition for eternal salvation in the following texts:
Matthew
9:2
Mark
2:5
Luke
5:20; 7:50
Acts
15:9; 26:18
Romans
1:17; 3:22; 3:25; 3:26; 3:27; 3:28; 3:30(2x); 3:31; 4:5; 4:9; 4:11; 4:13; 4:14; 4:16; 5:1; 5:2; 9:30; 9:32; 10:6; 10:17
1 Corinthians
15:14; 15:17
Galatians
2:16(2x); 2:20; 3:2; 3:5; 3:7; 3:8; 3:9; 3:11; 3:12; 3:14; 3:22; 3:23(2x); 3:24; 3:25; 3:26; 5:5; 6:10
Ephesians
1:15 ; 2:8; 3:12; 3:17
Philippians
3:9(2x)
Colossians
1:4 ; 2:5; 2:12
2 Thessalonians
3:2
2 Timothy
3:15
Hebrews
4:2; 11:6; 11:7; 12:2
1 Peter
1:5
The Scriptures clearly assert that salvation is through simple faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 16:30-31; 1 Cor. 15:1-5). The Gospel of John singularly testifies to the fact that belief in Jesus is the sole condition for eternal salvation. John's Gospel has over 90 references to the verb believe. What is the apostle John trying to say? He tells us in John 20:30-31:
"And truly Jesus [as crucified-and-risen] did many other [resurrection] signs in the presence of His disciples[cf. Acts 1:2-3, 10:38-43, etc.], which are not written in this book; but these [three resurrection signs which are written in this book] are written that you may believe that Jesus ["risen from the dead", Jn. 21:14, KJV] is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." (NKJV)
JP
Stephen/Greg/Jon:
ReplyDeleteYou wrote, "And why did Paul insist on preaching the cross even though it was a stumblingblock rather than a generally effective apologetic? Many people have asked this question and no crossless advocates have even tried to answer it so far."
I'll venture to say that the reason why Antonio da Rosa (aka- Sock Puppet: fg me)or any Crossless advocate will not answer this is because if they do so, in light of the obvious teaching of Scripture, they would have to abandon their Crossless interpretation of the Gospel.
However, I also believe they have been so deeply seared in their conscience and their allegiance to Hodges is so fierce they will not allow even the force of Scripture to motivate them to repent and be recovered to truth.
LM
Jon:
ReplyDeleteYou wrote, "The Scriptures clearly assert that salvation is through simple faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 16:30-31; 1 Cor. 15:1-5). The Gospel of John singularly testifies to the fact that belief in Jesus is the sole condition for eternal salvation. John's Gospel has over 90 references to the verb believe. What is the apostle John trying to say? He tells us in John 20:30-31:
"And truly Jesus [as crucified-and-risen] did many other [resurrection] signs in the presence of His disciples[cf. Acts 1:2-3, 10:38-43, etc.], which are not written in this book; but these [three resurrection signs which are written in this book] are written that you may believe that Jesus ['risen from the dead', Jn. 21:14, KJV] is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." (NKJV)
The simplicity of the meaning of these passages is a blessing to read.
It is tragic that the men who advocate the Redefined and Crossless gospel insist on tearing these plain truths down to an absurd reductionist view.
Lou
Hi JP,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the list. I agree with your conclusion.
The subject of the number of verses that teach sola fide is interesting to me. Lewis Sperry Chafer used to say that there are 150+ verses in the NT that teach sola fide. For a while, I searched for his list and couldn't find it. That's when I decided to make my own. I never could find 150+ verses that I thought were very explicit on sola fide.
However, my list started out longer than it is now, but as time went on, I took more and more of them out because I do not think they are speaking about salvation from hell (e.g. Eph. 1:19, 2Tim 3:15, Heb. 4:2, 11:6, 7, 12:2, ect.).
Here is how I divided my list:
NT passages that explicitly predicate salvation/eternal life upon faith alone:
Matthew 21:31-32 (3x); Luke 7:48-50; 8:12; John 1:12-13; 3:15, 16, 18 (3x), 36 (2x); 5:24; 6:35, 39-40, 47; 7:38-39 (2x); 8:24; 11:25-27 (4x), 40; 17:20-21; 20:31 (2x); Acts 10:43-44; 11:17 (should be translated “when they believed”); 13:39, 48; 15:8-9; 16:31; 26:18; Romans 1:16; 3:19-26 (4x), 28, 30 (2x); 4:3, 4-5, 6-11 (3x), 13, 16 (2x), 21-22, 23-25; 5:1; 9:30-32 (2x); 10:3-4, 9-10, 11; 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 2:16 (3x); 3:1-2, 6, 8-9 (2x), 11, 14, 22, 23-29 (2x); Ephesians 1:13-14; 2:8-9; Philippians 3:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:10; 2:12; 1 Timothy 1:16; 1 John 5:1, 4-5, 9-13 (3x).
NT passages that implicitly predicate salvation/eternal life upon faith alone:
Matthew 7:13-14; 8:13; 9:2, 12-13, 22, 27-29; 11:28; 13:14-15; 18:3, 6; 19:25-26; Mark 1:15; 2:5, 17; 4:12; 5:34, 36; 9:23, 42; 10:15, 24 (Majority Text), 27 (cf. 9:23), 52; Luke 5:20, 31-32; 8:48, 50; 10:29; 16:30-31; 17:19; 18:9-14, 17, 42; 23:39-43; John 1:7; 2:23; 4:10, 14, 39, 41, 42; 5:25, 33-34, 38, 40, 43, 46-47; 6:29, 36, 37, 44, 51, 53, 54, 57, 63-64; 8:30-31, 45-46; 9:35-38; 10:3-4, 7-9, 25-26, 38, 42; 11:42, 45; 12:37-42; 17:8, 20; 19:35; 20:29; Acts 4:4, 12; 5:14; 8:12, 13, 14, 37; 9:42; 11:14-18, 21; 13:12, 41, 46-47; 14:1, 15, 23, 27; 15:7, 11; 16:34; 17:2-5, 11-12, 30-31, 34; 18:27; 19:2, 4, 18; 20:21, 24; 21:20, 25; 24:14; 28:24, 25-28; Romans 3:27; 4:2; 5:15-21; 9:33; 10:6, 10, 16-17; 16:26; 1Corinthians 2:1-5; 3:5; 4:15; 15:14, 17; Ephesians 1:17-20; Colossians 2:12; 1Thessalonians 2:13; 4:14; 2Thessalonians 2:13; 1Timothy 3:16; 4:12; 5:16; 6:2; 2Timothy 1:12; Titus 3:5-8; Hebrews 11:6; James 1:17-18; 2:24 [note the word "only" in Greek is an adverb modifying justification, not an adjective modifying faith; it thus signifies there is a justification by works (before men) in addition to a justification by faith before God. compare to Romans 4:2]; 1Peter 1:18-21, 2:6-7; 2Peter 1:1, 1:5
I wrote this little description for the "implicit" list a while back:
These passages, which I say implicitly predicate everlasting life upon faith alone, do so in different ways, such as by using metaphors -- to "drink" the "water of life" (John 4:14), to "come" to Jesus (e.g. John 6:37), to "eat" the "Bread of Life" (John 6:51), and so on -- which all clearly speak of the simple response of faith in the contexts. Others implicitly predicate everlasting life upon faith alone in the negative sense -- indicating someone did not receive everlasting life because they would not believe (e.g. John 5:38, 40, 43, 46-47; Acts 13:41, 46-47 contrast with v. 48, ect.). Others simply indicate that when certain people heard the gospel, they believed (e.g. John 4:39, 41, 42, 45; 9:35-38; 12:42; Acts 4:4, ect.) -- and we know from other passages of Scripture, this clearly means they were saved. Some of these passages indicate that certain people remained carnal after they believed (e.g. John 12:42-43) without ever questioning their salvation (compare to John 3:16) or "qualifying" their faith like certain modern-day theologians do by saying they had "pseudo faith", "head faith", "intellectual faith", "insufficient faith", "unbeliever faith", or anything else.
If I were to go thru my "implicit" list again, I'd probably remove several of them from it too.
ReplyDeleteHi Lou,
ReplyDeleteGreg - yes, I concur. After submitting my comment I noticed that I had included John 2:22 in my list. When I initially did the study about ten years ago I did look into the context of each verse but I must not have realized that the disciples were saved prior to the resurrection of Jesus prophecied in John 2:22. So that would be one verse I would remove because I have come to realize that the disciples were eternally saved by John 2:11 and surely by John 13:10-11. I also agree with you concerning Hebrews 4:2 and 11:6 - and there are probably even more as well.
I find your list of implicit verses interesting. I noticed that at least one (and probably more) of your implicit verses I included in my list (e.g. Jn. 5:38).
I have thought about Chafer's statement like yourself - although from the other spectrum - as I had found more verses than his 150. It seems Chafer would fall somewhere between both of us, as his list is smaller than mine but larger than yours.
Thank you for your fine work.
In "Jesus . . . risen from the dead" (Jn. 21:14, KJV),
JP
Hello Men:
ReplyDeleteGood to read the interaction here.
It will probably be next week (midweek) that I will be posting a new article on a significant point of discussion on the Crossless Gospel.
This will be submitted by a pastor with a definite interest and voice in the debate.
Lou
PS: Amercian cancelled another 1,000 flights for Thursday, I'm grounded, but a nice hotel if I have to stay another night.
Hi
ReplyDeleteThis is a good study. Romans 3:26 comes to mind where it is distinctly said that it is not only faith but faith in His blood that brings the benefits of the propitiation (all that is included in the phrase eternal life
Regards,
Goodnightsafehome, thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteYes, Rom. 3:25 came to my mind as well when I first heard about these issues. However, this verse is not so definitive in that sense because Greek word order does not work like English. Therefore, both the following translations are legitimate:
KJV: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness
NKJV: whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness
I think, however, this verse contradicts crossless gospel advocates from another angle.
First of all, if no object for the "faith" is directly specified, it is still implied to be Christ the propitiation.
Secondly, Christ HIMSELF is the propitiation. Christ cannot be disconnected from his work and the benefits of His work. One of the common things crossless gospel advocates say is that we need to believe in a "person, not a work". This is a false dichotomy. Christ is the lamb of God, meaning He was the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. He is the propitiation through His blood, meaning His death satisfied God in regards to our sins. His death was sufficient. Christ cannot be separated from that work. Likewise, we are told in 1John 2:2:
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Christ's work on the cross is, in an important sense, inseparable from His Person. That's why Christ Himself is the propitiation for our sins.
I believe this point is also foundational to a third thing that contradicts crossless gospel advocates. Most crossless gospel advocates argue that Christ totally removed all of the sins of the world by His death on the cross so that none of the lost will ever be punished for his sins. Of course, so many verses come to mind that clearly contradict this (e.g. John 8:24; Rom. 2:5-12; Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 3:6; ect.) But the point is, that Christ Himself is the propitiation. Christ made a full propitiatary payment for the sins of the whole world, but if a person is not in Christ, he is separated from this propitiation, still in his own sins (Eph. 1:7; 2:1, 5, 13-14; 2Cor. 5:20-21; Col. 1:14).
-- Greg
Dear Guests:
ReplyDeleteJon Perrault has expanded on a comment he posted in this thread and developed it into an article at his blog.
I encourage you to read, Jim Johnson's Denial of Truth Continues
LM
Hello Colin, (goodnightsafehome)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Rom 3:26 but Zane Hodges and the Redefined Free Grace camp have a view of Rom 3:25-26 that redefines "his blood" to fit their theology. Oh surprise. Rachel has written what I think is a fairly good response from our side of the debate.
Stephen