This is a L O N G post, and yt it contains no information anywhere near enough to touch on even the borders of this subject. My prayer is that I have written and referenced enough for you to become a Berean and dig deeply into the subject on your own.
COMMENT
Before starting any discussion or study on what saving faith in Jesus Christ is, it helps to define the key terms.
Faith. True saving faith, as often explained, has three components: knowledge of the content of faith (notitia), assent to the truthfulness of what is claimed (assensus), and personal trust not simply that Christ died for sinners but that he died to save me (fiducia). Martin *Luther distinguished faith that results in *salvation from “works of love.” He believed that if love is necessary for saving faith, then reliance on human *merit, rather than the merit of Christ’s *atonement, is implied. While agreeing with Luther’s emphasis on justification by faith alone (sola fide), John *Calvin located the basis for faith in God’s *election, with a necessary link between faith and love in *sanctification. He emphasized that *assurance of salvation comes from trusting in God’s covenant promises.
Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013), 51.
SALVATION. A blessed word of a most blessed doctrine founded in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is JEHOVAH’S salvation to the ends of the earth. (Isa. 49:6.) I refer the reader to the article Redeemer for the several features of salvation. And in addition to what is there said, I would just beg to observe that the thing itself meets poor lost souls so many ways, and answereth to their wants in such a variety of purposes, that it is always blessed to meditate upon it.
The term salvation implies somewhat more than a state of recovery from a state in which before the sinner was lost, but it includes every thing that is blessed in that state of recovery. The lost soul is not only brought out of bondage and the shadow of death, but brought into the liberty of the sons of God. So that in salvation is meant a release from all evil, and an introduction into all that is good. A right and interest in all temporal, spiritual and eternal blessings, is the sure consequence. Everlasting life, with all its preliminaries, for it hath the promise of “the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”
And what endears salvation yet more, is the consideration of the almighty and all-loving author of it, and by whom it was accomplished. What he is in himself, in the glories of his person, his greatness, fitness, suitability, and all-sufficiency; what he is in his work, and what he hath done for his redeemed, the salvation he hath wrought beyond all conception of value in its completeness, and beyond all reach of extent in its efficacy, being like himself, everlasting and eternal; and what he is in his relations to his people, being their everlasting Father, Brother, Husband, Friend—all these things, included as they all are in salvation, give the happy partakers of it “a joy unspeakable and full of glory; so that every individual finds cause to join in the hymn of the church, and say: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation: he is a rock, his work is perfect, just and right is he.” (Isa. 61:10.)
Robert Hawker, The Poor Man’s Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures (London: Ebenezer Palmer, 1828), 799–800.
The question of what must I do to be saved is posed a number of times in various ways in the Bible. Two of the most familiar can be found in Acts 16:30, when the jailer poses the question to Paul and Silas:
(AMP) 25 But about midnight when Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 suddenly there was a great earthquake, so [powerful] that the very foundations of the prison were shaken and at once all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27 When the jailer, shaken out of sleep, saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, saying, “Do not hurt yourself, we are all here!” 29 Then the jailer called for torches and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out [of the inner prison], he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him], and you will be saved, you and your household [if they also believe].” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ] to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their bloody wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 Then he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, since he had believed in God with his entire family [accepting with joy what had been made known to them about the Christ].
The next is when Jesus answers the murmuring crowd in John 6:47:
(AMP) 41 Now the Jews murmured and found fault with Him because He said, “I am the Bread that came down out of heaven.” 42 They kept saying, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now [have the arrogance to] say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?” 43 So Jesus answered, “Stop murmuring among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him [giving him the desire to come to Me]; and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He [who was with the Father and] who is from God; He [alone] has seen the Father. 47 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he who believes [in Me as Savior—whoever adheres to, trusts in, relies on, and has faith in Me—already] has eternal life [that is, now possesses it]. 48 I am the Bread of Life [the Living Bread which gives and sustains life]. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the Bread that comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the Living Bread that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread [believes in Me, accepts Me as Savior], he will live forever. And the Bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh (body).”
True faith is a threefold sequence of acts. The first is trust; one must trust that the Bible is the Holy Word of God. Trust that all mankind are sinners in need of repentance. Trust that Jesus is the only path to redemption/salvation from our sin. Second, we must obey: heed the Holy Spirit’s urging, confess our sin, cry out for forgiveness, and declare Christ as Lord and Savior. There is no halfway here; Christ must rule our lives, or what we are declaring is a watered-down faith. Finally, there is change: we must show outward signs of a reformed life. Every year, there are great crusades, revivals, call them what you will. Large numbers go forward to the altar call, only responding to an emotional urge, a false faith, not the urging of the Holy Spirit. How can I/we make such a claim? Look at their threefold faith; they may have one or two folds, but rarely all three. 😢
True saving faith requires Christ as redeemer and Lord. The two are inseparable. You can claim you are saved and not have Christ as Lord, but you are fooling only yourself.
I have also added a STUDY section on “Religion.” I think it is helpful here to see how differing “religions” define or fail to define their beliefs. Also, it is very possible to be religious and not have an inkling of saving faith.
STUDY
Saving Faith: (J.C. Ryle, “Do You Believe?”)
Lordship Salvation vs. Non-Lordship Salvation
Faith That Does Not Save: Counterfeits of Saving Faith
Christianity vs. Other Religions
RELIGION. The word ‘religion’ came into Eng. from the Vulg., where religio is in a 13th-century paraphrase of Jas. 1:26f. In Acts 26:5 it denotes Judaism (cf. Gal. 1:13f.). Here and in the Apocrypha, thrēskeia refers to the outward expression of belief, not the content, as when we contrast the Christian religion with Buddhism. RSV uses the word, however, in something approaching this sense in 1 Tim. 3:16, to translate Gk. eusebeia (AV ‘godliness’), and in 2 Tim. 3:5, where again our instinct would be to use the word ‘Christianity’. Because of the association of thrēskeia with Judaism, James’ use is probably ironical. The things which he calls the elements of ’thrēskeia that is pure and undefiled’ would not in the view of his opponents, who restricted it to ritual, have counted as thrēskeia at all.
Hesitance today in using the word ‘religion’ either of the content of the Christian faith or of its expression in worship and service, is due to the conviction that Christianity is not simply one among many religions, but differs from all others in that its content is divinely revealed and its outward expression by believers is not an attempt to secure salvation but a thank-offering for it.
J. B. Job, “Religion,” in New Bible Dictionary, ed. D. R. W. Wood et al. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 1007.
RELIGION.
False: Deut. 32:31–33. See IDOLATRY; INTOLERANCE; TEACHERS, FALSE.
Family: See FAMILY.
National: Supported by taxes, Ex. 30:11–16; 38:26. Priests supported by the State, 1 Kin. 18:19; 2 Chr. 11:13–15. Subverted by Jeroboam, 1 Kin. 12:26–33; 2 Chr. 11:13–15. Established by Jeroboam, 1 Kin. 12:26–33.
Natural: Job 12:7–16; Job 35:10–12; Job 37:1–24; Psa. 8:1–9; Psa. 19:1–6; Acts 14:17; Acts 17:23–28; Rom. 1:18–20; Rom. 10:16–18 See REVIVALS.
True: Matt. 5:1–48; Matt. 6:1–34; Matt. 7:1–29; Matt. 22:36–40; Acts 10:34, 35; Rom. 8:1–18; Rom. 10:1–13; Rom. 12:1–21; 1 Cor. 13:1–13; Gal. 5:22–25; 1 Thess. 5:15–23; Jas. 1:27; Jas. 2:8–26; 2 Pet. 1:5–9; Jude 20, 21 See BLESSINGS, SPIRITUAL; COMMANDMENTS; DUTY; GRACES; FORMALISM; REGENERATION; REPENTANCE; SANCTIFICATION; SIN, FORGIVENESS OF.
Instances of Conspicuously Religious Persons: Abel, Gen. 4:4–8; Heb. 11:4. Noah, Gen. 6–9. Abraham, Gen. 12:1–8; 15; 17; 18:22–33. Jacob, Gen. 28:10–22; 32:24–32. Moses, Ex. 3:2–22; Deut. 32; 33. Jethro, Ex. 18:12. Joshua, Josh. 1. Gideon, Judg. 6; 7. Samuel, 1 Sam. 3. David, see PSALMS OF DAVID. Solomon, 1 Kin. 5:3–5; 2 Chr. 6. Jehu, 2 Kin. 10:16–30. Hezekiah, 2 Kin. 18:3–7; 19:14–19. Jehoshaphat, 2 Chr. 17:3–9; 19; 20. Jabez, 1 Chr. 4:9, 10. Asa, 2 Chr. 14; 15. Josiah, 2 Kin. 22; 23. Daniel, Dan. 6:4–22. The three Hebrews, Dan. 3. Zacharias, Luke 1:13, 67–79. Simeon, Luke 2:25–35. Anna, the prophetess, Luke 2:36, 37. The centurion, Luke 7:1–10. Cornelius, Acts 10. Eunice and Lois, 2 Tim. 1:5. See, for additional instances, each of the apostles, disciples, and JOHN; PAUL; PETER; STEPHEN; also each of the prophets.
James Swanson and Orville Nave, New Nave’s Topical Bible (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, 1994).
“CHRISTIANITY AND THE WORLD RELIGIONS/’A RECENT VATICAN DOCUMENT
False religion
The worship of anything that is not God, including any form of religion that fails to do justice to the glory and majesty of God. Scripture criticises both the practices and the beliefs of false religions.
The nature of false religion: Man-made images are worshipped Ac 17:29 See also Dt 4:28; Ps 115:4-7; 135:15-17; Isa 44:10-20; Jer 10:3-5; 16:20; Da 3:4-7; Ac 19:26
Created things are worshipped Ro 1:25 See also 2Ki 21:3 pp 2Ch 33:5; Jer 8:2; 19:13; Eze 8:16
Secular authorities are worshipped Rev 13:4 The dragon in Revelation may be understood as the devil and the beast as the antichrist: the forces at work behind the human authorities that defy the rule of God. See also Ac 12:21-23; Rev 13:8,12
Demons are worshipped Dt 32:17 See also Lev 17:7 fn; Ps 106:37-38; 1Co 10:20; Rev 9:20
False religion is based on man-made traditions, myths, and philosophies. Col 2:8,20-23; 1Ti 1:4; 6:20
False religious practices: Immorality 1Ki 14:23-24 See also Eze 16:16-17; Hos 4:13-14
Human sacrifice 2Ki 17:17 See also Lev 18:21; Ps 106:37-38
False religion ensnares its adherents: It offers no help in time of need 1Sa 12:21 See also Jdg 10:14; 1Ki 18:29; 2Ki 19:12 pp Isa 37:12; Isa 16:12; 44:17-20; 45:20; 46:7; 57:13; Jer 11:12
It prevents people from finding the truth Jnh 2:8 See also Mt 23:13; Lk 11:52; 2Co 4:4
It devalues, degrades and defiles 2Ki 17:15 See also Ps 106:39; 115:8; 135:18; Isa 44:9; Jer 2:5; Eze 20:18
It leads to immorality Nu 25:1-2 See also Nu 25:3,6-8; Ro 1:23-31; Rev 9:20-21
It enslaves Gal 4:8 See also Dt 12:30; Gal 4:3,9-10; Col 2:8
False religion receives the full force of God’s anger: Jer 16:18 See also 1Ki 13:1-3,33-34; 2Ki 17:18-23; Jer 22:8-9; Mic 5:13-15; Na 1:14; Zep 1:4-5
Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies (London: Martin Manser, 2009).
Devotion
BY BCL | Every Christian should know the meaning of saving faith in Jesus Christ. Here are seven helpful quotes on faith from trusted theologians along with related Scripture passages.
Every Christian should have a robust understanding of the meaning of saving faith in Jesus Christ. Here are seven helpful quotes on faith from trusted theologians along with related Scripture passages:
1. Saving faith in Jesus Christ is God’s gift from beginning to end.
“I need not torment myself with the fear that my faith may fail; as grace led me to faith in the first place, so grace will keep me believing to the end. Faith, both in its origin and continuance, is a gift of grace (see Phil 1:29).” (J. I. Packer, Knowing God [InterVarsity Press, 2023], 136)
Related Bible Verses:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. (Philippians 1:29)
CONTINUED @ SOURCE
SERMON
A Sermon Delivered on Lord’s-day Morning, March 15th, 1874, by Charles Spurgeon, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.
“Your faith has saved you.” Luke 7:50 and Luke 18:42.
Discover more from Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach 