The bible does not say 'believe only ' and be saved.
Jn 8:24---------belief>>>>>>>>>>>>saved
Lk 13:3,5-------repent>>>>>>>>>>>not perish/saved
Mt 10:32,33----confession>>>>>>>>saves
Mk 16:16-------baptism>>>>>>>>>>saves
Since there is just one way to be saved, then belief must include repentance, confession and baptism. For anyone to agrue "belief only" saves then they are implying the impenitent can be saved, the denier of Christ can be saved, one lost in his unremitted sins can be saved.......none of which is possible.
I am not arguing "belief only" in that sense. There is no genuine belief without first repenting. There is no genuine confession without genuine belief. Belief, trust, reliance in Christ only for salvation. Matthew 10:32-33 is not implying that those who repent and believe the gospel are still lost until they round up a group of people at Walmart and confess Jesus to them. As I already explained numerous times to you, in Matthew 10:32-33, the broader context of this passage relates to the fact that the Pharisees had continuously denied Jesus while the disciples spoke about Him in every city they visited. We might paraphrase His teaching this way: "Whoever confesses me before men (such as you disciples), I will confess him before my Father in heaven. But whoever denies me before men (like these Pharisees do on every occasion they get), I will deny him before my Father in heaven. Those who confess Jesus are those who recognize Him as being the true Messiah and trust exclusively in Him for salvation. Those who deny Jesus (and those who give mere lip service confession) but refuse to trust exclusively in Him for salvation place themselves beyond any possibility of salvation, since salvation is found only in Him (John 3:16; 14:6). The word for "deny" is an aorist tense. This points to the fact that Jesus is not talking about a single instance of denial (as was the case with Peter, who actually denied Him three times - Luke 22:34), but is referring to life in its entirety. Hence, the person who throughout his life denies Christ (as was typically the case with the Pharisess and includes unbelievers who may even give mere "lip service confession" - Matthew 7:21-23, but lack saving faith in Christ) will be denied by Christ before the Father.
In Mark 16:16, the omission of baptized with "does not believe" shows that Jesus does not make baptism absolutely essential to salvation. Condemnation rests on unbelief, not on baptism. So salvation rests on belief, which is in harmony with what Jesus said in John 3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26.
You've yet to give a logical, biblical reason as to why an atheist, who does not believe in God, does not believe in heaven or hell, does not believe he is lost in sin, would ever repent.
Transcript of Lee Strobel's Testimony. He went from atheist to Christian. He certainly repented!
For most of my life I was an atheist. I thought the idea of an all-loving, all-powerful creator of the universe--I thought it was stupid. I mean, my background is in journalism and law. I tend to be a skeptical person. I was the legal editor of the Chicago Tribune. So I needed evidence before I'd believe anything.
One day my wife came up to me--she'd been agnostic--and she said after a period of spiritual investigation she had decided to become a follower of Jesus Christ. And I thought, you know, this is the worst possible news I could get. I thought she was going to turn into some sexually repressed prude who was going to spend all her time serving the poor in skid row somewhere. I thought this was the end of our marriage.
But in the ensuing months, I saw positive changes in her values, in her character, in the way she related to me and the children. It was winsome; and it was attractive; and it made me want to check things out. So I went to church one day, ah, mainly to see if I could get her out of this cult that she had gotten involved in.
But I heard the message of Jesus articulated for the first time in a way that I could understand it. That forgiveness is a free gift, and that Jesus Christ died for our sins, that we might spend eternity with Him. And I walked out saying--I was still an atheist--but also saying, "If this is true, this has huge implications for my life." And so I used my journalism training and legal training to begin an investigation into whether there was any credibility to Christianity or to any other world faith system for that matter.
I did that for a year and nine months until November the 8th of 1991, and on that day I realized that,
in light of the torrent of evidence flowing in the direction of the truth of Christianity, it would require more faith for me to maintain my atheism than to become a Christian. Because to be an atheist I would have to swim upstream against this torrent of evidence pointing toward the truth of Jesus Christ. And I couldn't do that. I was trained in journalism and law to respond to truth. And so on that day, I received Jesus Christ as my forgiver, and as my leader.
And, just like with my wife, my life began to change. Over time my values, my character, the purpose of my life began to be transformed over time in a way that, as I look back, I can't imagine staying on the path I was on compared to the adventure and the fulfillment and the joy of following Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:17 - Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Is that Biblical enough for you?
The implication of Mt 10:32,33 and ROm 10:9,10 is no confession - no salvation.
But what is the root of no confession? No faith. That is the heart of why there is no salvation. It's not the confession in of itself that saves you as an additional requirement after faith. It's the faith behind the confession. In Romans 10:9,10 believing and confessing are not two separate steps to salvation. They are chronologically together. Romans 10:8 - But what does it say? "The word is near you,
in your mouth and in your heart" TOGETHER (that is, the word of faith which we preach).
Rom 10:10 and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Confession is made unto, in order to obtain salvation.
Again, Romans 10:8 - But what does it say? "The word is near you,
in your mouth and in your heart" TOGETHER (that is, the word of faith which we preach). Notice the reverse order from verse 9 to verse 10 - that if you
confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. Confess/believe; believe/confess. Not two separate steps (believe today but still lost, finally confess next week then saved) to salvation but chronologically together. Believes unto righteousness, confession made unto salvation "together" BEFORE water baptism. Your 4 step plan negates Romans 10:9,10. According to your plan, confession is not made unto salvation but unto baptism which is then done unto salvation.
Threrefore one cannot confess because he is already saved. That idea has a denier of Christ saved. Mt 10:32,33 uses the word "whosoever" therefore is not limited to just those already disciples.
Believes unto righteousness/confession unto salvation "together" (Romans 10:8). It's not believe today and confess next week.1 Corinthians 12:3 - Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and
no one can say that Jesus is Lord except BY the Holy Spirit. There is divine influence or direct operation of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a person when confessing that Jesus is Lord. This confession is not just a simple acknowledgment that Jesus is the Lord (even the demons believe that), but is a deep personal conviction, without reservation, that Jesus is that person's Lord and Savior. So simply believing in our head (and not in our heart) that God raised Him from the dead does not result in righteousness and simply reciting the words "Jesus is Lord" not by the Holy Spirit from a 4 step check list is not unto salvation.
*What about someone who is
unable to speak? How can they "confess with their
mouth?" Such a person would remain lost according to your erroneous interpretation of Romans 10:9,10.
Mk 16;16 is a compound sentence with the first part dealing with the subject of salvation and the second part dealing with a different subject of condemnation. Each subject has DIFFERENT requirements. So if one desires to be saved, then he looks to Mk 16;16a and see there are TWO , not one but TWO requirements joined by the conjunction "and" making them INSEPARABLE. The "and" would mean if one doe snot have to be baptized to be svd, then one does not have to believe to be saved either.
False. He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (general cases without making a qualification for the unusual case of someone who believes but is not baptized) but he who does not believe will be condemned. The omission of baptized with "does not believe" shows that Jesus does not make baptism essential to salvation. Condemnation rests on unbelief, not on baptism. So salvation rests on belief. Since Jesus clarifies the first clause with
“but he who does not believe will be condemned,” then baptism signifies salvation and there are not two conditions to being saved here. If belief and baptism are BOTH absolutely essential to salvation, then why didn't Jesus mention baptism in John 3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26?
If one desires to be lost, then there is just ONE, not two but ONE requirement, that being unbelief. SInce in Mk 16;16a Jesus made believing a prerequisite to baptism then an unbeliever CANNOT be baptized, Therefore when Jesus said "he that believeth not" that automatically includes the unbaptized therefore there it would be needlessly redundant for Jesus to say "he that believeth not and is not baptized because of his unbelief shall be condemnedi
It's the lack of belief that brings condemnation, not the lack of baptism (John 3:18; Mark 16:16(b). So you believe that EVERYONE who has ever been water baptized is a genuine BELIEVER? Are you that naive? Believing is a prerequisite to being baptized, yet unbelievers in various cults and false religions get water baptized all the time anyway. In Mark 16:16, if we look at this verse closely, we see that it is composed of two basic statements. 1—He who believes and is baptized will be saved. 2—He who does not believe will be condemned. Clearly, the determining factor regarding whether one is saved or condemned is whether or not he
believes. In interpreting this passage correctly, it is important to realize that while it tells us something about believers who have been baptized (they will be saved), it does not say anything about believers who have not been baptized. In order for this verse to teach that baptism is necessary for salvation, a third statement would have had to be included, that statement being: “He who believes and is not baptized will be condemned” or “He who is not baptized will be condemned.” But, of course,
neither of these statements is found in the verse.
Rom 6:16, Paul did NOT say obedience BECAUSE you ALREADY are righteous. He DID say "obedience UNTO righteousness" therefore one first obeys in order to be come righteous.
And your idea of obeying is works salvation, which is not obedience. What did Paul say in Romans 10:10? Believes UNTO righteousness. What did Paul say in Romans 10:16? But they have not all
obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has
believed our report?" Again, When we place our faith in Christ for salvation, we then become
"servants of obedience unto righteousness." You left out
"servants of obedience" unto righteousness. Romans 6:16 - Know ye not, that to whom ye
yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of
sin unto death, or of
obedience unto righteousness. In Romans 6:16, there is a contrast here between servants. We are either servants of sin unto death (lost-unbelievers) or else we are servants of obedience unto righteousness (saved-believers). Paul is not saying that works of obedience which follow faith are the means of our salvation, as you pervert this passage to teach. If Paul wanted to teach that we are saved based on our obedience/works then he simply would have said in Ephesians 2:8 that we have been saved through faith
and obedience. In Romans 5:1, Paul would have said that we have been justifed by faith
and obedience, but of course, that is
not what Paul said. You are reading this verse through the lens of works salvation.
The order of events in ROm 6:17,18
1) servants of sins
2) obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
3) then made freed from sin/justified
So I serve # 2 "obedience UNTO righteousness" which "faith only" rules out.
As I explained numerous times, "faith only" per James is an empty profession of faith (James 2:14), not genuine faith. Now go back and read Romans 10:16, Acts 10:43 and Romans 5:1 to understand that we obey the gospel from the heart by choosing to believe the gospel and whoever believes in Him receives remission of sins and we are justified by faith. Also go back and read Romans 10:10 - Believes UNTO righteousness (so Paul is not talking about works righteousness in Romans 6:16) and also read ALL of Romans 6:16 - "slaves of obedience" UNTO righteousness not works of obedience after faith unto righteousness.
1 Jn 1:6,7 nothing in verse 6 changes verse 7 that requires a continued walking in the light for Christ's blood to continue to wash away all sins. Both verses befin with a conditional "IF" showing the Christian has a choice in the matter.
John is addressing two different walks. One in darkness, one in light. He makes a contrast between those who say they have fellowship with Him, walk in darkness, lie and do not practice the truth with those who walk in the light as He is in the light, have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses them from all sin. John is not contrasting Christians who continue to walk in the light with Christians who fail to continue to walk in the light. Please show me the word "continue" in 1 John 1:7? You are reading your own preconceived ideas into this passage of scripture.
John was writing this passage to Christians, those ALREADY saved, those ALREADY been water baptized for remission of sins. So the washing away of sins BEGIN at the point one is baptized but does not end there. From the point of being water baptized and having all past sins washed away, Christ's blood CONTINUES to wash away all future sins the Christian commits "IF" the Christian faithfully walks in the light. Martin Luther's "faith only" is not found in any of this.
Just because John is writing to Christians does not mean that he is not mentioning non-Christians. In 1 John 2:19, we read - They went out
from us, but they were
not of us; for if they
had been of us, they
would have continued with us; but they
went out that they might be
made manifest, that
none of them were of us. Does this mean they were Christians because John is writings to Christians? NO. *Notice, if they
had been of us, the
would have continued with us, *continued to walk in the light. Whoever believes in Him receives remission of sins, so baptism is in regards to/on the basis of the remission of sins received upon repentance/belief. John never said that the Christian would fail to continue to walk in the light, but simply contrasts two different walks. One in darkness and one in the light. Thomas and Alexander Campbell's "water and works" salvation is not found in any of this.
Salvation is strictly by obedient works
There it is, salvation BY works! In contradiction to Romans 4:4-6; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; 2 Timothy 1:9). So which obedient works must you accomplish and add to Christ's finished work of redemption in order to help Him save you since you refuse to place your faith in Christ alone for salvation? The "whole picture", rests on cause and effect. Do we do good works TO QUALIFY for God's grace? Or is God's grace a completely free offer which then consequently leads TO good works? Do we do something because of faith, or is our faith caused by something we do? Which is cause and which is effect? You have the tail wagging the dog, the cart BEFORE the horse.
Heb 5:9. NOT being obedient to God's will is disobedience-sin-unrightoueness-lost and one remains in that lost state until he does obey. Doing nothing i.e., "faith only" can never make one obedient/righteous as Paul said in Rom 6:16 obedience UNTO righteousness.
What is God's will for us to become saved? John 6:40 - And this is the
will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and
believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day. Refusing to believe in Him is disobedience-sin-unrighteousness-lost (John 3:18; Romans 10:16; 2 Corinthians 4:3,4) and one remains in that lost state until he
BELIEVES. Until the blinders of unbelief are removed, you will not understand. Who said anything about "doing nothing?" Those who claim to have faith but do nothing/have no works don't have genuine faith but an empty profession of faith, a dead faith. Do believers do something because of faith, or is faith caused by something we do? Working for salvation can never make one obedient/righteous as Paul said in Romans 4:4-6. In Romans 6:16, Paul said "slaves of obedience UNTO righteousness" and he also said "believes UNTO righteousness" in Romans 10:10 so Paul is clearly not teaching works salvation here, as your itching ears so desperately want to hear.