What the NT Teaches on "Salvation" (Sōtēria)

[Alligator]

Acts 16:

Sirs, what MUST I DO to be saved?
Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, & you shall be saved.

Pistueo = I believe, I trust. Trust is a good translation to show that it is not believing that something is so which saves (demons believe that something is so).

I have the feeling that when I tell you water-baptizers that belief is the only requirement, you are think that means "Believe that Jesus is the Son of God," some fact or facts about Him. Indeed we must have Jesus accurately defined (God, man, Son of God, crucified & risen) as our object of faith. But having a correct opinion about Jesus is not saving faith.

When I was 9 years old, I decided I wanted to join my "Church of Christ." I walked forward at the invitation. The preacher said to me, "Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God." I said, "Yes," which I did. (Demons also believe that.) But I was not trusting Him as Savior, no one there told me about that. In fact, I was taught that one should not trust Christ as Savior by my mother, for no one could know he was going to Heaven.

They dunked me in the river. I became a church member. But when someone asked me if I would go to Heaven when I died, I did not know. That shows I was not trusting the Savior to get me there. I did not know that Christ had suffered my hell on the cross to pay for my sins, and that salvation was a free gift to whosoever believes (trusts) the Savior.

Can you not bring yourself to depend on the Lord Jesus for your destiny?

Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for
He shall save His people from their sins.

Thats an intentional misrepresentation of scripture and I'm not going to play by your rules. Trust in Jesus is not in there.

did it not ever occur to you that the reason you weren't told by the church to trust in Jesus is because it is not in the bible? Nowhere in Holy Writ are we told all we have to so is trust in Christ.

 

[EmethAlethia]

Cassian,

New rule, you can only use verses to refute me that use the word "the" 4 times in one sentence.

The point is this, if we limit things enough no one can ever refute any point not supported by the author, but that NEVER results in getting to the truth, only eliminating the need to consider anyone's viewpoint but their own.

Yes, I know. Thread violation.

 

[Alligator]

Saving repentance & saving faith amount to the same thing. Metanoia is not metamelomai, not sorrow for sin, not turning over a new leaf. Judas had the metamelomai sorrow for sin; then hanged himself. Metanoia = change of mind. When you trust Christ as Savior you change mind from disbelief to belief.

Can you not see that when you trust Christ as Savior (when you did not before) that is a change of mind?

it may mean you have changed about Christ but it doesn't necessarily mean you have stopped leading a life of sin.

 

[crossnote]

Why don't you give the verse that says one is saved by "belief only" without YOU ADDING the word "only" and prove once and for all belief only saves?

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
(Rom 4:5)

I know, I know, you would love to add "But believes +" and call that 'plus' a non work.

 

[crossnote]

The thread is simply devoted to the topic of what the Bible states using the term save/salvation/SAvior. It is a worthy topic.

Cassian,

New rule, you can only use verses to refute me that use the word "the" 4 times in one sentence.

The point is this, if we limit things enough no one can ever refute any point not supported by the author, but that NEVER results in getting to the truth, only eliminating the need to consider anyone's viewpoint but their own.

Yes, I know. Thread violation.

Is it the rules of the thread that really bother you, or is it the topic?
No one forced you to this thread, no one forces you to stay.

As a change once in a while, I like a thread with structure instead of a chaotic free for all.

 

[Kerry]

OSAS will clash with the cross. sorry but the doctrine that Jesus spoke speaks for its self. Most if not all OSAS have faith in their baptism and not the cross. Jesus speaks of them saying Lord we danced and played the harp for you but yet Jesus say's depart from me you workers of iniquity for I never knew you.

 

[mailmandan]

Belief only cannot go out the window because there is too much repetition of salvation offered just for believing. Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved. Believe is the ONLY thing listed. The word ONLY doesn't have to be present to observe that believe is the only thing required.

Matthew 21:32 - For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Mark 1:15 - Repent and believe the gospel.

Acts 20:21 - ..repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. *Notice the order.

There is no such thing as I believe but I never repented so believe only is out the window. We are not saved through belief only "in that sense" because repent and believe are inseparable in receiving salvation. If we don't change our mind then we won't believe and be saved. So "believe but never repented" is an oxymoron. We believe ONLY in Him for salvation (John 3:18; Acts 10:43; 16:31). Not in Him + ourselves + our works + etc.. ONLY in Him. If we don't believe ONLY in Him for salvation and we believe in our works to help save us, as if Christ is an insufficient Savior, then we never repented. People who don't understand this end up reversing the order of repent/believe in receiving salvation and they reduce believe to mere "mental assent" belief in Christ (no different than the belief of demons) then they "add their works" to it to make it saving belief in their eyes. Repent to them simply means self reformation and follows believe in Him. These people believe in themselves/their works (at least in part) and not ONLY in Him for salvation.

 

[mailmandan]

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
(Rom 4:5)

I know, I know, you would love to add "But believes +" and call that 'plus' a non work.

Amen! For those who trust in works for salvation and not in Christ alone it's always "believes +". They want credit.

The phrase "having believed" in v34 includes all the jailer had done in v33 in his repentance as seen by washing their stripes and being baptized. So "believed" in v34 is used as a synecdoche where it INCLUDES repentance and baptism. As "believed" in Acts 2:44 INCLUDES being baptized in Acts 2:41.

With this kind of faulty logic we would have to baptize unbelievers in order to make them believers. In Acts 11:17, we read - If therefore God gave them the same gift (Holy Spirit) as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.. BEFORE water baptism (Acts 10:43-47). Believes in Him/trusts in Christ as the all sufficient means of their salvation constituted believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and this happened BEFORE water baptism and resulted in saved (Acts 16:31). Repentance is already included because it already took place when they changed their mind and chose to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. See how SeaBass has to "shoe horn" baptism "into" believes in order to make his theology work? Paul did not say believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and get baptized and you will be saved. It's not hard to see what certain people on this forum are really believing in and it's not the Lord Jesus Christ but "water and works."