Dan, the jailer and his household were said to have believed after he washed their wounds, after he was baptized in the middle of the night and after he fed Paul and Silas. He rejoiced having believed. (Acts 16: 34)
Just because verse 34 - "having believed with all his household" follows verse 33 - "he and his household were baptized that same hour of the night" does not mean that they did not believe until after they were water baptized. You don't baptize unbelievers in order to make them believers, but BECAUSE they are believers. Believing is not baptism and believing precedes baptism and we are saved the moment that we believe. It's just that simple.
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, who was I that I could withstand God?" These Gentiles
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ (compare with Acts 16:31 -
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved) BEFORE water baptism (Acts 10:43-47). *So, it was established that they
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ BEFORE they were water baptized. Trusting in Christ as the ALL-sufficient means of their salvation constitutes BELIEVING. Water baptism took place AFTERWARDS.
Lydia and her people were judged to have been faithful after they were baptized. (Acts 16: 15)
They were saved through faith BEFORE water baptism, just as Jews and Gentiles alike are (Acts 10:43-47; 11:17,18; 15:8,9). Lydia and her household had submitted to baptism as proof of being "faithful to the Lord," after being saved through faith.
The 3,000 were added to those being saved after they received the word and were being baptized. (Acts 2: 41, 47)
In Acts 2:41, those who gladly received his word (saved through repentance/faith) were (afterward) baptized.. *Remember, faith in Jesus Christ "implied in genuine repentance" (rather than water baptism) brings the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:47; Acts 3:19; 5:31; 10:43-47; 11:17,18; 15:8,9; 26:18). *Perfect Harmony*
In Acts 2:44, ...all who BELIEVED were together, and had all things in common. In Acts 2:47, ..."And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be SAVED. How are we saved? By grace through FAITH, not works including water baptism (Matthew 3:13-15; Titus 3:5).
Acts 4:4 - However, many of those who heard the word
believed; and the
number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Acts 5:14 - And
believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
Abraham was justified by faith but not faith alone.
In James 2:21, notice closely that James does not say that Abraham's work of offering up Isaac resulted in God's accounting Abraham as righteous. No! The accounting of Abraham's faith as righteousness was made in Genesis 15:6,
many years before his work of offering up Isaac recorded in Genesis 22. The work of Abraham did not have some kind of intrinsic merit to save his soul, but it
proved or manifested the genuineness of his faith.
*This is the sense in which Abraham was justified by works, "shown to be righteous," not accounted as righteous. So Abraham was justified "accounted as righteous" by faith (rightly understood) in the Lord alone (Genesis 15:6). *Read Romans 4:2 - For
if Abraham was
justified by works, (legal sense/accounted as righteous) he has
something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham
believed God, and
it (faith, not works) was accounted to him for righteousness."
His faith was working with his works of faith to perfect or complete his faith. We are justified and saved by a completed, mature faith.
False. Abraham was already saved through faith when he
believed God in Genesis 15:6 and his
faith was accounted for righteousness many years before he offered up Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22. Faith perfected or made complete by works means bring to maturity, carry to the end, to complete like love in 1 John 4:18. It
DOES NOT mean that Abraham remained a lost man when he
believed the Lord and his faith was counted to him for righteousness in Genesis 15:6 and was finally saved based on the merit of his works in Genesis 22. When Abraham performed the good work in Genesis 22; he
fulfilled the expectations created by the pronouncement of his faith in Genesis 15:6.
The works of faith we do are given by God to perfect our faith not to receive personal merit. (James 2: 20- 34) God bless.
Yet you turn works which are produced out of faith into works of merit because you teach that we are saved based on accomplishing these works. Your false gospel renders Christ an IN-sufficient Savior. Man is saved by grace through faith, NOT WORKS (Ephesians 2:8,9). It's still not too late for you to repent and believe the gospel.