What the NT Teaches on "Salvation" (Sōtēria)

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
"If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world." John 12:47

σώσω

This is a very interesting verse in terms of soteriology. Who judges the world?

Christ judges but judges those who do not keep His words. What does it mean to keep His words? Is just hearing His words but not acting on them keeping His words?
 
we say this in love,
we have discovered that when starting
a thread, even with good intentions, if we try to establish to much
authority with parameters that may offend someone or rub them
the wrong way, we need to understand first that others may
not be receptive and not respond the way we would hope and
therefore, this would not be conducive to Spiritual learning
and edifying each other.

most of us desire to share and have fellowship with others,
exchange spiritual comparison with spiritual comparison as
we have learned throughout our personal studies.
to us, sharing in love is edifying Christ and one another.
we must always try to be temperate and gracious in the
words/writings of our OP's.

our first words often set the stage and determine
if threads will be Spiritually profitable -
as it is written,
PROVERBS 25:11.
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
 
Seabass: Acts 2:40 - "save yourselves"
1 Tim 4:16 "save thyself"

Man's only part is to believe. Human works are excluded.
It is noted that you don't quote context, but take 2 words.

Neither Peter nor Paul told anyone to save yourselves by believing only. In Acts 2 Peter commanded repentance and baptism.

Atwood said:
1 Pet 3:21 "baptism doth also now save us"

Context: Baptism is a picture, a figure of salvation. You left off the "figure" part.

THe "figure" part does not change the fact baptism saves. So it cannot be said belief only saves when the bible plainly says baptism saves.
The underlying Greek for "like figure" means anti-type.
OT type - saved by water v20
NT antitype - saved by water v21

Literal water here as in Jn 3:5.

Atwood said:
Mt 24:`3 - "he that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved"

Saved from persecution during the tribulation when Christ come. But the fruit do endure.

Matt 10:22 - No tribulation in the context but Jesus telling His disciple those that endure unto the end of their life, enduring the hardships mentioned in verses 21-23 and yet not lose their faith and fall away will be saved, saved being opposite of being lost. Same is true in Mt 24:13 those that endure persecutions unto the end shall be saved.

Atwood said:
Mk 16:16 - "he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved"

Spirit baptism.

YOU ADDED the word 'spirit' to the verse as you ADD the word 'only' to other verses.
Mk 16:15,16 and Mt 28:19,20 is the baptism of Christ's great commission which instructed disciples to do the baptizing and human disciples administer a literal water baptism/immersion.

Atwood said:
Acts 2:21 - "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved"

Rom 10: how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? It is a call of faith, a way to express faith which is what man must do to be saved.

In the context of Acts 2:21 Peter is quoting a OT prophecy of Joel and that prophecy is fulfilled in verse 38:

Acts 2:21 - call upon the name of the Lord>>>>>>>>>>>>saved
Acts 2:38 - repent and be baptized>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>remission of sins

So calling upon the name of the Lord means doing what the Lord has said (Lk 6:46) in repenting and being baptized.

Atwood said:
Acts 2:47 - "the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved"

In the context of Acts 2 who were the ones added to the church and saved?
The ones that had belief only or the ones that obeyed v38 in repenting and being baptized? Those that repented and were baptized.

Rom 8:24 - "for we are saved by hope"

"by hope" is a misleading translation where there is no Greek word "by." Translate "in hope."[/quote]

Young's Literal Translation has "for in hope we were saved". So hope is as much a apart of salvation as belief. Therefore belief only does not save.
I like what Coffman Commentary says about Rom 8:24:
Attention is directed to the English Revised Version (1885) margin where appears the alternate translation, "By hope were we saved." Translators and commentators are sensitive about salvation's being ascribed to anything else except faith; but the word of God honors no such inhibitions, affirming positively that people are saved "by grace" (Ephesians 2:8), "by the gospel" (1 Corinthians 15:1,2), "by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth" (Acts 4:10-12), "by his (Christ's) life" (Romans 5:10), "by the washing of regeneration" (Titus 3:5), "by his (Christ's) blood (Revelation 1:5), "by the foolishness of the preaching" (1 Corinthians 1:21), "by baptism" (1 Peter 3:21), "by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3), etc. Any simplistic system whatever that would impose such a word as "only" upon any of the factors involved in human redemption is antagonistic to the scriptures. Hope belongs to the Christian's status, and is a prerequisite of his salvation, no less than faith and love, all three, in fact, being mentioned as a trinity of Christian requirements in 1 Corinthians 13:13; and most significantly, faith does not climax that series; love does!

Atwood said:
1 Pet 3:20 - "eight souls saved by water"

Phil 2:12 - "work out your own salvation"

context missing: for it is God who works in you. Nothing about working to get salvation there. Works by men follow salvation & don't cause it.
Context does not change the stated facts of "saved by water" and "work out your own salvation"

Atwood said:
Heb 5:9 - "he became the author of salvation unto all them that obey Him"

The only saving obedience is obedience to this command:

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, & you shall be saved. -- It doesn't say "and you shall get a chance."
You revert back to your cherry-picked, one verse theology. Nowhere does the bible command belief only and the bible commands more than belief but commands repentance, baptism among other things.

{qute=Atwood]
Seabass: As noted by others, many salvic verses without the words save, saved, salvation or Saviour in them as Jn 3:16, Lk 13:3,5 or Mt 10:32,33.

But this thread was started to consider what the passages that use save say.


But one cannot get all the counsel of God without examining ALL verses that deal with salvation.
 
Last edited:
BTW,
I found that my search string was defective and that salvation does occur with repent/repentance by the help of someone who responded to my question about it on another thread.

....and there goes belief only out the window....

...unless someone is willing to argue the impenitent can be saved, those that will not repent will be saved anyway????
 
....and there goes belief only out the window....

...unless someone is willing to argue the impenitent can be saved, those that will not repent will be saved anyway????

FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE!

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.

This "only" is an obvious pettifog. So you make a contract with a man to buy 100 bricks for $100, and he signs it. The contract says,

"I, SeaTurtle, agree to deliver to SeaBass 100 bricks if and when he pays me $100."

So then you give SeaTurtle $100, and he says,

"I won't give you the bricks now unless you repent of insulting my son last Friday. And I don't have to give you the bricks until you fulfill a grocery list of other requirements: You must confess that I am a great brickmaker and do other good works."

Then you say, "But the contract says I only have to pay you $100."

SeaTurtle says back, "Show me where they contract says ONLY."

SeaTurtle would be laughed out of court. The word only doesn't have to be there. If there is only one requirement, then there is only one requirement; the word "only" is not required, just the observation that only one requirement is listed.

And Acts 17 is not an isolated case in scripture.

Over & over it is,
FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE.

Ephesians 1:13
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

Ephesians 2:8-10 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 should boast


Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: 16 howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life.

1 Tim 1:15-17
Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life.

Eph 1:10ff
to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; 12 to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: 13 in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,— in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Luke 8:11-12
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 And those by the way side are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.

Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved,

1 Cor 1:21
it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe.

Rom 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith.

2 Tim 3:15b
the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Titus 1:4
to Titus, my true child after a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.


Heb 10:39
But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul.

Heb 11:7

By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

1 Pet 1:3ff

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials, 7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: 8 whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE!
 
Neither Peter nor Paul told anyone to save yourselves by believing only. In Acts 2 Peter commanded repentance and baptism.

False.

First the thread is to consider verses that use save/Savior/salvation & you violate the thread.

Second, it be believing only in both Peter & Paul -- the entire word of God. I limit the following to passages that use save/salvation/Savior:

Acts 16:
Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

Ephesians 2:8-10 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 should boast


Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: 16 howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life.

1 Tim 1:15-17
Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life.

Eph 1:10ff
to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; 12 to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: 13 in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,— in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’sown possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Luke 8:11-12
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 And those by the way side are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.

Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved,

1 Cor 1:21
it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe.

Rom 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith.

2 Tim 3:15b
the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Titus 1:4
to Titus, my true child after a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.


Heb 10:39
But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul.

Heb 11:7

By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

1 Pet 1:3ff

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials, 7that the proof of your faith,being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: 8 whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your souls.

FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE!
 
Last edited:
THe "figure" part does not change the fact baptism saves. So it cannot be said belief only saves when the bible plainly says baptism saves.
The underlying Greek for "like figure" means anti-type.
OT type - saved by water v20
NT antitype - saved by water v21


There is no fact that water baptism saves ever in scripture. Baptism is a figure -- that changes the interpretation. It isn't the water that saves. No work of man can save, Eph 2. Baptism is a figure of salvation, a picture only.

Literal water here as in Jn 3:5.

There is no baptism in John 3:5. The word is not there. Arguing on baptism requires that you use verses that have "baptism" in them, not fanciful interpretations where the water of physical birth is present.

[/quote]Matt 10:22 - No tribulation in the context but Jesus telling His disciple those that endure unto the end of their life, enduring the hardships mentioned in verses 21-23 and yet not lose their faith and fall away will be saved, saved being opposite of being lost. Same is true in Mt 24:13 those that endure persecutions unto the end shall be saved.[/quote]

Both passages are about the tribulation, most clearly, not enduring to the end of a normal life.

The passages end with Christ's return to take over the earth, which ends the tribulation. Mat 10:

6 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you; 18 yea and before governors and kings shall ye be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. 21 And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father his child: and children shall rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.[/quote]

YOU ADDED the word 'spirit' . . .
Mk 16:15,16 and Mt 28:19,20 is the baptism of Christ's great commission which instructed disciples to do the baptizing and human disciples administer a literal water baptism/immersion.

I added nothing to scripture. Spirit baptism is the interpretation I gave in the absence of water, consistent with works not saving, consistent with Spirit baptism being salvific. Don't go adding water where it doesn't occur. Mat 16 is not the same as Mat 28, and in Mt 28 there is nothing about water baptism saving anyone.

In the context of Acts 2:21 Peter is quoting a OT prophecy of Joel and that prophecy is fulfilled in verse 38:

Acts 2:21 - call upon the name of the Lord>>>>>>>>>>>>saved
Acts 2:38 - repent and be baptized>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>remission of sins

So calling upon the name of the Lord means doing what the Lord has said (Lk 6:46) in repenting and being baptized.

In Joel, the quoted passage, there is nothing about baptism whatsoever. Acts 2:38 doesn't use save/saved/salvation -- so it is irrelevant to this discussion.

Calling upon the name of is certainly not equivalent to "repent & be baptised."
The call on the name of the Lord is a call of faith (Rom 10:13-14); one way to exercise saving faith.

The only repentance that saves is change from non-belief to belief. The baptism of Acts 2:38 has no water; it makes sense as Spirit baptism.

Rom 8:24 - "for we are saved by hope"



"by hope" is a misleading translation where there is no Greek word "by." Translate "in hope."[/QUOTE]

The word by is not in the Greek. We are saved in hope, as the final part of salvation is future & somewhat unknown.

Context does not change the stated facts of "saved by water" and "work out your own salvation"

Atwood said:
Heb 5:9 - "he became the author of salvation unto all them that obey Him"

The only saving obedience is obedience to this command:

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, & you shall be saved. -- It doesn't say "and you shall get a chance."
But one cannot get all the counsel of God without examining ALL verses that deal with salvation.[/quote]

And by so doing one learns that over & over salvation is offered only for believing, having faith.
 
Christ judges but judges those who do not keep His words. What does it mean to keep His words? Is just hearing His words but not acting on them keeping His words?

Seabass, since you do not keep His words, what will you do at the Great White Throne Judgment?

Anyone reading this who is willing to confess: God be merciful to me a sinner, is urged to trust the Lord Jesus as Savior now, repenting of any idea that he is mere chance-giver.

Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
 
There a host of verses that require only faith/belief for salvation.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

Only believe is mentioned. This is common. In fact believe is the only MUST I DO for salvation.
Would it be possible to truly believe in something you would not trust enough to follow?

Could you believe a bridge was safe to cross on and refuse to use the bridge to cross for fear it is unsafe?
 
Seabass, since you do not keep His words, what will you do at the Great White Throne Judgment?

Anyone reading this who is willing to confess: God be merciful to me a sinner, is urged to trust the Lord Jesus as Savior now, repenting of any idea that he is mere chance-giver.

Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
Let's pretend you have the right and God like powers enough to judge Seabass, which you don't, even that would do nothing to prove or disprove something in scripture.
 
FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE!

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.

This "only" is an obvious pettifog. So you make a contract with a man to buy 100 bricks for $100, and he signs it. The contract says,

"I, SeaTurtle, agree to deliver to SeaBass 100 bricks if and when he pays me $100."

So then you give SeaTurtle $100, and he says,

"I won't give you the bricks now unless you repent of insulting my son last Friday. And I don't have to give you the bricks until you fulfill a grocery list of other requirements: You must confess that I am a great brickmaker and do other good works."

Then you say, "But the contract says I only have to pay you $100."

SeaTurtle says back, "Show me where they contract says ONLY."

SeaTurtle would be laughed out of court. The word only doesn't have to be there. If there is only one requirement, then there is only one requirement; the word "only" is not required, just the observation that only one requirement is listed.

And Acts 17 is not an isolated case in scripture.

Over & over it is,
FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE.

Ephesians 1:13
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

Ephesians 2:8-10 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 should boast


Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: 16 howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life.

1 Tim 1:15-17
Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life.

Eph 1:10ff
to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; 12 to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: 13 in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,— in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Luke 8:11-12
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 And those by the way side are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.

Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved,

1 Cor 1:21
it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe.

Rom 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith.

2 Tim 3:15b
the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Titus 1:4
to Titus, my true child after a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.


Heb 10:39
But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul.

Heb 11:7

By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

1 Pet 1:3ff

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials, 7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: 8 whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE!


SO is one saved by "belief only" or must one believe and repent to be saved?
 
False.

First the thread is to consider verses that use save/Savior/salvation & you violate the thread.

Second, it be believing only in both Peter & Paul -- the entire word of God. I limit the following to passages that use save/salvation/Savior:

Acts 16:
Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

Ephesians 2:8-10 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 should boast


Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: 16 howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life.

1 Tim 1:15-17
Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life.

Eph 1:10ff
to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; 12 to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: 13 in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,— in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’sown possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Luke 8:11-12
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 And those by the way side are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.

Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved,

1 Cor 1:21
it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe.

Rom 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith.

2 Tim 3:15b
the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Titus 1:4
to Titus, my true child after a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.


Heb 10:39
But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul.

Heb 11:7

By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

1 Pet 1:3ff

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials, 7that the proof of your faith,being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: 8 whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your souls.

FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE!




You continue to cherry pick verses that have the word "Believe" while ignoring all other salvic verses.


Acts 16:30,31 "And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

Compared with:

Acts 2:37,38 "
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men andbrethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

When the same question is asked as to what one must do, the answer given in Acts 16:31 is believe and in Acts 2:38 is repent and be baptized.

Paul and Peter did not contradict each other in how they answered the question for there is just one way to be saved. Since there is just one way to be saved, that means "believe" of Acts 16:31 MUST include "repent and be baptized" of Acts 2:38. And that explains the repentance and baptism of the jailer in v33. So speaking the "word of the Lord" of Acts 16:32 INCLUDES repentance and baptism as did Peter's speaking the word of the Lord in Acts 2 included repentance and baptism.
 
SAVED BY:

Someone pasted a commentary on SAVED BY.

"By grace you have been saved through faith . . . not of works" Eph 2:8).

The only thing a man does to be saved is have faith. This is repeated too many times to discount.

What about the "by grace" above?
This "by" is something God does, exercise grace.

There are many things done to get a man saved -- done by God! But man has only 1 thing to do, namely trust the Savior, exercise faith, believe in the Son of God.

Thus it is not a rebuttal to give a grocery list of BY X, BY Y, BY Z a man is saved. For God does many things. The issue before us is what is man's part in all this. The answer is FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE.

This great truth is established by observing the many times that only faith/believe is mentioned as the only human responsibility in salvation for the one who would be saved.

τῇ γὰρ ἐλπίδι ἐσώθημεν = For in the hope we were saved.

The 2nd Greek word is γὰρ (gar) which Greek inserts contrary to English word order between the and hope. The text is not saying that in the past time we were saved because we exercised hope. That is out of context. There is no word "by" and Greek puts "the" in front of hope, though we don't talk that way in English. Greek uses the dative case, which has several possible translations into English. "By" doesn't fit the context there.


23 And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? 25 But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

The passage speaks of our hope in the future for the completion of salvation with a glorified body. It has nothing to do with a condition of receiving the new birth or the promise of eternal life.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, & you shall be saved -- no ifs, ands or buts.

There is no grocery list of things to do to get saved.
Of course it is assumed that if a man trusts a Savior he admits he is a sinner and wants to be saved from it. Repudiating sin and trusting the Savior is a change of mind at salvation.

But one thing is essential, only 1 must-I-do:
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, & you shall be saved.

Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for
He shall save His people from their sins.
 
You continue to cherry pick verses that have the word "Believe" while ignoring all other salvic verses.

I ignore nothing, but present the proof that salvation is offered many times ONLY for believing/having faith.

Does Seabass forget that this thread is about save/salvation/Savior -- what the NT says with those words?

Acts 16:30,31 "And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

Compared with:

Acts 2:37,38 "[/quote]

The words save/salvation/Savior are absent from these verses. And the question in Acts 2:37 is not "what must we do to be saved." Saved is not in the text! Of course they needed to repent (change mind & from rejecting Christ to trusting Christ, metanoia) and be baptized with the Spirit, which is what the Day of Pentecost was about.

[/quote]When the same question is asked as to what one must do, the answer given in Acts 16:31 is believe and in Acts 2:38 is repent and be baptized.[/quote]

The question is not the same. Acts 16 has "saved." Acts 2:38 no.

[quolte] Acts 16:32
[never] INCLUDES repentance and baptism as did Peter's speaking the word of the Lord in Acts 2 [never] included repentance and baptism.[/QUOTE]

Your Acts 2 passage does not have "save" or "saved" in it. Repentance is change of mind to believing; no water in the passage.

There is but one MUST I DO for salvation in scripture = believe.

There are plenty of other MUST I DO's, but not for salvation. Unsaved people do need to repent (change mind to believing), to be Spirit baptized into the Body of Christ, and to be water baptized. Saved men must be water baptized, but it does not save.
 
SO is one saved by "belief only" or must one believe and repent to be saved?

Repent = metanoia = change of mind. The only change of mind that saves is change from unbelief to belief in the Lord Jesus as Savior (not chance-giver).

Saving repentance is believing; it is repentance in that it is a change of mind. It is not a separate & different thing from believing.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, & you shall be saved. Now reader, if you believe in something else, like water-baptism for salvation, repent & trust the Savior as only & sufficient Savior.
 
SAVED BY:

Someone pasted a commentary on SAVED BY.

"By grace you have been saved through faith . . . not of works" Eph 2:8).

The only thing a man does to be saved is have faith. This is repeated too many times to discount.

What about the "by grace" above?
This "by" is something God does, exercise grace.

There are many things done to get a man saved -- done by God! But man has only 1 thing to do, namely trust the Savior, exercise faith, believe in the Son of God.

Thus it is not a rebuttal to give a grocery list of BY X, BY Y, BY Z a man is saved. For God does many things. The issue before us is what is man's part in all this. The answer is FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE.

This great truth is established by observing the many times that only faith/believe is mentioned as the only human responsibility in salvation for the one who would be saved.

τῇ γὰρ ἐλπίδι ἐσώθημεν = For in the hope we were saved.

The 2nd Greek word is γὰρ (gar) which Greek inserts contrary to English word order between the and hope. The text is not saying that in the past time we were saved because we exercised hope. That is out of context. There is no word "by" and Greek puts "the" in front of hope, though we don't talk that way in English. Greek uses the dative case, which has several possible translations into English. "By" doesn't fit the context there.


23 And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? 25 But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

The passage speaks of our hope in the future for the completion of salvation with a glorified body. It has nothing to do with a condition of receiving the new birth or the promise of eternal life.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, & you shall be saved -- no ifs, ands or buts.

There is no grocery list of things to do to get saved.
Of course it is assumed that if a man trusts a Savior he admits he is a sinner and wants to be saved from it. Repudiating sin and trusting the Savior is a change of mind at salvation.

But one thing is essential, only 1 must-I-do:
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, & you shall be saved.

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





"There are many things done to get a man saved -- done by God! But man has only 1 thing to do, namely trust the Savior, exercise faith, believe in the Son of God."

Really. You say one but then list three things, so which is it? If "Trust the Savior" is all salvation is about, then why is it not even mentioned in the conversions in the book of Acts?
 
Let's pretend you have the right and God like powers enough to judge Seabass, which you don't, even that would do nothing to prove or disprove something in scripture.

When I say that Seabass does not keep the commandments of Christ, that is not a "judgment," but a fact. None of us keep the commandments of Christ. He said that we must be perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect. I don't keep the commandments either. I am a sinner saved by grace. You don't keep the commandments; no one keeps the commandments. We are sinners. The only hope any man has is to cry out, God be merciful to me a sinner; I trust Christ as my Savior.

James says, " . . . ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all."

So he who advocates that salvation comes by keeping God's commandments, indeed should look in the mirror and ask himself, "What will I do at the judgment?"
 
Repent = metanoia = change of mind. The only change of mind that saves is change from unbelief to belief in the Lord Jesus as Savior (not chance-giver).

Saving repentance is believing; it is repentance in that it is a change of mind. It is not a separate & different thing from believing.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, & you shall be saved. Now reader, if you believe in something else, like water-baptism for salvation, repent & trust the Savior as only & sufficient Savior

WRONG? Repentance and faith are NOT the same thing.
 
"There are many things done to get a man saved -- done by God! But man has only 1 thing to do, namely trust the Savior, exercise faith, believe in the Son of God."

Really. You say one but then list three things, so which is it? If "Trust the Savior" is all salvation is about, then why is it not even mentioned in the conversions in the book of Acts?

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.
 
WRONG? Repentance and faith are NOT the same thing.

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?