BASIC BIBLE STUDIES

# 022

 

Faith In Christ

 

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household"  (Acts 16:31).

 

In our last two Studies we saw that salvation is possible only because of the amazing grace of God.  But we also discovered that God's grace must be appropriated by a submissive obedience to the gospel, the good news of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection for our redemption from sin and our justification (right standing) before God.  While Christ "by the grace of God [tasted] death for everyone"  (Hebrews 2:9), He nevertheless is "the author of eternal salvation [only] to all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9).  We are now ready to begin a study of the specific conditions set forth in the New Testament for being saved from sin and added to the church (Acts 2:47), for being "delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of the Son of [God's] love" (Colossians 1:13), for becoming a citizen of God's "holy nation" (I Peter 2:9). 

 

Beyond any question or doubt, a person's response to the grace of God and the gospel of Christ begins with faith.  "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).  Jesus Himself said: "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" (John 8:24).  To believe in Christ is to put one's faith in Him as the Son of God and to trust Him as the only Savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:11-12). 

 

The Bible, and especially the New Testament, often uses "belief" and "faith" as synonyms.  The New Testament also uses "belief" and "faith" in both a limited sense and a comprehensive sense.  When used in the limited sense, "faith" refers to the  mere act of believing, of only giving mental assent to certain facts.  This kind of "faith" will not save anyone.  In John 12:42-43 it is said: "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him (Christ), but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."  It was in this limited sense of "faith" that James was speaking when he said: "You see then that by works a man is justified and not by faith only" (James 2:24).

 

When used in the comprehensive sense, "faith" refers to a full compliance with all the conditions set forth in the New Testament for receiving forgiveness of sins and maintaining a faithful walk with the Lord.  Thus, "the golden text" of the Bible declares: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).  That "belief" is here used in the comprehensive sense is seen by reading the last verse of this same chapter: "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; but he who does not believe the Son (he who does not obey the Son, New American Standard Version) will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36).

 

It is in this all-encompassing sense of fully submitting to Christ that the Philippian jailer, in response to his question, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?", is told: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:30-31).  Sadly, many people stop at this point in this amazing story of salvation.  In the words of Paul Harvey, they fail to listen to "the rest of the story."  The jailer is told to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved."  But in Romans 10:14 Paul rhetorically asks: "...how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?", and then affirms: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). 

 

And so, after telling the jailer to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," Paul and Silas  "spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house" (Acts 16:32).  It was only by hearing the word of the Lord that the jailer could believe and learn what he  must do to act upon that belief in order to be saved.  Now for "the rest of the story": "And he (the jailer) took them (Paul and Silas) the same hour of the night and washed their stripes (they had been beaten with many stripes prior to being put into prison, verse 23).  And immediately he and all his family were baptized.  And when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, believing in God (having believed in God, New American Standard Version) with all his household"  (Acts 16:33-34).  

 

In this beautiful story of how the Philippian jailer and his family were saved, the following vital question needs to be asked: Between the point where the jailer is told to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" and the point where it is said that he had "believed in God," what took place?  When one answers that question, he has discovered what it means to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."     

 

If this essay has blessed your life, feel free to forward it to others who may benefit from it.

 

Hugh Fulford