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Must one Believe to be saved ?

S

savedbygrace57

Guest
The Jailer asked in acts 16:


29Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?


31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

32And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

The answer is Yes, one must believe to be saved ! However, if the question is, must one believe to get saved, the answer is no..

Many get these things confused, and much false doctrine has arisen and have made salvation to be a work, something one does, such as believe to get saved, in other words they make believing a condition to getting saved, and this verse is a popular one they use to justify this falsehood.

Lets remember that salvation is in different tenses , for we have a saved in the past tense eph 2:8, in the present tense 1 cor 1:18, and future tense rom 5:9

Now lets look back at what it is to be saved ! The misunderstanding is that we do not know what the word be means ! What does it mean to be saved, as opposed to getting saved !

The word be first of all is not the same as the word get ! Now it should be noted that there is a most important difference in the two words be and get.

If the bible ever stated that one must believe to get saved, then it would teaching gaining salvation by something one does, our effort, our obedience. But the bible teaches that one must believe to be saved or in order to be saved.

You see the word be is a statement of fact, it means to exist in actuality ! The word get means a condition to be met.

Now lets look at a passage to see if we can further understand Mk 16:

16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.


This scripture is talking about salvation in the present and future tenses. We have believed that this scripture as with acts 16 teaches that we must believe to get saved. But is this really what Jesus is saying ? "Shall be saved" is in the greek a future passive indicative, the indicative mood is a simple statement of fact.

Since the salvation Christ is speaking of is in the indicative mood it means the salvation Christ has under consideration is not and cannot be a condition to be met, for He means that belief is the evidence of salvation and not the condition to get salvation. It means all who are saved or will be saved will believe in Christ as a matter of fact and evidence, so belief is necessary because of salvation and not to get salvation.

If Christ would have spake of salvation sodzo in the imperative mood, then it would be right to say one must believe to get saved, for the imperative gives a command to the hearer to do something by the authority of the one commanding.

One more example of a popular scripture rom 10:

9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Again, saved sozo is in the indicative mood, and so it is a statement of fact that anyone who confesses and believes will be saved. Since the mood is indicative, its not the acts of confessing or believing that result in future salvation, but Jesus Christ saving work on the cross does. People are saved by Christ blood and God's Grace, but belief and confession are evidences of a saved heart, a new heart given by regeneration..

So yes, one must believe to be saved, but not to get saved.

After Paul told the Jailor " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" immediately following it says that they spake unto Him the word of God, if they would believe after hearing the word of God, it would evidenced them of being in a saved state...
 
Believe what? Believe in Jesus? Jesus is real. Read this:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 RSV

Are you capable of saving yourself?
 
savedbygrace57 said:
So yes, one must believe to be saved, but not to get saved.

After Paul told the Jailor " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" immediately following it says that they spake unto Him the word of God, if they would believe after hearing the word of God, it would evidenced them of being in a saved state...
Click to expand...

By this, what then would be the difference between simply believing that Jesus was a "good man" or a "moral teacher" or some-such?

In every passage, the word "Lord" is a conjugation of the Greek "Kurios", which is a term of deity that was ascribed to Caesar...the synonymous meaning is "God" and was understood as such.

In the Romans 10 passage..."if you will confess with the mouth the (κυριον) Lord Jesus Christ..." literally means that if you will confess that Jesus is God (as opposed to Caesar)....

John 8:24 says: "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.â€

I truly think that there must be a spark of belief that Jesus Christ is Lord and God before conversion takes place...not a well defined theology...but certainly more than simply a belief that Jesus existed, that He was a good, moral person and a great teacher, etc. :chin
 
Hmm. Saved I think you are dealing in semantics here. Belief is an act in an of itself. We do have to do something to be saved. We have to believe. Salvation is a gift as you well know. But we actually have to reach out and accept the gift. Which is an action. Now that is not to say that we did anything to earn the gift. That is totally different. Just because I believe and the belief is accounted to me for salvation does not mean I did anything to earn the salvation. God forbid! We can do nothing to deserve or earn Gods gift. But deserving or earning is a far cry from accepting the gift. If someone offered me a million bucks out of the blue and I took the gift, would I have any claim to deserving or earning the gift. I think not.

The jailor did ask Paul what he must "do" to be saved. Paul did not tell him you cannot do anything to be saved, he said you must believe. So he did have to do something. He had to believe. But again, I say that is not the same as earning or deserving the salvation. Does that make sense?
 
That term belief was accuratly translated to english, but the modern understanding of belief does not fully fit with its origanal intent, that word belief was a belief that was so strong it compelled you to action. Todays casual form of belief will not fit the bill.
 
mont:

Salvation is a gift as you well know. But we actually have to reach out and accept the gift.
Click to expand...

This Statement is False, not that salvation is not a gift, that part is True, but that one must reach out and accept is a lie..

Salvation is Given to the elect..Its applied to them or its bestowed upon them. The Grace of God brings it to them, and actually converts them into experiencing it..

So if you couple a True statement with a false statement, then the whole statement is false coming from you..
 
Can two walk together except they be agreed..?

A person can't walk with God if they do not agree with God and what He says in His word.. and a person who does agree with the word of God does agree that they must take up their cross and deny themselves.. Paul tells us that those who are Christ's HAVE crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts.. because they agree with God that there is nothing good in their flesh and that He alone is good.

All a Calvinist would do is say that God enables a person to AGREE with God about these things.. which is ridiculous of course.. and once again it's all because of the false doctrine of UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION... the proverbial box that Calvinists can't think outside of.
 
'But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
and that believing ye might have life through his name.' (John 20:31)


Hello there Savedbygrace,


Faith is just believing that what God says He will surely do:


'What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture?

Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.' (Romans 4:1-8)


The Word of God is clear, and cannot be refuted. This is not man's 'opinion'.


PRAISE GOD

In Christ
Wings
 
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even:

A person can't walk with God if they do not agree with God and what He says in His word
Click to expand...

You are describing yourself..
 
wings:

Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.


Click to expand...


What is the it that was counted to him as righteouness ?

I know you do not know, all you are doing is quoting scripture without studying it ..
 
Eventide said:
How about YOU... do you agree with God that you must take up your cross and deny yourself ?
Click to expand...

Yeah, but you dont do it, you deny the cross. And this thread is not for that purpose, if you wanna discuss that, i suggest you start a thread on it.
 
montanaviking said:
Hmm. Saved I think you are dealing in semantics here. Belief is an act in an of itself. We do have to do something to be saved. We have to believe. Salvation is a gift as you well know. But we actually have to reach out and accept the gift. Which is an action. Now that is not to say that we did anything to earn the gift. That is totally different. Just because I believe and the belief is accounted to me for salvation does not mean I did anything to earn the salvation. God forbid! We can do nothing to deserve or earn Gods gift. But deserving or earning is a far cry from accepting the gift. If someone offered me a million bucks out of the blue and I took the gift, would I have any claim to deserving or earning the gift. I think not.

The jailor did ask Paul what he must "do" to be saved. Paul did not tell him you cannot do anything to be saved, he said you must believe. So he did have to do something. He had to believe. But again, I say that is not the same as earning or deserving the salvation. Does that make sense?
Click to expand...

I agree....never really thought about the differences between "be" and "get" but I like your pov.:)
 
savedbygrace57 said:
Yeah, but you dont do it, you deny the cross. And this thread is not for that purpose, if you wanna discuss that, i suggest you start a thread on it.
Click to expand...

I agree with that as well.. that we must take up our cross and deny ourselves.. simply because that's what the bible teaches, that all in Adam are under the same condemnation..

Even after we're saved, it's not our old life which is justified before God but rather the life of Christ IN US which is justified before God.
 
eventide:

I agree with that as well.. that we must take up our cross and deny ourselves
Click to expand...

You say you agree but you do not do it, you deny the cross..
 
savedbygrace57 said:
wings:



What is the it that was counted to him as righteouness ?

I know you do not know, all you are doing is quoting scripture without studying it ..
Click to expand...

Savedbygrace,

You presume a great deal!

'It' - is that 'Abraham believed God.' and proved it by his subsequent action, he was prepared to offer His Son as a sacrifice, in the sure belief that God could raise the dead, and that God's promises in regard to Isaac would surely be fulfilled.

In Christ
Wings
 
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savedbygrace57 said:
eventide:



You say you agree but you do not do it, you deny the cross..
Click to expand...

How do you know.. are you the rightful judge like God ?

You are led to believe that God chose you unconditionally.. and yet you say that you agree with God that you must take up your cross and deny yourself..

How does that make God choosing YOU unconditionally.. ?
 
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