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"But what about these verses?
I
think that they show that it is not enough for me just to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as
my Savior. Instead, I think that they show that
for me to be saved I also need to be water baptized like Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38 say.
And I also need to be faithful in living for God
in my daily life, like Matthew 24:13 says. So to me it is obvious from these verses that
there is more to being saved than just believing
in Jesus Christ as my Savior."
"A lot of people think the same as you. These verses you point to, along with
others like them, are commonly cited to try to
prove that faith alone in Christ alone is not
enough for salvation. However, are you sure that
you are understanding these verses properly?"
"Of course I'm sure. But…what do you mean, anyway?"
"I mean that not everything in the Bible
is talking about what God is doing today in this present dispensation of His grace. In
addition, not every time you see the word `save,' `saved,' or `salvation' in the Bible, is it
always a reference to spiritual salvation; or salvation from the debt and penalty of your
sins. There are numerous times when these words refer to some physical kind of salvation.
And this is especially true in the portion of the Bible that pertains to God's program and
dealings with Israel, like in the Gospel accounts and the opening chapters of the book of
Acts where the verses you cite are found."
"Are you telling me that my spiritual
salvation, or justification unto eternal life, is
not what God is talking about in Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, and Matthew 24:13?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Carefully check out the context of those verses
and you will see that they pertain to the
preaching of `the gospel of the kingdom' during
God's program with Israel. But as God declared
later on when He raised up the Apostle Paul, He has now temporarily suspended Israel's
program and has brought in this present dispensation of His grace. Hence, those verses
do not pertain to what God is doing now. Moreover, the salvation that those verses speak
of in Israel's program has more in view than just the issue of spiritual salvation. It
includes physical salvation for people at that time
from the various judgments of the Lord's day of wrath that will be taking place during the
final stage in Israel's program. In fact water baptism is used at that time to mark out
the ones who are to be physically saved from those judgments. So in those verses God
is not talking to you about how you can be spiritually saved, or justified in His sight, in
this present dispensation of His grace."
"I'm going to need to study some more about what was
happening at that time in God's program with
Israel. However, I do see from the context that God's program with
Israel is in view, and that these verses are definitely dealing with more than the
fundamental issue of spiritual salvation, or
justification unto eternal life."
"Well for right now that is the most important thing for you to see. And in view of
it, when it comes to your own justification in God's sight you need to make sure that
you are dealing with the specific portion of God's word in which He is talking directly to
you about it."
"By that I assume you mean Romans 1:16-3:26."
"Yes, that's right. As the opening verses
of Romans set forth, the Apostle Paul is God's apostle for us in this present dispensation
of His grace. And just as Paul declares in Romans 1:16, "the gospel of Christ" which
he preaches to us is "the power of God unto
salvation to everyone that believeth."
Therefore on the basis of this you know that this is
the gospel that God has for you to hear today. And you can also see from the context that the
salvation spoken about in this gospel is your spiritual salvation, or justification unto
eternal life."
"Yes, that is clear."
"Well, then, it should also be clear that
what Paul declares to you in Romans 3:21-26 is perfectly true. Read it again and notice
that there are absolutely no works for you to do
in order to be justified in God's sight. The Lord Jesus Christ has done all the work for
you when He died in your place as your substitute-Redeemer. The issue is for you to
believe in Him as your all-sufficient Savior in
view of His redemptive work on your behalf. Hence, faith alone in Christ alone is the
only issue."
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all
and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23
For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth
to
be a propitiation through faith in his blood,
to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through
the forbearance of God;
26 To declare,
I say, at this time his
righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)
"Notice that the apostle Paul does not say that God will justify you in His sight, if
you will believe in Jesus and be water baptized. Nor that God will justify you if you
believe in Jesus and live for Him on a daily
basis. Nor if you will believe in Jesus and do anything in addition to that. No, instead Paul
says that God is `just, and the justifier of him
which believeth in Jesus.' Again, to believe in
someone means to completely depend upon him and his ability to do something for you
that you cannot do for yourself. And this is exactly what it means to `believe in Jesus.' "
——————
Have you believed in The Lord Jesus Christ as your all-sufficient Savior? If not, why
not do so right now, and let God justify you unto eternal life.
— K. R. Blades
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