Not a single one of these mentions belief in the English connotation of "intellectual assent". Every one of these passages uses the Greek word "pistis" which means "faith". This is not a mental only, intellectual only, head/heart knowledge acceptance of the Gospel. Faith requires action or it is dead (James 2:26). Without action faith (belief) does not really exist. If you don't really believe/have faith, then you don't receive salvation.
I never said that "believe" (pisteuo) in those passages of Scripture that I cited were merely "mental assent" belief, although in James 2:19, we read that the demons "believe" (same Greek word - pisteuo) "mental assent" that "there is one God," but they do not "believe" (pisteuo) in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31) and are not saved. So, depending on the context, it can at times mean mental assent, as in James 2:19, but believes goes beyond "mental assent" in Acts 16:31. The demons are not saved. Do you understand the difference between merely believing in your "head" and believing in your
heart that God raised Him from the dead? (Romans 10:9,10) The demons believe "that it happened" (mental assent belief) and saved believers
trust in what happened for salvation. Big difference!
Faith demonstrates that it's not dead by actions/works, but we are saved by faith in Christ at it's origin and not by actions/works which are produced afterwards. (Ephesians 2:8,9) In James 2:26, the comparison of the human spirit and faith converge around their modes of operation. The spirit (Greek pneuma) may also be translated "breath." As a breathless body
exhibits no indication of life, so fruitless faith
exhibits no indication of life. The source of the life in faith is not works; rather, life in faith is the source of works. (Ephesians 2:5-10) You have the tail wagging the dog. The cart before the horse.
In James 2:14, we read of one who
SAYS/CLAIMS he has faith but has
no works (to
evidence his claim). That is not genuine faith, but a
bare profession of faith. So, when James asks, "Can
that faith save him?" he is saying nothing against genuine faith, but only against an
empty profession of faith/dead faith. So, James does not teach that we are saved "by" works. His concern is to
show the reality of the faith
professed by the individual (James 2:18) and
demonstrate that the faith
claimed (James 2:14) by the individual is
genuine. Simple!
In James 2:24, James is not using the word "justified" here to mean "accounted as righteous" but is
shown to be righteous. James is discussing the
evidence of faith (
says-claims to have faith but has no works/I will show you my faith by my works - James 2:14-18) and
not the initial act of being accounted as righteous with God. (Romans 4:2-3)
Dan, look at what the plaque that was placed over Jesus' head on the cross said according to Mark 15:26. It says that the plaques said:
"THE KING OF THE JEWS". Nothing more, just "THE KING OF THE JEWS."
Is that the complete truth? For the purposes of this writer and the audience he was speaking to, yes, that was all that needed to be said. But it is not the complete story as we know from John 19:19 which says that the plaque said:
"JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS." and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
Now, is it "adding to Scripture" to include Jesus' name when we speak of what the plaque said if we are only referencing Mark's account? NO! Because we have other Scriptures that fill in gaps that Mark leaves.
The same is true of the list of verses you gave above. Those passages only mention faith, but they do not tell us what form that faith must take. Passages like Acts 2:38, Rom 10:9-10, Acts 3:19, and others tell us what form faith must take in order to bring us the salvation that God offers.
The only logical conclusion
when properly harmonizing Scripture with Scripture is that 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 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43-47; 11:17,18; 15:7-9; 16:31; 26:18).
*Perfect Harmony* Confession is already implied or assumed. (Romans 10:8-10)
This is exactly what I am saying above, and it applies also to confession of Jesus as Lord, and baptism in water in order to receive forgiveness of sin.
More bad semantics and flawed hermeneutics.
You keep focusing on this, and I have already agreed that they come chronologically together but must come before salvation is received.
The word of faith is in the mouth and heart of believers
TOGETHER unto salvation. (Romans 10:8-10) It's not believe unto righteousness today (but are still lost) then confess with your mouth next week and are finally saved next week. You turn the plan of salvation into a 4-step formula that culminates in salvation by water baptism/works.
This is where you are wrong. Water baptism does not "follow" salvation, any more than you can be saved while still in your sin. Baptism in water is done "in order that you may receive forgiveness of your sins". It is not done "because you have already received forgiveness of your sins".
I already thoroughly covered this in post #104 and post #109 from the link below:
You’re saved by trusting in Jesus and His gospel, His death, burial, and resurrection. It’s not just knowing the facts but truly trusting that He saves you. One is saved before they believe and trust, they have to be born again in order to believe the Gospel. See believing and trusting is an...
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Here is where your misinterpretation of what "pistis" means comes into play. We are not saved the moment we give intellectual assent to the truth of the Gospel. We are saved when we exhibit faith in Jesus through repentance (Acts 3:19), confess Jesus as Lord (Rom 10:9-10), and are baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38, 1 Pet 3:21, Gal 3:26-27). This is when we are saved, adopted as children of God, and made pure and holy (Eph 5:26-27)
I never said that we are saved the moment that we merely believe "mental assent" that the death, burial and resurrection of Christ "happened." Even the demons believe that. Saving faith also includes
trust and reliance in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ as the ALL-sufficient means of our salvation. That is what it means to
believe the gospel. (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4) Those with saving faith in Christ have already repented in the process of changing their mind and choosing to believe the gospel/place faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. (Acts 11:17,18; 20:21) Two sides to the same coin. Confessing and believing are not two separate steps to salvation but are chronologically together. (Romans 10:8-10) I already thoroughly covered Acts 2:38 with you in post #104 from the link below:
You’re saved by trusting in Jesus and His gospel, His death, burial, and resurrection. It’s not just knowing the facts but truly trusting that He saves you. One is saved before they believe and trust, they have to be born again in order to believe the Gospel. See believing and trusting is an...
www.christianforums.com
I also already thoroughly covered 1 Peter 3:21 and Galatians 3:26-27 with you in post #357.
When one stands God on Judgment Day, will God ask, "Were you baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit?" Will you be confident when replying, "Lord, I did not get baptized because I was not sure how to do it correctly and if it mattered for salvation." this just...
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Being saved, adopted as children of God, made pure and holy, buried and raised with Christ to new life is
signified but not procured in water baptism. Ephesians 5:26 does not even mention baptism, but says, "washing of water
by the word." Water is used in the Bible as an
emblem of the word of God, and in such uses it is
associated with cleansing or washing. (
John 15:3;
Ephesians 5:26) When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begets new life, so that we are said to become "partakers of the divine nature." (
2 Peter 1:4) The new birth is brought to pass through "incorruptible seed, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever" (
I Peter 1:23) and the Holy Spirit accomplishes the miracle of regeneration. (
Titus 3:5) So, to automatically read "baptism" into Ephesians 5:26 simply because it mentions "water" is
unwarranted.
Again, that is a wrong interpretation of those verses. Faith without action is dead. There is no faith without action (James 2:20, 22, 24, 26). Action are the soul that gives life to faith (the body). If there is no soul, the body is dead. If there is no action, faith is dead. The dead cannot bring life.
I already gave you the proper interpretation of those verses, but since it does not fit your narrative, you reject it. You need to go back and read post #358 again and apply more exegesis and less eisegesis.
When one stands God on Judgment Day, will God ask, "Were you baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit?" Will you be confident when replying, "Lord, I did not get baptized because I was not sure how to do it correctly and if it mattered for salvation." this just...
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Ahh, I see what you are getting at. There are many forms of repentance. There is repentance from sin, but there is also repentance from disbelief, repentance from a decision, repentance from following a wrong path, repentance from following a right path, etc. Even God repented of making decisions (Gen 6:6-7, Exo 32:14, etc.). The repentance that comes before belief in the Gospel is disbelief of the Gospel (which the Holy Spirit helps us do). But this is not salvation, it is merely a step in the right direction. Repentance from sin comes after belief in the Gospel.
How do you define repentance from sin? Completely stop sinning 24/7? Good luck with that. Your multi-step plan of salvation culminates in salvation by works. The Greek word for "repent" is "metanoia" (noun) and "matanoeo" (verb) you see as defined in the Strongs #3340, 3341:
to think differently or afterwards, reconsider. To change one's mind.
https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Lexicon.show/ID/G3340/metanoeo.htm#:~:text=Strong's #3340: metanoeo (pronounced met-an-o-eh'-o) from 3326 and,i.e. reconsider (morally, feel compunction):--repent. Thayer's Greek Lexicon:
Repentance basically means a "change of mind" and the context must determine what is involved in this change of mind. Where salvation is in view, repentance actually precedes saving faith in Christ and is not a totally separate act from faith. It is actually the same coin with two sides. Repentance is on one side (what you change your mind about) and faith in Christ is on the positive side, the new direction of this change of mind. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same experience of receiving Christ. (Acts 20:21)
Certain people misunderstand the term "repentance" to mean "turning from sin" to the extreme which means from that moment on we live a sinless, without fault or defect, flawless, absolute perfect life, 100% of the time, yet repent does not mean sinless perfection. The word "repent" basically means to "change your mind."
The Bible also tells us that true repentance will
result in a change of actions. Acts 26:20 declares, "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and
prove their repentance by their deeds." This is the
fruit of repentance (Matthew 3:8), not the essence of repentance (change of mind). I have heard certain people say, "if you want to be saved, repent of your sins, turn from your sins." If turning from your sins means to completely stop sinning, then people can only be saved if they completely stop sinning and, in that case, none of us will be saved because none of us are sinless, without fault or defect, flawless, 100% of the time. (1 John 1:8-10)
Yes, confession is an expression of our faith THAT LEADS TO RECEIVING SALVATION. This means that the word of faith in our mouth and heart DOES NOT mean that you are saved, but it leads toward being saved.
So, believes unto righteousness/confession is made unto salvation actually means towards salvation, but not saved yet? That is pure eisegesis and I see how you need to twist Romans 10:8-10 in order to make water baptism which "follows" the point of salvation. Compare believes unto righteousness with Romans 4:5-6. You really need to start being honest with these texts.
This is evidence of the Spirit of God working in us even before we are saved. But it does not indicate salvation already having been received.
You remain in denial. Being baptized by
one Spirit into one body indicates one is saved.
Again? We have already been through this!
And you are still rejecting the truth.
Yes, being baptized in water is not to clean dirt from our physical bodies. It is to remove sin from our soul (give us a clean conscience), and is done by the Holy Spirit through the power of the resurrection of Jesus. But if we do not receive water baptism, then we do not receive the clean conscience, or have our sins removed by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the reality and water baptism is the
picture of the reality.
And this explanation of this person shows his personal bias that colors his interpretation. The text clearly places the reception of forgiveness of sin "in baptism", not before baptism.
Greek scholar AT Robertson nailed it but since it does not fit your narrative, you simply reject the truth. It's a shame that you don't listen. Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Baptism is an action of faith.
Baptism is an action performed "out of" faith just like other good works, but baptism is not faith itself.
These other verses do not reverse the statement of Jesus that says that we receive salvation in baptism (Mark 16:16), and that we cannot be saved without both the Spirit and water (baptism)(John 3:5).
I thoroughly refuted your arguments in post #357.
When one stands God on Judgment Day, will God ask, "Were you baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit?" Will you be confident when replying, "Lord, I did not get baptized because I was not sure how to do it correctly and if it mattered for salvation." this just...
www.christianforums.com
As I just stated, and Scripture does also, repeatedly, baptism is an act of faith. Baptism fulfills all these passages that state "justification by faith". As James 2:24 states, "You see that a person is justified by works and NOT by faith alone."
I already thoroughly refuted your arguments in post #358.
Justification occurs DURING being dipped in and out of water (baptism). This is when we put on Christ (Gal 3:26-27). This is when we are made pure and spotless (Eph 5:2-26-27). This is when we have our sins washed away (Acts 22-26). This is when we receive salvation.
False and for the upteenth time, this is
signified but not procured in water baptism.
What does the next verse say? "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." You are all children of God through faith because you who were baptized INTO Him, have been clothed with Him. If you haven't been baptized into Him, then you haven't been clothed with Him, and your sins haven't been washed away.
We are Spirit baptized into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13) and water baptism
signifies this. If one sets out to put on the clothes of a Christian, in water baptism,
without first becoming a Christian (child of God through faith), then one becomes an
imposter, and is declaring, in baptism, to be what they are not.
Those who believe in Him "have the right to become". It does not say that they ALREADY ARE, but that they CAN BECOME.
You really need to stop twisting the Scriptures. Given the right to become = become children of God. What did John say in 1 John 5:13? Hermeneutics. Also, in Galatians 3:26, we read - For
you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. According to your twist, we would have a contradiction here.
And if you have not been clothed with Christ, then you are not in Christ. You are not His and you have not been born again. The Israelites were not baptized in water into Moses. They were baptized in the pillar of cloud and fire, and in the Red Sea. Different baptism, but same concept.
The Israelites were not water baptized into the body of Moses, just as believers are not water baptized into the body of Christ. So, baptized into Christ" does not mean water baptized into the body of Christ, as water-salvationists teach. That is only accomplished through
Spirit baptism. (1 Corinthians 12:13) Now in what "sense" would a believer be "water baptized into Christ?" In the same "sense" that the Israelites were "baptized into Moses.." (1 Corinthians 10:2)
The Israelites were not literally water baptized into the body of Moses and there is little dispute that being "baptized into Moses"
signified the open allegiance and public identification of the Israelites with Moses as their leader. Moses was formally recognized as the leader of the covenant people. Water baptism
signifies our allegiance and public identification with Christ as our Savior, so it would only be in that sense.