March 23, 2025
Previous: The Role of Grace in Salvation.
L. John Bost
My Faith Looks Up to Thee – Dallas Christian Adult Concert Choir.
Introduction
We have seen that we are saved through faith. Salvation is by the grace, the gift, of God and by faith. We have studied the role of grace in salvation (Role of Grace). In this article, we will study the role of faith in salvation.
“Whoever Believes.”
When John recorded Jesus’ words in John 3:16, he used the Greek word, pisteuo {pist-yoo’-o}, for believes – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Thayer defines this word, “To think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.” On pisteuo {pist-yoo’-o}, Vine writes, “To believe,” also “to be persuaded of,” and hence, “to place confidence in, to trust,” signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere credence.”
“By Grace, You Have Been Saved by Faith.”
Paul uses the Greek noun, pistis {pis’-tis} in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God…” Strong defines this word, as “Persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation…”
Credence Is Not Enough
In Romans 10:9, Paul writes, “…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…” So Paul says that salvation is only for those who are persuaded of, place confidence in, and trust Jesus as Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead and places reliance upon, not mere credence, in Jesus. Jesus had said that He was given by the Father so that whoever believes, that is, places confidence in, trusts, and relies upon Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. So it is clear that mere credence, mental acceptance that Jesus did or does live, does not save a sinner.
Additional Passages
Jesus
Jesus told an unbelieving crowd in John 8:24, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Phillip
After Phillip had preached Jesus to an Ethiopian (Acts 8:35), they came upon a certain body of water and the Ethiopian asked, “Look! “Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36). Philip answered, “If you believe (pist-yoo’-o) with all your heart, you may” (Acts 8:37). Now, notice the Ethiopian’s confession: “I believe pisteuo (pist-yoo’-o) that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Upon this confession, Philip baptized the Ethiopian (Acts 8:38-39).
Paul
Paul writes in Romans 1:16-17:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
Paul says, “For the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. What does this mean? It is best summed up in the J. B. Philips Translation, “I see in it God’s plan for imparting righteousness to men, a process begun and continued by their faith. For, as the scripture says: ‘The just shall live by faith’.” God imparts righteousness, and the righteous one is the one who begins with faith and continues in faith. The quotation, “The just shall live by faith,” is from Habakkuk 2:4.
It is impossible to please God without faith. Paul writes in Hebrews 11:6, “And 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 seek Him.”
Peter
Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:3-5:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
He writes in 1 Peter 1:8-9, “and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”
John
John writes in 1 John 5:11-13:
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Conclusion
For a sinner to receive salvation, he must believe in Jesus as the Son of God and believe that God has raised Him from the dead. This belief is more than a mere mental belief or assent that Jesus did/does exist, but a persuasion that Jesus is the Son of God raised from the dead and confidence in, trust in, and reliance upon Him. This faith is one that must stay with him throughout his life and is not a fleeting faith.
Nor is this faith faith alone. More is required. John writes in John 3:35, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (See, What Does Jesus Say). We will study this truth further in a later installment. See you then!
For further study, see: Kyle Butt, Apologetics Press, What Is Biblical Faith?
