When we express our confidence in something or someone we have faith in that object or person. Hebrews 11:1 But there are two unavoidable and interrelated truths about this faith. First, we can not know how to appropriately express our confidence in someone or something until we first know the context where faith is to be expressed. Second, the context determines how our confidence should be manifested.
Two secular scenarios can quickly illustrate both of these truths. If a dad says to his son, "trust in me," "have faith in me" or "believe in me," you do not know through what form the son's confidence needs to be expressed until you first know the situation. And once you know the context, you know how that son must respond if he is going to have faith in his dad.
In the graphic on the left, for the young man to have faith in dad requires him "to grab the rope" and then "climb up." But to climb up in the second graphic does not constitute faith. In the second scenario, faith in his dad demands "jumping" into his dad's waiting arms.
These illustrations provide an insight into a third very important principle about faith. How faith is to be expressed changes depending upon the context. A response which constitutes faith in one situation may not constitute faith in someone in a different situation.
A Look At Some Biblical Examples
Let's take a quick look at some Biblical examples which illustrate these principles. In 2 Chronicles 20:20 we read, "have faith in the LORD your God and you will be established."
Here is the question. In that situation, if God's people were going to trust in God how were they required to respond? Were they only required to believe in God? Did they also have to do something? The point is, we do not know what form their confidence in God was supposed to take until we have first heard the story. We must first understand the context to understand what would constitute responding in faith in that situation.
As the story unfolds in 2 Chronicles 20:15-20, we learn that enemy forces were coming against God's people. God told the king that they should march out against their enemy because God would deliver them. In this context, how were the men of Judah to exhibit faith in God? If they were going to trust in God they would have to believe that God would fight for them and they would need to march out against the enemy!
How was Abraham to demonstrate his faith in God? That depends upon which story of his life we are describing. On one occasion, God made a promise to Abraham regarding his descendants. How does someone demonstrate faith in a promise? Since there were no stipulations tied to the promise, to have faith simply meant believe in God's promise. Because Abraham just believed God's promise it was credited to him as righteousness. In the context of a promise, faith did not require anything else. Genesis 15:4-6; Romans 4:3, 9, 13, 16, 20-22
On another occasion, God commanded Abraham to leave his family and go to a land He would show him. In this context, would it have been sufficient for Abraham to have merely believed in God with all of his heart as he did when given the promise? No! In this situation, to have faith in God demanded that Abraham obey God by packing his bags and start walking down a dusty road not knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8.
The story of Noah also illustrates these principles of faith. God told Noah to build an ark because He was going to destroy the world. Noah built an ark in response to God's commands and because he built an ark he received the justification which comes by faith. Hebrews 11:7 That's right. As the result of his obedience, Noah was justified by faith. Noah had trusted in God.
In another biblical story, Isaiah told king Ahaz, "if you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." Isaiah 7:9 If Ahaz was going to be resolute in faith clearly there was a designated path he had to follow. But what was it? Was he merely to believe that God is powerful? Was he to build something like Noah? Was he to march out against the enemy? We can not know until we know the story. In this case, for Ahaz to have faith in God demanded that he trust in God by not sending a request to Assyria for military help against his enemies.
As the above examples show, faith and obedience are not necessarily two separate coins. They can be joined together. Whenever God speaks and requires something from people, faith in God requires His people to trust in God through whatever manner God might require whether this be merely believing, or marching out, or not sending to Assyria for help, etc. It is the context which determines how faith in God at that time must be expressed.
The Great News of the Gospel
The great news is Jesus has liberated us from the need to demonstrate that we are righteous in our own right. Jesus did this by making righteousness available through faith in his blood. Romans 3:25; 5:1, 9; Ephesians 1:7 In fact, not only is there no way anyone can earn or demonstrate his or her own righteousness (Titus 3:5; Philippians 3:9; Ephesians 2:8-9), but the way we become children of God is by having faith in Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:26; John 1:12-13 Salvation is therefore given on the basis of grace to those who exhibit trust in Jesus. Ephesians 2:8
But how does the gospel call for us to express faith in Jesus' blood? How do we become a child of God by trusting in Jesus? Do we simply believe a promise? Or does the context of the gospel demand some other form of response? We can not know how we are required to express faith in Jesus and in his blood until we have first heard the story of the gospel.
The Message of the Gospel
What is the gospel story? The first gospel sermon was preached by Peter to the Jews. It proclaimed Jesus as the one through whom God had performed many miracles and wonderful signs. Although Jesus had been put to death, God had raised him from the dead. Peter concluded his lesson claiming that everyone therefore should know for certain that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ.
But how were they supposed to respond to this good news that Jesus is Lord and Christ? Although some people today teach that we simply need to ask Jesus to come into our heart, Peter answered this question by commanding the people to repent from their sins and to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins. Acts 2:38 Those who accepted the gospel were baptized, resulting in them being added to those who were being saved. Acts 2:40f.
Not only did Peter deliver the first gospel lesson to those Jews who were gathered from many countries, he also was the first person several years later to preach the gospel to a Gentile audience. Although his lesson was interrupted by the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44; 11:15-17), the message was the same. Forgiveness of sins depends upon people believing in Jesus. Acts 10:36-43 How did Cornelius and his household respond in faith to the message Peter presented? They were baptized.
Examining History: Expressing Faith in Jesus
When people hear the story about Jesus' death and resurrection, many do respond with faith. For example, in Acts 4:4 we read, "But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand." Similarly when the message of Jesus was proclaimed at Antioch, "a great number became believers and turned to the Lord." Acts 11:21 Also, "believers in the Lord ... were added to their number." Acts 5:14 Likewise when some Jewish priests heard the gospel, they became "obedient to the faith." Acts 6:7 There are many such examples as these. "All who lived at Lydda ... turned to the Lord." Acts 9:35 "Many believed in the Lord." Acts 9:42
These passages use phrases like "turned," "believed," or "became obedient to the faith," to indicate that someone was converted. But these verses do not tell us how those people exhibited their trust in Jesus as a result of hearing the gospel.
However, there are a number of other historical examples of conversion where the details are provided about how someone expressed faith in Jesus. For example, when Philip preached the kingdom and Jesus Christ, many people responded to this message by being baptized. Acts 8:12 When Philip simply preached Jesus to the eunuch, the eunuch's response to the gospel was "here is water. Why can't I be baptized?" Acts 8:35-36 After the jailer was baptized he rejoiced because he and his household had come to believe in God. Acts 16:34 Although Saul of Tarsus believed in the Lord on the road to Damascus, he was still in his sins until Ananias baptized him. Acts 22:16 Lydia's heart was open to the message resulting in her and her household being baptized. Acts 16:14-15 The consistent testimony of the historical examples in scripture reveals that expressing faith in Jesus requires an individual's choosing to be baptized.
Examining Theology: Expressing Faith in Jesus
Jesus taught that salvation from sin comes through believing in him and that disciples were to be made by baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. John 8:24; Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16 Similarly, he taught that no one could see the kingdom of God unless he is born of the water and the Spirit. John 3:5 The apostolic church understood this as a reference to a new birth occurring at the time of a person's baptism.
Paul taught that how someone expresses faith resulting in becoming a child of God involves being baptized into Christ thus clothing oneself with Christ. Galatians 3:26-27 Thus, baptism involves whole-heartily obeying the gospel so that a person is set free from the old life dominated by sin and given a new life in service to God. Romans 6:3-18 especially 6:17 Accordingly, Paul could speak of the gospel as leading people to "the obedience of faith." Romans 16:25-26; 1:5
Peter revealed this same understanding of the forgiveness which comes through Christ when he wrote "now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth ..." 1 Peter 1:22 In that same letter, he later described the moment of this purification when he claimed "baptism now saves you" 1 Peter 3:21. Peter was not claiming that water is the basis of salvation. Rather, he accurately pointed to baptism as being that moment when because someone relies upon Jesus, that individual gains a clear conscience before God as a result of Christ. 1 Peter 3:21 See also Hebrews 10:22.
The Apostolic Gospel: Pulling It All Together
To summarize the teachings of the New Testament, the gospel is the good news that those who believe in Jesus have the right to become children of God by being born of God. John 1:12-13 The basis of salvation is therefore Jesus. Jesus died so that his blood could establish a new covenant relationship with God and bring the forgiveness of sins. Matthew. 26:28 In fact, God's promise to us through the new covenant is that He will not remember our sins. Hebrews 10:16-17
The apostolic gospel which proclaimed salvation by faith also described how we must express our faith in Jesus; we must obey the gospel. 2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17; Hebrews 5:9; Romans 1:5; 16:25-26 The obedience of faith, which enables us to enter into Jesus' covenant and receive the forgiveness of sins made possible by his death, involves trusting in Jesus by having our bodies washed with water. Hebrews 10:22 Acts 22:16; 2:38. At that time, Jesus' blood is sprinkled upon our hearts to cleanse our consciences from all sin. Hebrews 10:22 Salvation therefore comes to those who trust in Jesus and in his blood. Galatians 3:26-27; Romans 3:25 The way in which we rely upon Jesus is to respond to the good news about him by being baptized. Let's announce that simple and original gospel message that by faith in Jesus we become children of God.
But what about ...?
I would prefer to have ended this article here. But unfortunately, many people have been taught to believe that baptism is not necessary for salvation. As long as people continue to map over the text their own explanations of how faith is to be expressed, the original message will continue to elude them. Space here does not permit responding to every objection which a person might raise, but here are a few brief responses to some popular ones
What about the thief on the cross?
The story of the thief stands as one more piece of evidence that Jesus is good news illustrating Jesus had the authority to forgive sins. Mark 2:5,10; Luke 23:43 The experience of the thief on the cross does not not teach us how to respond to the gospel since the gospel (death, burial and resurrection of Jesus - 1 Cor. 15:3-4) had not even occurred yet. Similarly, the thief could not have been baptized with the baptism which is a response to the gospel since it is a baptism into the death of Jesus (Romans 6:3-4) which was only practiced after Christ had risen from the dead. Neither the details of the the paralytic being saved when "Jesus looked at their faith" to forgive the paralytic nor the thief's request to be remembered by Jesus when he came into his kingdom provide us the details how to respond to the Christ who died and was raised again. These stories simply tell us that Jesus is good news for our lives.
None of those whom Jesus forgave during his earthly ministry were baptized with the baptism in Jesus' name nor could they have been. Neither the thief, nor Abraham, nor the Old Testament prophets nor anyone else who died before Jesus' resurrection can teach us how God wants us to respond to the life, death and resurrection of His Son. Accordingly, neither the thief nor any other example before the completion of the gospel stands parallel to our situation and how we are to respond in faith to Jesus. Therefore, none of these examples prior to the preaching about Jesus prove that baptism is not a necessary aspect today for how we are to respond to Jesus in faith.
What about Paul's teaching on "justified by faith?"
Paul's preoccupation with faith was not to teach that we "only need to accept Jesus into our heart." Rather, Paul was emphasizing that salvation comes through trusting in Jesus as opposed to depending upon ourself and our goodness through the Law (works). Baptism is not dependence upon self, but according to the scripture involves wholly casting through faith our hope upon Jesus.
What about Romans 4?
Paul was not attempting to define how we are supposed to respond to the gospel message with faith. Paul's usage of Abraham's faith demonstrates that righteousness is given upon the principle of faith and not by the principle of Law. See Romans 3:27f.
What about Romans 10:9-10?
In Romans 9:30-10:21 Paul explained why Israel had failed to be justified by faith. This passage identifies those specific elements of faith which were a barrier preventing Israel from responding with faith. Israel did not accept nor depend upon Jesus and therefore refused to believe and confess him. But since salvation is open to all who will call upon the Lord, to all who will trust in him, even an Israelite would be saved if he would overcome these obstacles and respond to Jesus with his heart and his lips. Romans 10:8-13 Specifically, Paul went to the very texts Israel recognized (Deut. 30:11-14) to affirm the necessity that that the righteousness which comes by faith requires "the message" (Jesus) to become a belief in our heart and a confession of our lips. Since Israel had rejected "the message" (Jesus), they had failed to respond in faith. Paul's purpose here was not to exhaustively outline to pagans how to respond to Jesus in faith - he was writing to Christians! Rather, he emphasized why Israel had not been justified by faith.
What about 1 Corinthians 1:17?
Paul's purpose was to announce the gospel, not to be the assistant who was baptizing those who responded to the gospel. Instead of denying baptism, the context of 1 Corinthians actually supports baptism as being the biblical response to the gospel.
1) The Corinthians were a community of baptized believers. Because of their problems Paul was glad he was not the one who baptized them lest any of them accuse him of baptizing improperly. 1 Corinthians 1:14-16
2) 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 reveals that both Paul and the Corinthians understood baptism to be evidence of their salvation. Paul's point is: just because they had been baptized did not mean that they could just go on sinning. If they did insist on sinning, they would fall away just as many in Israel had fallen. 1 Corinthians 10:5-12
Barry Newton, Copyright © 1998, Revised version © 2002
Other articles which might be of interest:
Using A Napkin to Tell the Gospel (Simple diagram illustrating the gospel message)Having Faith (Understanding faith - a brief article)
Brief Responses to Common Objections Regarding Whether Baptism Is Essential for Salvation
Saved by Faith: Everyone Tells You To Do Something to be Saved
Baptism, Obedience and Justification by Faith: Forcing Square Pegs Through A Round Hole?