Is Faith Necessary for Salvation?

I knew nothing about the Bible when I was saved. Maybe I'm not saved. :tear:

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Useless question

Never said that. People like Baptist paster/theologian are arrogant and need to find some humility.

People who have never seen a Bible or heard the gospel have no knowledge of Romans 1 either.

It seems to me that you are saying that billions of people will be spending eternity in hell because they never heard the gospel. Maybe so. God is in charge and I do not question His authority. I just don't think you have proven your point with scripture.

 

This is the part that always gave me trouble. If we have anything to do with it, then it raises certain questions. Why was I persuaded and others not? Was I smarter, more open, had more opportunity, better prachers, etc. If He is doing the work it leaves no reason for anyone to boast.

 

Faith has everything to do with salvation but the question is whose faith? I believe it is Christ's faith that justifies.

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,Aso our righteousness comes by way of Christ's faith:

Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:

Our practical faith comes afterwards as a result of justification.

God bless

 

John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God sent his son to save the world. If God limits who hears the Gospel, then this verse is not true. I believe God is obligated to give everyone a chance at salvation, it was the very reason he sent his son. God's Gospel is for the world.

 

1 John 5:1 clearly states that he who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, just like the one who practices righteousness (1 John 2:29) and loves (1 John 4:7). These things do not make us children of God, but are evidences that we are. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: which WERE born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." -John 1:12, 13. Faith is not the condition, but the evidence.

As far as God being "obligated" to give everyone a "chance" to hear the Gospel, "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? -Romans 9:20, 21. God will send His Gospel to whomever He chooses.

 

Actually, I can answer this.

When you unpack this question, it has a couple of logical fallacies. One is that it is really asking two questions:
--Can God make something infinitely big?
--Can God move something infinitely big?

The answer to the first is that God can make something as big as all space, so that it is as big as anything could be.
The second question is an absurd question, since if something were as big as all space, there is nowhere to move it. After all, it has taken up all space.....to where could you move it?
So this question is actually a logical fallacy, one of asking two conflicting questions.

So in light of the explanation above, the answer is simple: No, God can't make something so big he cannot move it. Big deal.

Somehow the implication is that by saying "no, God can't do that" then we are allegedly admitting some sort of limitation in God. But this too is not true, since there are many things God can't do: He can't sin, he can't stop being God, he can't decide to make himself finite, He can't die, he can't do a lot of things, such as be limited by logically fallacious questions.

So the question is answered.

 

These scriptures are talking about our faith in Christ. Not the faith of Christ.
Matthew Henry commentary: Romans 3:22

This is the righteousness of God; righteousness of his ordaining, and providing, and accepting. It is by that faith which has Jesus Christ for its object; an anointed Saviour, so Jesus Christ signifies.

 

And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. -Acts 13:39.

All who believe are justified, "For Christ [is] the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." -Romans 10:4. They cannot keep the whole law, but they can point to the One who did on their behalf. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree:" -Galatians 3:13. One who seeks to be justified cannot do so apart from Christ, "For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." -2 Corinthians 5:21. He is the One whom God set forth to be the propitiation for our sins, and the man who seeks to justify himself by his works, which are as filthy rags, will find himself in bondage with no way of escape. Therefore it is said, "...all that believe are justified...," for Christ, the object of their faith, has fulfilled the law, and the one who does not believe in Him has no basis on which to claim exemption from its penalty.

This is what Scripture refers to as being "justified by faith." It has nothing to do with God rewarding a sinner with a positive verdict for his subjective act of faith, which, by the way, is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).

 

I'm not questioning God or being rebellious, he obligated himself when he sent his Son to save the WORLD.

 

I always wondered what the answer to that was!

 

Me too. How about the chicken and the egg, now?

 

You are right! And He chooses to send it to and into the World that the World through Him MIGHT be saved. Christ died for sinners...God reconciling the world unto Himself...Light was the truth Light that lighteth EVERY MAN that cometh into the WORLD... and on and on saith the scriptures. .

No one argues that not ALL will be saved as says scripture - but all are in mind:

I posted this not long ago as it was compiled by (I think) John Rhodes an avowed 4 point Calvinist. and maybe it is pertinate, then again maybe not - but You can decide:

 

One last thought to tie what I just posted together:

If Unlimited Atonement is as MANY have and still do believe it (and if it be true) it makes holding to Irresistable Grace harder, but make even more clear that "Faith IS necessary for Salvation" and is the answer to the OP.

PS. IT was Ron Rhodes where I got all of the quotes from:
I actaully have these and others but since I am at work (and allowed to be on the internet playing around - securty guard for turkeys-) I do not have immediate access to my files and lists. Though this one is pretty close to what I have as well.
Here is His wed link:
http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/Atonement.html

 

The verse says "faith of" - this is Christ's faith. All new versions change the "of" (Christ's) to "in" (man's) - Take your pick - I will trust Chris't faith over mine - Plus only God can justify - man cannot justify himself.

God bless

 

Your statement AVB make NO sense. Christ has faith...Do you understand what faith is and how it works. Christ doesn't have 'faith' in Himself anymore than God has 'faith' in Himself. That is the same thing the Word of Faith movement states almost verbatum. ei. Kenneth Copeland... Just as God created the Universe with faith and Jesus performed His miracles by faith... There is no scripture that EVER speaks of us having Christs 'faith' for He IS our Faith and the very object of that Faith. We trust in Him, not in His faith.

If you would like we can go much deeper and dig into the text but sufice to say you are unstable ground here and about to fall in.

 

I agree with you Allan, I never have believed that it was Christ who had the faith but being it was "faith in Christ" it is called Christ's faith. It takes faith to please God, faith from us to believe in Him.

 

What does the verse say – not what you think it means?
Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,
Question…
Whose faith is it in the verse - yours or Christ’s?
I didn’t say try to understand it just whose faith is it?

According to the verse below – who justifies?
Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
So then – according to the above verse can your faith justify?

Just trying to be a blessing here – trying to shift the work from you to Christ where the security is found.

God bless

 

AVB, "of" is not even in the original texts. Here are some transaltions of that same verse:

Gal 2:16
(ALT) having known that a person is not justified [or, declared righteous] by works of [the] Law but by means of faith in Jesus Christ, we also believed in Christ Jesus, so that we shall be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of [the] Law, because no flesh [at] all will be justified by works of [the] Law!

(ASV) yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

(BBE) Being conscious that a man does not get righteousness by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, we had faith in Christ Jesus, so that we might get righteousness by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law will no flesh get righteousness.

(CEV) But we know that God accepts only those who have faith in Jesus Christ. No one can please God by simply obeying the Law. So we put our faith in Christ Jesus, and God accepted us because of our faith.


(EMTV) knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; because no flesh shall be justified by the works of the law.

(ESV) yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

(GNB) Yet we know that a person is put right with God only through faith in Jesus Christ, never by doing what the Law requires. We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be put right with God through our faith in Christ, and not by doing what the Law requires. For no one is put right with God by doing what the Law requires.

(GW) Yet, we know that people don't receive God's approval because of their own efforts to live according to a set of standards, but only by believing in Jesus Christ. So we also believed in Jesus Christ in order to receive God's approval by faith in Christ and not because of our own efforts. People won't receive God's approval because of their own efforts to live according to a set of standards.

(HCSB) yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.

​

(ISV) yet we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for no human being will be justified by the works of the law.

(LITV) knowing that a man is not justified by works of Law, but that it is through faith in Jesus Christ (we also believed into Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of Law, because all flesh will not be justified by works of Law). Psa. 123:2
(LXX)

(MKJV) knowing that a man is not justified by works of the Law, but through faith in Jesus Christ; even we believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith in Christ, and not by works of the Law. For all flesh will not be justified by works of law.

(MSG) We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We tried it--and we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen! Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah so that we might be set right before God by trusting in the Messiah, not by trying to be good.

(Murdock) because we know that a man is not made just by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus the Messiah; even we have believed in Jesus the Messiah, in order to be made just by faith in the Messiah, and not by the works of the law: for, by the deeds of the law, no flesh is made just.

(RV) yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, save through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

 

Never intended this to be a textual issue but let's cover it.

The originals are gone so we cannot verify and this is not the issue anyway.
I understand every new version says "in" for these texts are not the same text the KJV is based on.

The real issue is what I already asked in my previous posts:

Is your faith able to justify you or not?

This is the issue - scriptural justification.

Again, only God justifieth. According to the text Christ's faith does the justifying.

Now Webdog - are you telling me that your faith can justify you?
Please answer - a simple yes or on will suffice - Thanks

God bless

 

Trust in Jesus

Our faith in the finished work of Christ is what saves us.

We who believe and have faith in Jesus knows it is Jesus work that justifies us.

We are saved by grace, because the wages of our sin is death, so we are justified by the work of Jesus.

For us to be justified on our own we would have to die. That is not salvation but death.

So we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus.