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Why do some say "believe on" instead of "believe in?"
- Thread starter billwald
- Start date
Thinkingstuff
Active Member
Because in the KJV in Acts 16:30-31 it says
and also its a proclimation of nothing added to faith. So if someone were to say believe in Jesus then that leaves the possiblity behavioral change may be required because if you believe in Jesus you must abide by his moral tachings but to believe on Jesus no behavioral change is required because by relying on Jesus total sufficiency is implied and it is only Jesus Correct Moral living that matters not ours therefore no requirement to have behavoral change which is difficult even when you're a "born again" christian. Its better then, to not struggle at a difficult task and hope that God remotely control your behaviors and makes them moral which is a lot easier. That's my opinion of it anyway.
In Acts 16:31 the Greek preposition is "epi" while in Romans 4:25-26 the Greek preposition is "en."
The former speaks of the basis upon (epi) which faith rests whereas the latter describes the object wherein faith trusts. Both repudiate the idea that "believe" refers to personal "faithfulness" or personal performance but rather both demand that Jesus Christ and his satisfaction is complete sufficient apart from all that we do or can do. Faith completely RESTS "upon" the good news of the gospel and the only justifying object of faith is Jesus Christ.
A couple of recent uses of "believe on":
Olympic sprinter Manteo Mitchell interviewed by WPSA-TV7:
http://www2.wspa.com/sports/olympic...printer-nc-native-headed-olympics-ar-4081663/
Sen. Chuck Schumer bloviating on MSNBC last month:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/ns/msnbc-hardball_with_chris_matthews/#48328155
Olympic sprinter Manteo Mitchell interviewed by WPSA-TV7:
http://www2.wspa.com/sports/olympic...printer-nc-native-headed-olympics-ar-4081663/
Sen. Chuck Schumer bloviating on MSNBC last month:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/ns/msnbc-hardball_with_chris_matthews/#48328155
Alive in Christ
New Member
Why do some say "believe on" instead of "believe in?"
There is absolutly differance. One is as good as the other.
The person and work of Jesus Christ is the legal BASIS (epi) upon which saving faith must rest completely as there is no other basis. The person and work of Jesus Christ is the object of (en) saving faith as there is no other object provided.
Hence, justifying faith cannot be defined as personal faithfulness to God because the faith that justifies is one that simply RESTS UPON (epi) the finished FAITHFULNESS of Christ for sinners and has no other OBJECT (en) than the Person and work of Christ, thus excluding both YOU and YOUR works and including only Christ and His works.
That is the dividing line between the "many" and the "few" in Matthew 7:13-14. The former is what YOU DO FOR GOD while the latter is what GOD DOES FOR YOU. The former is a PARTNERSHIP plan while the latter is a SUBSTITUTIONARY plan.
When a person says they believe in Jesus, they may mean something a little different than someone who says they believe on Jesus.
Some people simply believe facts about Jesus. They believe he is the Son of God and died on the cross and rose from the dead. This is what I would call believing in Jesus.
Another person has come in their heart to Jesus and cast themselves upon him to save them from their sins. They have gone beyond simply believing a fact about Jesus, but have personally trusted him to save them. This is what I would call believing on Jesus.
I am not saying a person who says he believes in Jesus is not saved, but a person who says he has believed on Jesus is clearly stating he has trusted Jesus for salvation.
However, we are not talking about current usage but Biblical usage and both terms are used for true believers and true salvation.
>Originally Posted by Winman
>When a person says they believe in Jesus, they may mean something a little different than someone who says they believe on Jesus.
That's what I mean about Christianity being a gnostic religion. Some say both words mean the same. Others infer that insiders know the difference.
>When a person says they believe in Jesus, they may mean something a little different than someone who says they believe on Jesus.
That's what I mean about Christianity being a gnostic religion. Some say both words mean the same. Others infer that insiders know the difference.
It does not matter what "some" may say but how the scriptures use them!
You are correct in a sense...if you mean that there are some things that Christians know that other do not know.
1 Corinthians 2:14 - The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
There are things in scripture that non-believer can look at, and even study, without arriving at the correct conclusion, because God's spirit helps Christians understand what they need to understand.
Ps. 119:99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the aged,
Because I have observed Your precepts.
Obedience to God's word brings a wisdom greater than that of mere scholarly study, or years of experience.
-->IN the OP case, however, the answer is simple...ON and IN are different words, both used in various places in scripture. They mean different things, but both are true, they simply emphasize different aspects of belief.