by Barry Newton

Although she held a postgraduate degree from one of the most prestigious American universities, viewed herself as a prayer warrior and had faithfully attended her church for years, she was at a loss to understand how the New Testament could speak of salvation in terms of both faith and obedience. Having been taught that faith in Jesus refers to accepting Jesus into your heart, she understood this as denying the necessity of any obedient action to enter into Christ. She will continue to fail to grasp the harmony within Scripture unless somehow she experiences a paradigm shift. I suspect she is not alone.

The apostle Paul faced a formidable challenge. Among those early churches were some who proclaimed that a person could not be saved unless certain provisions of the Mosaical Law were fulfilled.\1 In stark contrast to the principle of self-reliance through the Law, Paul insisted that salvation was the result of a completely different path. Doggedly, Paul had asserted that what mattered was whether the person had relied upon Jesus for salvation.\2 Ardently, Paul defended the principle that salvation comes through depending upon Jesus. Why was this so critical? God has given us a salvation which we can never earn. Jesus' blood is the only means by which anybody's guilt can be taken away. In Paul's words, salvation is by grace through faith, not by works.

A paradigm shift involves seeing the same evidence in an entirely new way. The woman I wrote about earlier makes an assumption every time she reads the word faith. She assumes it means "just believe in Jesus" instead of "trust in Jesus." There is a world of difference. Because of this, although she is convinced she has a clear understanding of what it means to be saved by faith, she has discovered many other Scriptures which she considers "difficult."

Anybody can test the Scriptures to see which of these understandings was intended. If by faith the biblical authors meant "just believe," then we would not expect any of the following to be found within the New Testament:

Faith in Jesus involves being baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:26,27),

Baptism is for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38),

Sins are washed away when someone is baptized (Acts 22:16),

Being set free from sin is the result of wholeheartedly obeying a form of teaching (Romans 6:17,18),

Jesus is the source of salvation for all those who obey him (Hebrews 5:9),

Christians have purified themselves by obeying the truth (1 Peter 1:22),

The gospel is intended to lead a person to the obedience of faith (Romans 16:25,26; 1:5), and

Those who do not obey the gospel will be lost (2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17)

Trusting in Jesus and in his blood saves us. Biblically, to trust in Jesus that we might become children of God and be included in Christ involves being baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:26,27). The message of Scripture is harmonious. We are saved by faith. When someone responds to Jesus by being baptized they are saved.

1/ Acts 15:1-2, Galatians 3:3; Philippians 3:2-4 2/ Galatians 2:16,21; 3:11; Philippians 3:9; Romans 9:30-32; Ephesians 2:8,9

by Barry Newton

The wood felt rough upon his back. The beam had not been crafted for comfort. It's purpose was grisly, to slowly cause his life to ebb away through much suffering. One thing was certain now, death would start closing in upon him. He was about to meet God.

Suddenly from another cross, a second criminal began to hurl out insults at the one being crucified between them. "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"

According to Luke's account of the Gospel, one thief rebuked the other criminal for accosting Jesus in that manner. Then he proceeded to ask Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom. Jesus' response has been immortalized, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." In response to a dying thief's request, grace poured forth as Jesus granted salvation to this guilt-ridden individual condemned even by society's standards.

What lesson are the readers of the Gospel of Luke supposed to draw from the thief on the cross?

Clearly, this story fits into one of Luke's themes. Whether it be the paralyzed man let down through the roof, the sinful woman who anointed his feet, Zacchaeus' encounter with Jesus at his house or the criminal on the cross, the wonderful message we all need to hear breaks forth throughout this Gospel. Not only has Jesus come to seek the lost, he has the authority to save them by forgiving their sins.

Were these stories ever intended to function as models informing the reader about the manner Jesus will save today?

While the Gospel of Luke establishes the fact that Jesus can forgive sins, it closes with Jesus' proclamation that beginning at Jerusalem, repentance and forgiveness in his name would be preached to all nations. A new era would soon dawn based upon Jesus. His death and resurrection made possible a new and wonderful message for all peoples.

Starting in Jerusalem, Jesus was proclaimed as the crucified, risen and exalted Lord and Messiah. All peoples, even those who are a far off, are to rely upon him for salvation by repenting and being baptized. If there is a valid exception to this message about how people are supposed to respond to the risen Lord, it would need to have occurred after the good news about Jesus began to ring out from Jerusalem. There are none.

Would it not be a distortion of Luke's message to argue that a person can be saved today on account of his friends' faith because of the story of paralytic? Similarly, would it not be a misapplication of the text to argue that the criminal on the cross proves that someone does not need to conform to the message which was later inaugurated and given to even those who are a far off? None of the events where Jesus demonstrated his authority to forgive sins should be understood as nullifying some aspect of the gospel message which was later announced.

The story of the thief who was saved carries a wonderful and powerful message for us about Jesus and his authority. But for us to understand how to come to Jesus to be saved, we have to hear the whole proclamation. "When they believed Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized" (Acts 8:12).

by Barry Newton

I can hardly be justified in calling them clues because the framework was never intended to be a puzzle to be solved. Nevertheless, the following "clues" provide the necessary pieces for discovering the consistent principle of grace by which God has chosen to identify those who belong to him. The Lord knows those who are his and his word reveals his perspective.

As someone whose family had worshipped other gods, Abram did not deserve the favor of being the recipient of God's covenant. But God appeared to Abram commanding him to walk blamelessly before him and offering him a series of promises through a covenant relationship. One of those promises was that the LORD would be his God and the God of his descendants./1 Through covenant, God took Abram and his descendants to be his people.

Years later at Mount Sinai to the gathered descendants of Abram's grandson, Israel, God thundered that he would take them to be his own possession from among all the peoples, if they would keep his covenant./2 Throughout the history of Israel, God's covenant with Israel was the vehicle of grace by which God took them to belong to himself./3

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God announced that the days were coming when he would create a new covenant. God promised to forgive the sins and to take as his own people those who would enter into this covenant./4 Through grace God sent his Son to die in order that he might create this new covenant./5 Accordingly, it is the person of Jesus who makes possible our forgiveness and adoption as children of God.

God has not changed how he elects those who belong to him. He calls people into a covenant relationship with himself. Through Christ, God has offered by grace a new covenant to the whole world. It is through the blood of this covenant that the Lord forgives and takes a people to be his own. Salvation is a gift of grace to those who enter Christ's covenant.

There is a very good reason why baptism is described in the New Testament as being how someone receives the promises of the new covenant (forgiveness & becoming a child of God, that is, salvation)./6 When someone responds to the good news of Jesus by being baptized, that individual enters the new covenant. The gospel calls us to rely upon Jesus by being baptized. This is why when Jesus is preached, people seek to be baptized./7

If the blood of the covenant by which God forgives and claims people as his own is essential for being saved today, then must not also the means for entering that covenant be essential for salvation? If trusting in Jesus is essential for salvation, then must not the manner by which the Scriptures call for us to rely upon Jesus also be essential?

1/ Genesis 17:1-8 2/ Exodus 19:5,6; 24:5-8 3/ Deuteronomy 29:12-15; Ezekiel 16:8; Jeremiah 11:3,4 4/ Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:6-13; 10:16,17 5/ Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:15-17 and 10:9,10 6/ Acts 2:38; 22:16; Galatians 3:26,27; 1 Peter 3:21 7/ Acts 8:12, 35,36

by Barry Newton

Sitting on a large branch seven feet in the air, a small boy looked down at his father's raised arms. Calmly his father said, "Have faith in me." For the lad to have faith in his dad, he would need to lower himself into his dad's waiting arms.

An excited teenager proudly held up her new driver's license for all to see. Smiling, she looked at her dad and said, "have faith in me." To possess faith in his daughter demanded dropping the keys into her hand.

God commanded Noah to build an ark because He was sending a flood. For Noah to have faith in God, he would need to cut down trees and build that ark.

At the age of seventy-five, Abram was told by God to leave his country and his father's house to go to a land God would show him. For Abram to exhibit faith, he would need to pack his bags and start walking down the road.

Although he was elderly and had no son of his own, God promised Abram that his descendants would be like the stars of the heavens. For Abram to have faith in God, he was required to believe God's promise.

When a vast enemy army began advancing against Judah and her king Jehoshaphat, God's message to His people was to march out against them. They were instructed to have faith in God because the battle belonged to God. For Judah to possess faith in God, they would have to march out to see God's victory.

Key Observations

1. How faith is expressed differs from one context to another.

2. How people have been called to exhibit faith in God changes from one situation to another.

3. Whether someone possesses faith in someone or something is determined by how that situation calls for a person to respond.

4. In order to have faith in an unconditional promise, a person only has to believe. To possess faith in someone who issues a command or in a situation where activity is demanded, faith requires obedient action.

Having died for our sins and then raised to life, Jesus cries out through the gospel, "have faith in me." How are we called to trust in Jesus that we might be saved and become members of God's family? Do we only need to accept Jesus into our heart? Is it necessary for us to trust in Jesus by being baptized?

The biblical answer is determined by hearing the story, not by what I think it means to have faith in Jesus. Whether through the genre of letter, narrative (Acts) or Gospel, the New Testament message is consistent.

"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were immersed into Christ have been clothed with Christ" (Galatians 3:26-27).

"But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being immersed, men and women alike" (Acts 8:12).

"So then, those who had received his word were immersed; and there were added that day about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).

"...preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been immersed shall be saved; ..." (Mark 16:15,16).

Whether someone has faith in Jesus is determined by the story, not by what that individual might think it means to have faith in Jesus. Whether baptism is essential for salvation is determined by whether the gospel calls us to trust in Jesus by being baptized. It does. It is.

Next article: "The Framework of Covenant & Baptism"

by Barry Newton

When sitting across the modern round table of discussion with those who may disagree about the essentiality of immersion for salvation, it has been my experience that, typically, a fruitful dialogue will be elusive if baptism is studied. Instead, clarity on baptism arises after a biblical understanding of salvation by faith is achieved.

Do you agree?

Next article: "Have Faith In Me"