Lester Kamp
Almost everyone is familiar with Paul’s declaration in Rom. 1:16-17:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Clearly, acceptance of the Gospel is essential to salvation since the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Emph. LK).
The Gospel is referred to in various ways in the New Testament. It is the same message to be preached, whether it is referred to as the Gospel (Rom. 1:16), or the Doctrine (Titus 1:9), or the Faith (Jude 3), the Truth (Eph. 4:15), or the Word (2 Tim. 4:2). It is the same Gospel that is to be obeyed, whether it is referred to as the Doctrine (Rom. 6:17-18), or the Faith (Acts 6:7), or the Gospel (2 Thes. 1:8-9), or the Truth (1 Pet. 1:22), or the Word (1 Pet. 1:22).
The Gospel is based on certain historical facts. The inspired Paul wrote,
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
Paul refers to the Gospel which he preached and which the Corinthians received (heard, believed, and responded to). He states that the Corinthians were saved through their reception of the Gospel. Then Paul gives the historical facts of the Gospel: Christ died, Christ was buried, and Christ was raised from the dead. Salvation depends on one believing (and responding to) these historical facts about the Christ. To the Romans, Paul emphasized, “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4).
It is the belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that is essential to salvation. Jesus said Himself, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). It is obvious that Jesus is stating that believing that “I am He” means believing that He is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. Dying in sin means being lost. Sin is what causes us to be separated from God (Isa. 59:1-2), that is, to be lost. Clearly, believing that Jesus is the Christ is the foundation upon which our salvation depends. The fact confessed by Peter is the foundation of the church. Matthew 16:16-18,
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Peter’s belief that Jesus is “the Christ, the son of the living God” is the fact upon which the church, the saved (Eph. 5:23), was built. To be saved, a person must believe that same truth, that is, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Again, Jesus stated in what is commonly referred to as the Great Commission these words: “but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16b). “But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6).
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul wrote in Romans 5:1. “Justified” is one of those salvation terms used by God in the New Testament. Someone suggested that the meaning of the term is to be understood by every sinner as “just as if I had never sinned”; that is, the sin that separates man from God is removed. This verse says that a person is “justified by faith.” Many, however, jump to the conclusion based on this verse isolated from all others that people are justified (saved) by faith only. But this verse does not say a person is saved by faith only. The truth is that there is only one verse in the New Testament that combines “faith” with “only.” “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (Jam. 2:24, Emph., LK). If Romans 5:1 means that a person is justified (saved) by faith only, then there would be contradiction between this verse and James 2:24. Both could not be true. God does not lie (Titus 1:2).
The book of Romans is a book about the faith that saves. It is important to allow Paul to define his use of the term faith in this treatise. In the opening chapter, he refers to the “obedience to the faith” (Rom. 1:5); in the closing chapter, Paul again refers to “the obedience of faith” (Rom. 16:26). Just as James, Paul is discussing faith that is connected to obedience. That is the kind of faith, according to Paul himself, that saves! The kind of faith that justifies (saves) is the kind of faith that obeys. Obedience is based on and motivated by one’s belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. In stating the Great Commission, Jesus said, “…he that believeth and is baptized…” (Mark 16:15). Belief is the beginning; obedience to God’s commands follows. It is interesting that in spite of those who claim that works are not involved in salvation that Jesus also said, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:29).
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9-10; Emph., LK). Belief in the Gospel is essential to salvation, but the belief that saves is the belief that expresses itself in obedience. Belief is founded on the facts about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
The belief that saves will be manifested by a willingness to repent (Acts 17:30), will be confessed with the mouth openly (Matt. 10:32-33), and will be illustrated by the obedience of baptism (Rom. 6:3-4).
