Salvation by Faith in Jesus

	Sign In Sign-Up

Salvation by Faith in Jesus
A thorough look at the terms "Faith" and "Believe" in the New Testament

What does the New Testament mean by "salvation by faith in Jesus?" To understand this phrase, it can be looked at in three parts – "salvation", "faith", and "faith in Jesus." We look at "salvation," and how "being saved" is the same as "Entering the Kingdom", "Entering Life", and "Having Eternal Life" in another related study. Here we look at what the Bible means by "Faith" and "to believe."

What does the New Testament mean by "believe" and "to have faith?" The answer to this question is vital because at many places, the New Testament links up salvation with faith, and makes salvation dependent on our faith. "Salvation by Faith" is a Biblical doctrine, obvious enough to be unquestionable. But what does it mean? Does "to have faith" in the New Testament mean an "easy-believism," in which we are saved in a jiffy just by believing something, regardless of how we live after that? Or does it mean a "tried, tested, and proven faith," a persevering over time in which we are saved only if our faith is proved true after its trial and testing? Can a faith which has failed in times of trial and testing, save a person on the Day of Judgment? What about the thief on the cross? Wasn’t he saved in a jiffy just by believing?

Next, what does "faith in Jesus" mean? Yes, the Bible does teach "Salvation by Faith." But faith in what? Faith in a few doctrines about Jesus? Or faith in what Jesus said? If we are "saved by faith in Jesus," what does it mean? And what kind of faith in Jesus? The easy-believism kind of faith? Or a tried, tested and proven faith? An understanding of what the Bible says on these matters is vital because on that understanding we would base and build our lives, and on that would depend our very salvation.

There are different levels of faith. At the lowest level is the faith of a person who is just starting out in faith. This is the faith shown by the person who exclaimed to Jesus, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24) and by the apostles when they said to Jesus, "Increase our faith!" (Lk 17:5). On a scale of 1 to 100, these would rank under-10. Also ranking under-10 would be the "many even among the leaders believed in him, but because of the Pharisees who would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue" (John 12:42). This is the kind of faith which is weak (Rom 14:1) and needs strengthening (Lk 22:32, Acts 14:22, Acts 16:55, Rom 4:20, Col 2:7, 1 Thes 3:2, Jude 1:20) and growing (2 Cor 10:15, 2 Th 1:3). At the other extreme is the faith of Jesus – perfect faith at level 100. All believers fall between 1 and 100. The heroes of Hebrews 11 would rank high on the scale, maybe above 60. The statements made by Jesus in Mark 9:23 ("Everything is possible for him who believes."), Mat 21:21 ("I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. " also in Mt 17:20, Mark 11:23 and Lk 17:6), Mat 21:22 ("If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."), John 14:12 ("I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father") obviously pertain to a very high level of faith which we ourselves have not reached as yet since we do not see such spectacular results in our lives. There is a faith which can still fail (Lk 22:32), and there is another which has been so tested that it can no longer fail (Gen 22:12). There is faith which is wavering, and faith which is firm (Col 2:5). Which of these levels of faith are enough to save us on the Day of Judgment?

James says that there is a certain kind of faith which saves, and another not. The rhetorical question he asks in 2:14, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" is asked in the context of salvation (in 2:12-13 he has just said, "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!").

What is the kind of faith that saves? Is it the starting-faith shown by the man in Mark 9:24 or the leaders in John 12:42? If yes, then the "easy-believism" guys are right. Or is it the high-level faith of the Hebrews 11 heroes? It cannot be only the perfect faith of Jesus, because no others have had such faith. Whatever it is, one thing is clear – it is definitely not the kind of faith James is talking about in 2:12-14. But what exactly is the kind of faith that James is talking about in 2:12-14? The answers to all these questions are very important because on our response to them depends our very salvation. If as the "easy-believism" guys say, "It is easy to get saved, just believe and you will get saved" then we could be needlessly "trying to work our way into heaven," and needlessly missing out on assurance of salvation. If not, we could be under great deception and may hear those horrifying words on the Day of Judgment: "Away from me, you lawless ones!" (Mat 7:23, Lk 13:27).

1. Faith

We just need to know exactly what the New Testament means by the words "believe", "faith" and "saved by faith." The first task towards doing this is to gather all the references to the subject together and analyze them. This would be a long list since there are many references to it; but it has to be done because the subject is so critical. The complete list is put in a separate file. The following is a shortlist culled out and re-organized from that list, according to the seven categories. The first three (1a, 1b and 1c) consist of the passages we seek to understand, as to whether they are talking about an "easy-believism" kind of faith or "tried-tested-proven" kind of faith. Nothing is said about the kind of faith they are talking about. We keep aside our preconceptions regarding saving faith since we don’t know which is the kind of faith these three groups of passages are talking about – the "easy-believism" kind of faith, or the "tried-tested-proven" kind of faith. We keep aside our assumptions regarding the kind of faith they are talking about, till we get a clear idea of what exactly the New Testament means by "faith" from the other, clearer passages.

In the fourth and fifth group of passages (2a and 2b), we can infer from the context as to what kind of faith is being spoken about, and hence are a little more clearer. It is only in the last two groups (3a and 3b) that we are absolutely clear about what kind of faith is being spoken about and we can build our understanding only on them. We will use these passages to go "from the known to the unknown", "from the clear to the unclear" The seven groups are:

1. Passages in which we don’t know what kind of faith is being spoken about. These generally relate to the future:

1a. Passages in which salvation is linked to faith and is dependent on it.

1b. Passages in which "Having Eternal Life" is linked to faith and is dependent on it.

1c. Passages in which results are promised according to faith.

2. Passages in which we can infer from the context what kind of faith is being spoken about:

2a. Passages in which temporal results are obtained by faith. God did something for the person who is said to have faith.

2b. Passages in which a person was given assurance of salvation based on his faith.

3. Passages in which we know for sure what kind of faith is being spoken about:

3a. Passages in which "having faith" is equated with "action". The person concerned did something which showed that he had faith. If not seen in action, the person’s faith was questionable.

3b. Passages in which people "believe" or "have faith" without it being seen in corresponding action. These are similar to the "easy-believism" kind of faith.

1a. Passages in which salvation is linked to faith and is dependent on it. This is the first group of passages we seek to understand, as to whether they are talking about an easy-believism kind of faith or tried-tested-proven kind of faith. Since it is not clear as to what kind of faith they are talking about, we have to hold our understanding about them in abeyance till we look at the passages in which it is clear what exactly the New Testament means when it uses the words "faith" and "believe".

Mt 9:2	Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
Mk 2:5	When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Mk 16:16	Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Lk 5:20	When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
Lk 8:12	Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
John 3:18	Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
John 5:24	"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
John 6:40	For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 8:24	I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am, you will indeed die in your sins."
Acts 10:43	All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
Acts 13:39	Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
Acts 16:31	They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-- you and your household."
Acts 26:18	to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
Rom 1:16	I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Rom 1:17	For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
Rom 3:22	This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
Rom 3:25-28	God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
Rom 3:30-31	since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Rom 4:3	What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Rom 4:5	However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Rom 4:9	Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.
Rom 4:11-14	And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless,
Rom 4:16	Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring-- not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
Rom 4:24	but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-- for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Rom 5:1-2	Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Rom 9:30	What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
Rom 10:4	Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Rom 10:9-11	That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
1 Cor 1:21	For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
1 Cor 15:2	By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
Gal 2:16	know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Gal 3:6	Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Gal 3:7-9	Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Gal 3:11-12	Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them."
Gal 3:22	But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
Eph 1:13	And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
Eph 2:8	For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
Phil 3:9	and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
2 Th 2:11-12	For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
2 Th 2:13	But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
1 Tim 4:9-12	This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
2 Tim 3:15	and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Heb 4:3	Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'" And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world.
Heb 10:38-39	But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
James 2:23	And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.

1b. Passages in which having eternal life is linked to faith and is dependent on it. The second group of passages is similar to the first group above, only that they use the words "having eternal life" instead of the words "saved" or "credited righteousness." These are also passages we seek to understand, as to whether they are talking about an easy-believism kind of faith or tried-tested-proven kind of faith.

John 3:15-16	that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:36	Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."
John 5:24	"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
John 6:40	For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:47	I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.
John 11:25-27	Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
John 20:31	But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Acts 13:48	When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
1 Tim 1:16	But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
1 Jn 5:13	I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

1c. Passages in which results are promised according to faith. In these passages, God promised to do something for the person who is said to have faith. For these passages too, we don’t know which is the kind of faith being spoken about – the "easy-believism" kind of faith, or the "tried-tested-proven" kind of faith.

Mt 17:20	He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Mt 21:21-22	Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
Mk 9:23-24	"'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Mk 11:22-24	"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mk 16:16-17	And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
Lk 8:50	Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed."
Lk 17:5-6	The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
John 6:35-36	Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
John 7:38-39	Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
John 11:40	Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
John 14:12	I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Gal 3:14	He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
James 5:15	And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
1 Pet 2:6-7	For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,"

2a. Passages in which temporal results are linked with faih. In these passages, God did something for the persons who are said to have faith. For these passages, we can intelligently infer from the context what kind of faith is being spoken about

Mt 8:13	Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.
Mt 9:22	Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.
Mt 9:27-30	As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this."
Mt 15:28	Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Mat 17:15-17	"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him." "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." (also in Mark 9:17-19 and Luke 9:38-41)
Mk 5:34	He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
Mark 6:5-6	He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.
Mk 10:52	"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Lk 8:25	"Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
Lk 8:48	Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."
Lk 17:19	Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
Lk 18:42	Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."
John 4:50-53	Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour." Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
Acts 3:16	By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
Acts 11:17	So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
Acts 14:9	He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed
Acts 15:9	He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
Acts 19:2	and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
Rom 9:33	As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
Gal 3:2	I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?
Gal 3:5	Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
Heb 11:5	By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
Heb 11:11	By faith Abraham, even though he was past age-- and Sarah herself was barren-- was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.
Heb 11:31	By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
Heb 11:33	who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
Heb 11:34	quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
Heb 11:35	Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
1 Pet 1:5	who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Jude 1:5	Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.

2b. Passages in which assurance of aslvation is given by Jesus himself. In these passages, Jesus himself assures the person concerned that he would be saved. These (especially the last one, the criminal on the cross – Luke 23:43) are frequently used by advocates of "easy-believism" to support their position, and will be examined in detail later on to see whether they can be so used.

Mat 9:2	Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
Mark 2:5	When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Luke 5:20	When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
Luke 7:48	Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." (and in 7:50, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace")
Luke 23:43	Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Finally we come to the group of passages in which we do know what kind of faith is being spoken about.

3a. Passages in which "having faith" is equated with "action". The person concerned did something which showed that he had faith. In this group of passages, we know for sure what is the kind of faith that is being spoken about – it is faith that is put into action. In other words it is "faith accompanied by action" and not "faith alone". If not seen in action, the person’s faith was considered questionable.

Mt 24:45-46	"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
Mt 25:21	"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
Mt 25:23	"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
Mk 4:40	He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
Lk 7:9	When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."
Lk 12:42-43	The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns.
Lk 16:10	"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Lk 16:11-12	So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?
Lk 19:17	"'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
John 5:44	How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?
Acts 2:44	All the believers were together and had everything in common.
Acts 4:32	All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
Acts 6:7	So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Acts 8:12-13	But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
Acts 9:26	When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.
Acts 16:34	The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God-- he and his whole family.
Acts 18:8	Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
Acts 19:18	Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.
Acts 21:20	When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.
Acts 21:25	As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."
Rom 14:2	One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
1 Cor 13:2	If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
2 Cor 1:24	Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
2 Cor 4:13	It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak,
Phil 1:27	Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel
2 Th 2:11-12	For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
Heb 10:34	You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
Heb 11:4	By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
Heb 11:7	By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Heb 11:8	By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Heb 11:9	By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
Heb 11:13	All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
Heb 11:17	By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,
Heb 11:20	By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
Heb 11:21	By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
Heb 11:22	By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
Heb 11:23	By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
Heb 11:24-26	By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
Heb 11:27	By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
Heb 11:28	By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
Heb 11:29	By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
Heb 11:30	By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
Heb 11:31	By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
Heb 11:32-38	And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
James 2:18-24	But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
1 Pet 3:20	who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
1 Jn 4:16	And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1 Jn 5:5	Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Rev 2:10	Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Rev 2:13	I know where you live-- where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city-- where Satan lives.

3b. Passages in which people "believe" or "have faith" without it being accompanied by corresponding action. This corresponds to the "easy-believism" kind of faith held today by some to be sufficient for salvation. In this kind of faith, believing does not lead to action.

John 12:42

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;

That’s it folks! A grand total of one verse in which "faith" is meant as "easy-believism!" And in this passage too, nothing positive is said about those who possess such faith, leave alone assure them about their being saved on Judgment Day. From the last two groups of passages, in which we know what is the kind of faith that is being spoken about, the New Testament just doesn’t seem to know anything about the "easy-believism" kind of faith! In these passages, faith invariably means "faith that is seen in the life of the person, faith that is manifest by his actions, faith that is accompanied by actions."

This is what the Hebrew-Jewish understanding of faith was – "Faith" is what leads to "Action." Faith which was not accompanied by action was considered dead or useless. This is quite the opposite of the Greek-Roman-Gentile understanding of the word "faith" – for them, you could have faith in anything and believe anything you wanted, so long as you paid your taxes to Caesar and were generally a good citizen, not disturbing the peace of the land. Indeed the Greek philosophers looked down on the common people who believed in the stories and shenanigans about their gods and goddesses. The Roman rulers couldn’t care less what you believed in. Blasphemy meant nothing to them. When one Roman Emperor was told that "Jupiter had been insulted" by someone, his reply was "If Jove be insulted, let Jove take care of himself." If it was the emperor who was insulted, then it was considered a serious offense. The Jews on the other hand, considered blasphemy as the most serious offense, punishable by stoning to death.

An example would make the difference clear. Suppose you are an investor in shares and see that the share price of company "X" is likely to go up significantly (maybe double or triple) in the next two to three years. The country’s economy is expected to do well as a whole, the sector in which "X" is, is a high-growth sector, company "X" is well-established and on a sound footing, and have recently invested in infrastructure to leap-frog into a higher orbit, and some truly big orders with a good probability of coming through are in the pipeline. All indicators point to a significant rise in share price of "X" and you truly believe that the price would be significantly higher a couple of years down the line. Plus you also have spare cash to invest. Now, only if you actually buy the shares of "X", it is according to the Jewish-Hebrew understanding of faith. If you believe that the share price of "X" are going to go up, but still don’t buy even on having spare cash, your faith is dead and useless. Just as such faith brings no benefits to you in the stock market, such faith according to James, cannot save you on Judgment Day. It is still faith, it is still belief. But it is incapable of saving you on Judgment Day.

It would be an interesting study to see whether Paul, as a Jew, used the word "faith" in its Jewish-Hebrew sense, but the predominantly gentile readers understood it in the Greek-Gentile sense, and whether James was really correcting this misunderstanding (and not Paul!). This seems quite a likely possibility since Paul himself, while describing what "credited as righteousness" means, describes this faith in the following words, which certainly don’t smack of easy-believism (Rom 4:18-22):

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."

Unfortunately, we have received far more from the Greek-Roman-Gentile culture than from the Jewish-Hebrew one. All European nations are direct recipients of the Greek-Roman-Gentile culture, and through them, all nations colonized by the British (including India), the French, the Dutch, the Spanish. Thus all of Europe, Americas, Australia-New Zealand, South Asia, and all Commonwealth nations are recipients of the Greek-Roman-Gentile culture. Along with the rest of the culture, we have also received the meanings of words such as "faith" and "believe." Our understanding of what is meant by these words is more according to the Greek-Roman-Gentile culture rather than the Jewish-Hebrew one. In most of our nations today, as in the Roman empire, the state and the intelligentsia do not care much about what beliefs you profess, so long as you are a good citizen. In such cultures, to "have faith" and to "believe" have very weak meanings, while in the Jewish-Hebrew culture, their meanings are very strong. In the Jewish-Hebrew culture, to have faith meant to be even willing to lay down one’s life for it. Even more than that, as the example of Abraham shows. Abraham was anyway old and well along in years. He loved his son very dearly, and all his hopes were pinned on him. Yet he was willing to lay down the life of his own son. No Greek-Roman-Gentile kind of easy-believism here.

Except Luke, all New Testament writers were Jews. Matthew, Mark, John, Paul, Peter, and James were all Jews and when they used the words "faith" and "believe," they would have used them in the Jewish-Hebrew sense. So when we read the New Testament and come across words like "faith" and "believe" we have to understand them in the Jewish-Hebrew sense. The meanings of the words "faith" and "believe" in the first five groups of passages have to be understood in the Jewish-Hebrew sense and not the Roman-Greek-Gentile sense. Most of us are brought up in environments in which the meanings of these words are understood in the Roman-Greek-Gentile sense. From our childhood, we have understood the meanings of the words "faith" and "believe" in the Greek-Roman-Gentile sense. We have to make a conscious effort to overcome this disadvantage. The meanings are so ingrained in our thinking that it requires a great effort to think differently and look at the words from the writers’ Jewish-Hebrew point of view. I myself grew up in such an environment, and for years I took the meaning of the words "faith" and "believe" to mean a lightly-held belief which need not be seriously put into practice. The easy-believism I picked up from a Calvinist view of the Bible was right in line with such an understanding.

This Jewish-Hebrew understanding is perfectly illustrated in James 2:14-26:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

This Jewish-Hebrew understanding of "True faith is accompanied by action," is seen in Old Testament passages such as

Exo 4:29-31	Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
Deu 32:51	This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites.
Josh 22:16	"The whole assembly of the LORD says: 'How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the LORD and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now?
1 Sam 14:33	Then someone said to Saul, "Look, the men are sinning against the LORD by eating meat that has blood in it." "You have broken faith," he said. "Roll a large stone over here at once."
Psa 78:32	In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
Psa 106:12	Then they believed his promises and sang his praise.
Psa 106:24	Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise.
Psa 116:10	I believed; therefore I said, "I am greatly afflicted."
Jonah 3:5	The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
Mal 2:10-11	Have we not all one Father ? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another? Judah has broken faith. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.

Unfortunately, the Protestant credo has been "justification by faith alone." In the Bible, the words "faith alone," which mean "faith separated from action," (as in the stock-market example above where you believe but don’t buy), are found only in James 2:24. And there, James says the exact opposite – "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." The words "faith alone" are not found anywhere else in the Bible – not even in the books of Romans and Galatians (the so-called "Magna Carta" of so-called Christain "freedom"). It is always "justification by faith". The "alone" was added by protestant over-enthusiasts steeped in an understanding of faith derived from the Greek-Roman culture. According to James, the justification is still by faith, but he adds a clarification – it is not by faith "alone" (most probably addressing the easy-believism guys of the first-century). Faith and its related action cannot be separated. Faith has to be "living" faith and not "dead" faith. Only living faith can save you; dead faith cannot save anyone.

Having seen that according to Jewish-Hebrew understanding, "faith" means "faith which is accompanied by corresponding action as a general tenor of life," we can now apply it to the first five groups of passages, and see how such an understanding of faith influences our understanding of these passages. We begin with the fourth group of passages (2a) in which temporal results are obtained by faith. In these passages, God did something for the person who is said to have faith. In many of the passages, when we look at the context, action-faith was evident in the person’s life.

Mt 8:13	Just before Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." and his servant was healed, the centurion had obtained a commendation from Jesus himself when Jesus said about him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." (8:12) Jesus immediately uses the opportunity to link up this kind of faith (and not easy-believism) with salvation: (8:11-12) "I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Jesus clearly distinguished saving faith from easy-believism faith.
Mt 9:22	The woman to whom Jesus said. "Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you" had said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed." (9:21). But she didn’t just stop there, she put that faith into action – she came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. That was her belief, so she did that.
Mt 9:27-30	Before Jesus touched their eyes and said to them, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; and their sight was restored, the two blind men had showed their faith. First they followed him as he went on, then they called out number of times, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" Even after Jesus had continued on and had gone indoors, they came to him. It was then that he healed them
Mt 15:28	This is the example of the Canaanite woman who showed great faith in spite of discouragement and even insult from Jesus himself! First she had kept on badgering the disciples (15:23). The Jewish disciples, in line with their dislike of the Canaanites, had kept on shooing her away. Jesus then discourages her (15:24) at which she came and knelt before him saying, "Lord, help me!" Jesus then insults the Canaanites (15:26) comparing them to dogs. Even at this, the woman humbly presses on. No easy-believism, this.
Mat 17:14-18	This man had first approached the disciples. Only when they could not heal his son, did he come to Jesus. No easy-believism here.
Mk 5:34	Mark has more details – the woman had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse (5:25-26). Most of us would have given up hope, maybe got distressed, disgruntled and bitter. Not this woman; she showed faith even after such an ordeal-filled life. Can anyone call this "Easy-believism?"
Mk 6:5-6	Amazing! Even Jesus could not do any miracles there because of their lack of faith! If easy-believism lead to miracles, he should not have had any problems. The "faith" being spoken about in 6:6 is surely not the easy-believism kind of faith.
Mk 10:46-52	Look at the faith of this blind man, a beggar. Presumably, it was the helplessness brought about by his blindness that had led him into begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (10:47) Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" (10:48) He was not cowed down by all the discouragement. And after Jesus healed him, he followed Jesus (10:52), showing that his faith was not the easy-believism kind of faith.
Lk 8:25	Just before Jesus asks his disciples, "Where is your faith?" he had rebuked the wind and the raging waters, the storm had subsided, and all was calm. In effect he was asking, "Where in you is the faith to do all this?" Not that they didn’t have the slightest faith in him – they had just obeyed him when he had said, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." (8:22) Here Jesus is talking about a faith which is not only much, much higher than easy-believism, but higher than even shown by the disciples till then in following him.
Lk 8:48	Same as Mt 9:22 and Mk 5:34 above.
Lk 17:19	This is one passage in which apparent easy-believism seems to have got results! There were ten lepers who were healed, yet only one returned to give praise to God. However, here too, all ten had enough faith to call out to Jesus loudly (17:13), and according to their faith, they were healed. Nothing is said about whether they would actually be saved on Judgment Day, not even about the one who came to give praise to God.
Lk 18:42	Active faith got the blind man results here. When he was told that Jesus was passing by, he called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" When he was rebuked told to be quiet, he shouted all the more.
John 4:50-53	In this passage too, the royal official showed faith by his actions. When Jesus told him, "You may go. Your son will live," he took Jesus at his word and obeyed by departing.
Acts 3:16	It was by Peter’s faith that the man was healed. The man doesn’t seem to be even aware of Jesus, and it is clear that all he was interested in was money. It was Peter who took the initiative and acted in faith.
Acts 11:17	Peter is referring to the incident (described in Acts 2:1-41) on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit had been poured on "those who had believed." Now none of "those who had believed" show any easy-believism. They were the disciples who had left everything to follow Jesus. Sure, their faith was not perfect, but it was not the easy-believism kind of faith either. Neither was the faith of the gentiles gathered at Cornelius’ house an easy-believism kind of faith. Cornelius and all his family were righteous, devout, reverent, God-fearing and respected by the Jews. He gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly (10:2,4,7,22,25,31,35). No easy-believism here.
Acts 14:9	This seems like a supernatural revelation given to Paul – Paul saw that the crippled man had faith to be healed. God knows the nature of our faiths and reveals it to others if necessary.
Acts 15:9	The preceding verse 8 indicates that the condition of the gentiles hearts was a determining factor in God accepting them and giving the Holy Spirit to them.
Acts 19:2	No indication of the nature of belief here.
Rom 9:33	No indication of the nature of belief here.
Gal 3:2	No indication of the nature of belief here.
Gal 3:5	No indication of the nature of belief here.
Heb 11:5	Enoch was a righteous man who walked with God (Gen 5:24) and who was commended as one who pleased God (here). Surely not by easy-believism kind of faith.
Heb 11:11	Who can dare to even say that Abraham’s faith was of the easy-believism kind?
Heb 11:31	Rahab risked her own life by acting in faith. No easy-believer risks his life.
Heb 11:33	Conquering kingdoms, administering justice, and gaining what was promised; shutting the mouths of lions – done by the easy-believism kind of faith?
Heb 11:34	Quench the fury of the flames, escape the edge of the sword; weakness turned to strength; becaming powerful in battle, routing foreign armies – done by the easy-believism kind of faith?
Heb 11:35	Women receiving back their dead, raised to life again, others tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection – done by the easy-believism kind of faith?
1 Pet 1:5	shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time – done by the easy-believism kind of faith?
Jude 1:5	God destroyed those "who did not believe." They did not believe even with the "easy-believism" kind of faith? According to the easy-believism guys, it is easy to believe!

Thus the vast majority of these passages show that it is not easy to believe (in the Jewish-Hebrew sense). It may be easy to believe in the Greek-Roman-Gentile sense, but the New Testament, being mostly written by Jews, everywhere uses the words "faith" and "believe" in the Jewish-Hebrew sense.

We now turn to the fifth group (2b) which contains passages in which Jesus actually assured the persons concerned of their salvation. These (especially the last one, the criminal on the cross – Luke 23:43) are frequently used by advocates of "easy-believism" to support their position, and will be examined here in detail to see whether they can be so used.

Mat 9:2	Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
Mark 2:5	When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Luke 5:20	When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
Luke 7:48	Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." (and in 7:50, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace")
Luke 23:43	Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

The paralytic on the mat (Mat 9:1-8, Mk 2:1-12, Lk 5:17-26)

I can do no better than simply quote a far greater commentator than myself. Matthew Henry, in his commentary on Mat 9:1-8, says regarding their faith (It may seem difficult to go through his old English, but the effort seems little when you find real gold in it):

I. The faith of his friends in bringing him to Christ. His distemper was such, that he could not come to Christ himself, but as he was carried. Note, Even the halt and the lame may be brought to Christ, and they shall not be rejected by him. If we do as well as we can, he will accept of us. Christ had an eye to their faith. Little children cannot go to Christ themselves, but he will have an eye to the faith of those that bring them, and it shall not be in vain. Jesus saw their faith, the faith of the paralytic himself, as well as of them that brought him; Jesus saw the habit of faith, though his distemper, perhaps, impaired his intellect, and obstructed the actings of it. Now their faith was, 1. A strong faith; they firmly believed that Jesus Christ both could and would heal him; else they would not have brought the sick man to him so publicly, and through so much difficulty. 2. A humble faith; though the sick man was unable to stir a step, they would not ask Christ to make him a visit, but brought him to attend on Christ. It is fitter than we should wait on Christ, than he on us. 3. An active faith: in the belief of Christ’s power and goodness, they brought the sick man to him, lying on a bed, which could not be done without a deal of pains. Note, A strong faith regards no obstacles in pressing after Christ.

A "strong" faith, a "humble" faith, an "active" faith says Matthew Henry, are what Jesus saw in them. These are the characteristics of their faith which prompted Jesus to declare "Your sins are forgiven." These are not the characteristics of the easy-believism kind of faith. These are the characteristics of faith strong enough to save. The statement in Lk 5:25, that he went home praising God, confirms that he was a God-centered man, and his faith was just as Jesus estimated it to be.

The sinful woman (Lk 7:36-50)

Even a cursory look at the passage shows that it just cannot be used to support easy-believism. The sinful woman brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them (7:37-38). Jesus saw the nature of her faith before he pronounced that her sins had been forgiven. He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." (7:44-47)

It was then that Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." (7:48) He first saw the nature of her faith, saw that it was a genuine, strong faith, strong enough to be put into action despite strong cultural and societal obstacles. The setting is first-century Israel, where a woman kissing, wetting with her tears, and wiping the feet of another man in public, would have been strongly frowned upon. She overcame such cultural and societal pressures and put her faith in action. No easy-believism, this.

The thief on the cross (Lk 23:32-43)

This is the example most frequently used by the advocates of "easy-believism" to support the idea that it is easy to get saved – you just have to believe in a jiffy and you will get saved no matter how you live your lives, no matter how much you continue sinning. Didn’t the thief on the cross believe in a jiffy, and didn’t Jesus himself confirm to him that on that very day he would be with him in paradise? How much time did it take for the criminal to get confirmation and assurance of his salvation from the lips of Jesus himself? Not even a minute! The passage is found in Lk 23:39-43,

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him:"Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. "

Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Generally people do not lie when they are at their deathbeds – they have nothing left to gain by lying; and we assume that the words of the two criminals accurately reflect what was going on inside them. Now observe that in the few moments he had, the saved criminal clearly –

showed a right fear of God ("Don't you fear God?")
showed a sense of righteousness and justice ("We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve") which generally comes from living a God-aware life.
was willing to bear the consequences of his sins ("we are getting what our deeds deserve.")
showed a sense of fairness ("But this man has done nothing wrong.")
showed repentance for his sins (the whole passage)
showed faith in Jesus ("Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.")
put his faith in practical action (rebuked the other criminal)

And he did it in the most difficult of circumstances! Hung on the cross, with excruciating pain searing through him, being jeered and mocked by the crowd, at his dying moments, he did all those things! Hats off to him. How many of us would have done those things under such circumstances? We don’t do them even in far more comfortable ones! We are more like the other criminal, quick to blame God for our difficulties (which more often than not, we have brought upon ourselves by our own foolishness), and wanting Jesus to prove himself by doing what we want him to do without doing what he wants us to do.

It is to such a person as the repentant criminal, a person who showed a right fear of God, and a sense of righteousness-justice-fairness, who showed fruit in keeping with repentance, who showed faith in Jesus, and who practically applied it in the most excruciating of circumstances, it is to such a person that Jesus spoke the words, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." To lift them up out of context and apply them to people who are still to show any of these qualities, worse still who deliberately continue in their disobedience and sin, is a travesty of both exegesis and hermeneutics. This passage just cannot be used to support easy-believism; in no way did the thief on the cross show easy-believism.

2. Faith in Jesus

We have seen what "faith" means in the New Testament – that it is not the easy-believism kind of faith. We are now in a position to examine the next set of questions – what does "faith in Jesus" mean? The first and most important thing it means is to "believe that Jesus would do what he said he would do." As simple as that. That is how we understand it in everyday usage. To have faith in person "X" means first of all to believe that he would do what he said that he would do. We cannot have faith that "X" would do something if he has never said that he is going to do it. We cannot attach our fancies and our expectations to the actions of another person and believe whatever we want about him. We can expect him to do only and exactly what he has committed to do; nothing more.

So what did Jesus say he would do? Or in more general, what did Jesus say would happen on Judgment Day when he judges all the people of this world? Look at the following passages. This is the complete list of passages in which Jesus speaks of what is going to happen on Judgment Day and what criteria are going to be used to judge people.

Matt 5:22	But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Matt 5:27-30	"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Mat 6:14-15	"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Matt 7:21-23	"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Matt 10:22	(Jesus said,) "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
Matt 10:32-33	"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."
Matt 12:31-32	"And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. "
Matt 12:36-37	"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
Matt 18:7-9	"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Matt 18:34-35	(concluding the parable of the unmerciful servant who had not forgiven a small debt even though his own much larger debt had been forgiven) "…In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Matt 19:16-21	(also in Mark 10:17-21 and Luke 18:18-22) Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Note the distinction here between being saved and getting rewards – the man would have eternal life i.e. be saved, if he obeyed the commandments, but would be perfect and will have additional treasure in heaven if he went radically beyond that)
Matt 25:31-46	"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Mark 3:28-29	"I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."
Mark 8:38	"If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels. "
Mark 9:43-48	"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where "'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'
Mark 11:25-26	And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. (and, only in KJV) But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
Mark 16:16	Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Luke 6:37	"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
Luke 9:24-26	"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."
Luke 10:25-28	On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
Luke 12:8-10	"I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
Luke 13:1-5	Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them-- do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
Luke 13:22-30	Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' "Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' "But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!' "There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."
John 3:5	Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born by a shower of the Spirit." (my translation)
John 3:14-17	Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 6:44	"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 5:24	"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
John 5:28-29	"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out-- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
John 6:39-40	And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 8:51	I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."
John 10:28-29	I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all ; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
John 12:25	The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
John 15:6	If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
John 17:2	For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
Rev 3:5	He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.

First notice that in these passages, Jesus makes salvation dependent on the way we have lived our lives, and not merely on what we have believed. This is exactly according to the conclusion we had reached from section 1 – that "faith" meant "action-faith" and not mere words or "intellectual assent." However, notice another very important thing – that nowhere does Jesus make salvation dependent on "believing that he has died for our sins" or "acknowledging his lordship!" A belief in his vicarious atonement or his lordship is not a necessary condition for salvation. This may come as a surprise to many Christians who have been taught that "believe that Jesus died for your sins and you will be saved." But I don’t see that as a criterion for salvation from Jesus’ own words! This means that one person may not believe in Jesus’ lordship or in his vicarious atoning sacrifice, yet get saved because he met the criteria for salvation specified by Jesus (living a godly life of repentance, both in heart and in action). While another person may believe, truly believe with all his heart, that "Jesus is Lord" and that "Jesus died for his sins," yet not get saved because he did not meet the criteria specified by Jesus for getting saved! We cannot expect Jesus to act according to our fancies; we can expect Jesus to do only what he has committed to do, what he has said he would do.

This is not the same as saying that I don’t believe that Jesus has died for my sins. The New Testament does say elsewhere that he has died for our sins. But we are not going to be saved by believing that, nor are we going to be condemned by not believing that. It was a transaction between him and God, the benefits of which flow to those who live their lives according to Jesus’ words, even to those who don’t believe that Jesus has died for their sins!

The above passages make it clear that those who live godly lives, repenting of their sins and putting their faith in practical actions, are the ones who will be saved. Unfortunately at this point, the devil comes right in and starts making us think perfectionism. Many of the statements above give an impression that perfection is needed to be saved. However, if we think perfectionism, we get caught not only in obvious hermeneutical difficulties, but also exegetical ones! Let’s take the passage Matt 25:31-46 to illustrate the exegetical difficulties one gets into if one thinks perfectionism.

Here Jesus makes salvation dependent on feeding the hungry, offering water to the thirsty, being hospitable to strangers, clothing the needy, and visiting the sick and those in prison. According to these words, those who do such things will enter the kingdom, to eternal life; those who do not do such things to eternal punishment. Now none of us are perfect and none of us have done these things perfectly. Suppose God puts us in ten situations where we have opportunities to do these things. What happens if we are obedient in five and disobedient in the other five? Will we be saved because we obeyed in five cases? Or destroyed because we disobeyed in the other five? If we say that perfect obedience is required for salvation according to verses 34-36, then by the same logic, perfect disobedience would be required to be sent into eternal fire according to verses 41-43! Since we have shown neither perfect obedience nor perfect disobedience, what is Jesus to do? If he invites us to eternal life, then he would be negating his own words in verses 41-43 (after all we did disobey him 5 times out of 10). And if he sends us to eternal fire, then he would be negating his own words in verses 34-36 (after all we did obey him 5 times out of 10). And what if 10 times out of 10 we have fed the hungry and quenched the thirst of the thirsty, but only once out of 10 times visited those in prison? What is Jesus to do then? The exegetical difficulties are obvious! We just cannot take such passages in the perfectionist sense.

Nobody is talking perfectionism here; such passages have to be taken to mean "the temper of our minds and the tenor of our lives" (to use Matthew Henry’s words in his commentary on James 2:14-26). What is our reaction and what do we do 8 times out of 10 when God puts us in these situations? Do we grumble and disobey? Do we grumble but finally obey grumbling? Do we don’t grumble but joyfully disobey, praying in our comfortable chairs, "Thank you Lord for the opportunity you have given them to be witnesses in prison. Use them to expand your kingdom in prison?" Or do we joyfully obey and visit them? 8 times out of 10, do we recognize it as an opportunity to serve Jesus and visit the brother? What is the temper of our minds and the tenor of our lives? What do we generally do?

Passages in other books too can be misunderstood to be talking perfectionism. Consider the following from the letters of James and John:

James 1:4	Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:12	Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:23-24	Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
James 1:26-27	If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 2:10	For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
James 2:15-16	Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
James 3:2	We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
James 3:7-8	All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
James 4:3	When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:4	You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
James 4:11	Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
I Jn 1:6-10	If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
I Jn 2:1	My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
I Jn 2:3-6	We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
I Jn 2:9-11	Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.
I Jn 2:17	The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
I Jn 3:3-4	Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
I Jn 3:6	No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
I Jn 3:7-10	Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
I Jn 3:14-17	We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
I Jn 3:24	Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
I Jn 4:7-8	Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
I Jn 4:12-13	No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
I Jn 4:16	And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
I Jn 4:20-21	If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
I Jn 5:1-5	Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
I Jn 5:18	We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.

James surely did not consider himself perfect! Nor is John talking perfectionism in the numerous self-evaluation statements in 1 John. These are all examples to illustrate what a kind of life God desires from us. Nobody is talking perfectionism here. Such passages too, have to be taken to mean "the temper of our minds and the tenor of our lives."

3. Salvation by Faith in Jesus

We are now in a position to put together and round off all that we have learnt in the last few pages to understand what the New Testament means by being "saved by faith in Jesus." To summarize –

"Faith" according to the New Testament is not the easy-believism kind of faith. It means "faith seen in the life of a person." Not a perfect, faultless behavior according to the faith professed, but the temper of the mind and the tenor of the life. "Faith in Jesus" means such a faith in statements and commitments made by Jesus himself, and not fancies about what he would do. Jesus statements say, "Repent from your sins, show fruit in keeping with repentance and you will be saved."

"Salvation by faith in Jesus" means "Show life-faith, action-faith in what Jesus requires for salvation as a temper and tenor of your life – repentance from sins to purify the heart, and fruit in keeping with repentance – and you will be saved." There is no support from Jesus’ own words for the fancy, "Believe that Jesus died for your sins and you will be saved." Faith has to be only in what Jesus himself said, not what others said about him but which find no support in his own words.