(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
What are the three levels of belief?
Intro:
Pop quiz: How many times does the word “believe” or “belief” appear in the NT? 241!
And now for the bonus round — how many of those appear in the book of John? 98
It appears in different contexts, though, so in today’s Bottom Line segment we’ll answer today’s focus question — What are the three levels of belief? Put another way, what distinguishes what we might call “saving faith?”
Yesterday we closed out with talking about the ad hominem fallacy — which is diverting to a personal attack instead of responding to an argument, assertion, idea, or truth claim. If you didn’t hear, I hope you do. Because Christianity is, at its root, a knowledge tradition — one about proclaiming truth, growing in truth, and at times defending truth. Just learning to spot ad hominem responses will help us be better at loving the people around us in spirit and truth.
As for our trip through the book of John, we heard an ad hominem response yesterday right at the end of our time together — we heard Jesus say that he was the life-giving bread, and then the people said…
New Testament segment:
Passage: John 6:43-71
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 28
Words: ~602
In our OT Segment, we’re heading into a section in Jeremiah that is part of
…a distinct literary genre within prophetic literature known as oracles against foreign nations. They are found in Isaiah 14–21, 23 and Ezekiel 25–30, Jeremiah 46–51, Amos 1–2, Zephaniah 2 and the books of Obadiah and Nahum. Although they are all condemnations of Israel’s enemies, taunting them, their rulers and their gods, each is a distinct unit, free to accomplish its mission without being constrained to follow a set structure or outline.(1)
Today, Egypt and Philistia…
Old Testament segment:
Passage: Jeremiah 46-47
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 35
Words: ~1037
I love that line… “I will discipline you with justice.”
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Psalm 134
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 3
Words: ~149
The bottom line:
What does it mean to believe? There are three levels of what we might call a “saving faith.” In the NT, and particularly in John, “belief” the noun and “believe” the verb are almost always connected, and a true saving faith includes knowledge, approval, and personal trust.
1. Knowledge Alone Is Not Enough. Personal saving faith…involves more than mere knowledge. Of course it is necessary that we have some knowledge of who Christ is and what he has done… But knowledge about the facts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for us is not enough, for people can know facts but rebel against them or dislike them. … Even the demons know who God is and know the facts about Jesus’ life and saving works… But that knowledge certainly does not mean that the demons are saved.
2. Knowledge and Approval Are Not Enough. Moreover, merely knowing the facts and approving of them or agreeing that they are true is not enough. … King Agrippa provides… (an) example of knowledge and approval without saving faith. Paul realized that King Agrippa knew and apparently viewed with approval the… (… Old Testament). When Paul was on trial before Agrippa, he said, “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe” (Acts 26:27). Yet Agrippa did not have saving faith, for he said to Paul, “In a short time you think to make me a Christian!” (Acts 26:28).
3. I Must Decide to Depend on Jesus to Save Me Personally. In addition to knowledge of the facts of the gospel and approval of those facts, in order to be saved, I must decide to depend on Jesus to save me. In doing this I move from being an interested observer of the facts of salvation and the teachings of the Bible to being someone who enters into a new relationship with Jesus Christ as a living person. We may therefore define saving faith in the following way: Saving faith is trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God.(2)
It’s worth mentioning two other things.
One, as we learn more truth about Jesus, our faith should increase. Know someone who struggles with trusting Jesus? They need to get to know him!
Two, saving faith is also connected to repentance. And while another topic for another day, you can see how this kinda shoots in the foot the idea of universalism…that because Jesus died for the sins of all humankind, doesn’t mean everyone goes to heaven. Like the demons or King Agrippa, you can know or even acknowledge who Jesus is without turning to him.
Love you!
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Je 46:1.
(2) [1] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 709–713.