Biblical Concept: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for
Eternal Life
Prologue: This is from part of an e-mail conversation about God’s
Law:
“Do
I personally keep the law for eternal salvation? As much as I possibly can. I don't murder, commit adultery, worship
idols, or steal. I rest on the 7th
day, the Sabbath, and keep it holy. I
try not to lie, covet, respect my parents, and use the Lord's name in
vain. But I am an imperfect human. I commit sin, just as you and everyone else
on this planet does. I find comfort in
the fact that God is a loving God and allowed Christ to die for my sins so that
I may be saved. If it is God's will I
will reach heaven then hope I do.”
Introduction: The following 93 Bible verses
demonstrate that only faith[1] in the Lord
Jesus Christ and the salvation He provided through the Cross results in eternal
life. Example: Romans 3:28
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
(The underlines
and following parentheses are mine.)
John 1:12 But
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
John 3:15 that whoever believes may
in Him have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes
in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life.
John 3:18
"He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does
not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:36
"He who believes in the Son
has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
John 5:24
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal
life, and does not come into judgment, but has
passed out of death into life.
John 5:46
"For if you believed Moses,
you would believe Me; for he wrote of
John 6:35 Jesus
said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
John 6:40
"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal
life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last
day."
John 6:47
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
John 6:69
"And we have believed and
have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."
John 7:31 But
many of the multitude believed in
Him; and they were saying, "When the Christ shall come, He will not
perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?"
John 7:38
"He who believes in Me, as
the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being
shall flow rivers of living water.'"
John 8:24
"I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall
die in your sins."
John 8:30 As He
spoke these things, many came to believe
in Him.
John 8:31 Jesus
therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide in My word, then you are
truly disciples of Mine;
John 10:42 And
many believed in Him there.
John 11:25
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, 26 and
everyone who lives and believes in
Me shall never die. Do you
believe this?" 27 She *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the
Son of God, even He who comes into the world."
John 11:45 Many
therefore of the Jews, who had come to Mary and beheld what He had done, believed in Him.
John 12:42
Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed
in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest
they should be put out of the synagogue;
John 20:31 but
these have been written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
Acts 4:4 But
many of those who had heard the message believed;
and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Acts 8:12 But
when they believed Philip
preaching the good news about the
Acts 9:42 And
it became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
Acts 10:43
"Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins."
Acts 11:17
"If God therefore gave to them the same gift as He gave to
us also after believing in the
Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?"
Acts 11:21 And
the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.
Acts 13:38
"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed
to you,
Acts 13:39 and
through Him everyone who believes is
freed from all things, from which
you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.
Acts 13:48 And
when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the
word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to
eternal life
believed.
Acts 14:1 And
it came about that in Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together,
and spoke in such a manner that a great multitude believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.
Acts 14:23 And
when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with
fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Acts 15:5 But
certain ones of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, stood up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise
them, and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses." (see 15:10-11)
Acts 15:11
"But we believe that we are
saved through the grace of the Lord
Jesus,
in the same way as they also are."
Acts 16:31 And
they said, "Believe in the
Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household."
Acts 17:12 Many
of them therefore believed,
along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.
Acts 17:34 But
some men joined him and believed,
among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a
woman named Damaris and others with them.
Acts 18:8 And Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his
household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being
baptized.
Acts 18:27 And
when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to
the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he helped greatly those
who had believed through grace;
Acts 26:18 to
open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion
of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an
inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in
Me.'
Romans 1:16 For
I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it
is the power of God for salvation to
everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Romans 3:21 But
now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested,
being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those
who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the
redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a
propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins
previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His
righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where then
is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 Or is God the
God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of
Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith
and the uncircumcised through faith is one. 31 Do we then nullify the Law
through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.
Romans 4:2 For
if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say?
"AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS
RIGHTEOUSNESS." 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a
favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who
does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
reckoned as righteousness,Romans 5:1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ,
Romans 9:30
What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness,
attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but
Romans 10:4 For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For
Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law
shall live by that righteousness. 6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks
thus, "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, 'WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is,
to bring Christ down), 7 or 'WHO
WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
" 8 But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN
YOUR HEART"-- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if
you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you
shall be saved;
1 Corinthians
1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come
to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message
preached to save those who believe.
Galatians 2:16
nevertheless knowing that a man is not
justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may
be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the
works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.
Galatians 3:2
This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit
by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? (See 3:5)
Galatians 3:8
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify
the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying,
"ALL THE NATIONS SHALL BE BLESSED IN YOU."
Galatians 3:22
But the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in
Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under
the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24
Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead
us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now
that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 1:13
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your
salvation-- having also believed, you were
sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through
faith;
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Philippians 3:9
and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the
Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the
righteousness
which comes from God on the basis of faith
1 Thessalonians
4:14 For if we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring
with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
1 Timothy 1:16
And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost,
Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for
those who would
believe in Him for eternal life.
1 Timothy 3:16
And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed
in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Beheld by angels, Proclaimed among
the nations, Believed
on in the world, Taken up in
glory.
2 Timothy 3:15
and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to
give you the wisdom that leads to salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 1:8 and
though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now,
but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of
glory,
1
Peter 1:20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared
in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through
Him are believers in God, who raised
Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
1 John 3:23 And
this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus
Christ,
and love one another, just as He commanded us.
1 John 5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever
loves the Father loves the child born of Him.
1 John 5:4 For
whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. 5 And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes
that Jesus is the Son of God?
1 John 5:10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in
himself;
the one who does not believe God
has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has
borne concerning His Son.
1 John 5:13
These things I have written to you who believe
in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.
The underlines listed: belief in Christ = become children,
whoever believes . . . not
perish . . . have eternal life, not judged, not come into judgment, not hunger,
never thirst, raise him up, innermost being shall flow rivers of living water,
shall live even if he dies, shall never die, may have life in His name,
forgiveness of sins, the same gift, through Him forgiveness of sins, freed from
all things, appointed to eternal life, saved through the grace of the Lord
Jesus, believed through grace,
sanctified by faith, gospel . .
. for it is the power of God . . . salvation to everyone who believes, righteousness of God through
faith in Jesus Christ, the justifier of
the one who has faith in Jesus, a law of faith, justified by faith apart from
works of the Law, justified by works . . . something to boast about . . . but
not before God, ‘the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies
the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness’, having been justified by
faith, we have peace with God, HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED,
‘believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved’,
save those who believe, a man is
not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus,
justify the Gentiles by faith, the Law has become our tutor to lead us to
Christ, that we may be justified by faith, all sons of God through faith in
Christ Jesus, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit, by grace you have
been saved through faith, the righteousness which comes from God on the
basis of faith, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus, believe in Him for eternal life, believed on in the world, salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus, through Him are believers in God, ‘this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus
Christ’, whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, ‘who is the
one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God’,
the one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself, know that
you have eternal life.
Conclusions and applications: Stop working
for eternal salvation—that is “to bring Christ down”! Stop keeping the law for eternal
salvation—that is “to bring Christ down”—Law leads to faith in Christ. These 93 Bible verses present faith and
belief as the human’s nonmeritorious volitional choice of Christ as their
Savior. Do not confuse other faith and
belief Bible verses that describe the Christian way of life—life after the
point of salvation. See the Biblical
Concept: Faiths.
Stop trying to be good enough for eternal salvation. God is perfect righteousness and His perfect
righteousness could only be satisfied by the perfect life of Jesus and His
Cross—stop lowering God. See the
Biblical Concept: Lowering God. For those who have believed—become
convinced—in the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life there is eternally: no
judgment, no hunger, no thirst, life even in death, forgiveness, freedom,
grace, sanctification, righteousness, justification, peace, no disappointment,
sons, and security (sealed).[2]
[1]
Faith / believe = to be convinced. Vocabulary: pistis from peitho
meaning: to persuade, to convince.
[2] With all of this eternal standing ‘in Christ,’ some ‘weak believers’ continue in their licentiousness
ways, knowing that they have eternal life. The result is a ‘Christian way of life’ filled with Divine
discipline, perhaps even a life shortened by sin unto death, and little eternal reward. Go ahead, live
your miserable licentious life, you have eternal life.