From: REXLEX@fnalf.fnal.gov
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Pisteuw in Jn -conclusion
Date: 23 Jul 92 06:54:08 GMT
Organization: Fermilab

Again, this is a paper presented to Western Conservative Baptist Sem in
Portland, by my good friend Steve Tracy.  Hopefully it will answer some of the
questions about the lordship salvation issue that have come up. This is the
concluding segment.
-Rex


            Positive Assertions: What Saving Faith is 

     We have seen that John uses pisteuw is a variety of ways.  This Gospel of
belief speaks of various individuals having faith, though in several notable
instances, the people involved were not regenerate.  We saw that the common
thread which connected those whose faith was less than saving faith was that it
was a faith which was at best, intellectual assent to truths about Christ.  We
have arrived at our thesis  inductively, through evaluating the faith of the
unregenerate.
       Saving Faith is Acceptance of and Commitment to a Divine Person

     The focus of this study is on the nature as opposed to the content of
saving faith, since Evangelicals are considerably more agreed on the latter
than on the former.  In short, the content of saving faith according to John is
the salvific work (3: 14-18; 10: 11, 15; 12: 32) and Divine person (1: 29; 5:
23; 8: 24, 58; 9: 35-37; 20: 27-28; cf. I Jn. 5: 5) of Jesus Christ.
     John uses various symbols and verbs to describe saving faith.  Painter
contends that John's symbols indicate three main components of saving faith. 
The first is perception, recognition, or understanding.  This element is
symbolized by such phrases as: see (1: 14, 39; 6: 40, 62), hear (4: 42; 10: 20;
8: 43), and remember (2: 17; 12: 16; 14: 26).  The second component is
decision.  This is indicated by phrases such as: to come (1: 39, 46; 6: 35, 37;
7: 37; 14: 26), to receive or reject (1: 5, 11, 12; 3:11, 32; 5: 43), to love
or hate (8: 42; 14: 15; 21:15-17), to confess or deny (9: 22; 12: 42; 18: 25),
and to follow (1: 37, 38; 6: 2 ;10: 4).  The third component is dependence and
obedience.  This is indicated by phrases such as: to drink (4 :13; 6: 35), to
eat (6: 35), to be a disciple (8: 31; 9: 27; 15: 8), to learn or be taught (6:
45), to keep (8: 51; 14: 15, 21), to abide (6: 56; 8: 31; 15: 4, 10), to
worship (4: 23; 9: 38), and to serve (12: 36).
     We must be very careful, lest in our desire for clarity and simplicity, we
reduce belief to something less than the writers of Scripture allow.  Painter
aptly reminds us that saving faith is expressed in many ways in the Book of
John, and the various symbols help us to see its richness.  Painter's first
component relates to the content of saving faith (the Divine person and
salvific work).   His second speaks of the volitional aspect of saving faith. 
The third category speaks of the intimate relationship generated by a faith
which involves depending and relying on Christ alone for salvation.  The third
category is not to be divorced from the first two, for all three are logically
related to each other.  For example, G. Campbell Morgan relates these
components of faith by asserting that genuine belief is, "volitional surrender
[#2] to the thing of which the mind is convinced [#1].  As a matter of fact, we
never really believe anything until we surrender ourselves [#3] to it."
     We will conclude our study by going back to the beginning of John's
Gospel.  John's first reference to faith is in 1: 7.  The first description of
saving faith which occurs in 1: 12 (receive Him) is a concise summary of the
concept of saving faith which is developed throughout the fourth Gospel and
throughout this paper i. e., saving faith is acceptance of and commitment to a
Divine Person.  In using a verb such as lambanw, John emphasized a personal
acceptance and appropriation of Christ by the one believing.   Lambanw conveys
a concept very similar to that conveyed by "eating" and "drinking" in chapter
six.   Morris' comment on this verse serves as a fitting summary.  He suggests
the accepting and believing spoken of here, "is not believing that what He says
is true, but trusting Him as a person...when we believe we yield ourselves up
to be possessed by Him in whom we believe."  Beginning with his first
description of saving faith, John wanted to prod his readers to fully accept
Christ and personally appropriate His salvific work.  
 Conclusion
     From beginning to end, John is the Gospel of belief.  Though some would
see the phrase, "salvation comes only through faith in Christ" as little more
than a religious bromide, we have seen that this is a truth which is extremely
relevant today.  The American religious climate and current Evangelical debate
show the need to understand what John meant when he spoke of believing in
Christ.  "Believing" is a multifaceted concept in Johannine thought.  We get a
much clearer picture of how John understood saving faith by seeing what he said
it wasn't.  For John, genuine faith has as its content the Divine person and
salvific work of Jesus Christ, but intellectual assent to these truths is not
enough.  John understood saving faith to involve full acceptance of and
Commitment to Christ.  A partial acceptance of Christ based on what we would
like Him to be, was not an option in the first century any more than it is
today.  
  
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