Knowing What It Means to Be a Christian.(Whitefield Christian Church – Whitefield, NH)

In the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel the account is given of Jesus feeding the 5,000 by miraculously multiplying a few loaves of bread and some fish. This miracle or sign is recorded in all four Gospels. Jesus’ miracles were signs that He intended would point people to Him. The nature of saving faith is taught in this chapter. Read John chapter six through carefully then continue reading this material.

One becomes a Christian by believing the Gospel. The Gospel is the proclamation that Christ died for sinners. It is also the promise that if you trust in Christ your sins will be forgiven and you will find complete acceptance with God. The promise is also a command. God commands you to trust in Christ.1 To reject the promise is the ultimate expression of disobedience. Those who turn from the offer of the Gospel incur greater condemnation. The Gospel is freely offered to all who will hear its message. The Gospel is the invitation for the sin weary to come to Christ for salvation. Any one and every one may come.

When a person really hears the Gospel the focus is on the person and work of Jesus Christ. There is a strong pull to Christ and interest in Him that is more than mere curiosity. It is described in the Bible as a hunger or thirst that compels you to take and eat and drink. When one becomes a Christian all that is important is Christ and the privilege of knowing him as Savior and Lord. You do not think about the nature of faith nor do you really know that much about the nature of Christ’s death on the cross or the glory of who he really is. All you know is that as a sinner you need a savior. Jesus is presented to you as that savior from sin, as the one who gives real life.

Usually, there is a sense of deep need due to some trouble, turmoil, hardship or loss you have experienced. This is not always the case and we must not set up some pattern for how one becomes a Christian. Nor are there certain prior requirements that the sinner is to meet before he/she trusts in Christ. 2 The bottom line is that Christ is both trusted and treasured.

The nature of saving faith is both a seeing of Christ and a trusting in Christ. This entails what Jonathan Edwards called “religious affections.” Edwards was sensitive to the fact that faith in Jesus was both a trusting in Christ, as well as, a desiring of Christ.3 He did not, like some, separate the two. Edwards saw that the essence of faith was in what he called holy affections. “True religion, in great part, consists in Holy Affections.” Faith is 1 While the Gospel is offered to all and all are invited to receive the message in faith, God also requires that those who hear do repent and believe. Many do not of course and will incur greater judgment. One passage that teaches this (and there are others that teach that God commands people to believe in Gospel) is Mark 1:15, Jesus is preaching and saying, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the Gospel.” The verbs “repent” and “believe” are commands. 2 Such prior requirements as, improving one’s spiritual life, reforming one’s ways, habits or manners, feeling sorry for one’s sins, overcoming one’s sin, etc. Jesus Christ is offered to you in the Gospel and as you respond in faith to the offer and promise, by believing in the validity of the Gospel, you will be drawn to Him and that very fact also entails a movement away from sin and self-centeredness. You must not confuse what faith brings about in one’s heart with requirements that precede faith. The Gospel call is “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” 3 Jonathan Edwards’ careful examination and analysis of the nature of faith is set forth in his work The Religious Affections.

not only trust in Christ but it is the spiritual perception of the value of Christ and the inclination of the sinner toward Jesus. Saving Faith is the apprehension of how truly desirable Christ is. Faith apprehends that following Jesus and having Jesus is desirable, valuable, and a treasure worth having.

Being a Christian consists of a spiritual seeing of and believing in Christ that is really a new appetite or the spiritual ability to taste and drink of the gospel with desire.

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise b up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me-- not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. John 6:40-48

God the Father is the great disciple maker. The concept of discipleship oozes out of the above text. Note the words: hearing, learning, coming (and following) are all terms that apply to becoming a disciple or follower of Christ. A disciple of Christ is one who has been given sight of Christ and in beholding Christ (perceiving Christ) is drawn to Him. Christ is appealing, attractive, seen as worthy, wanted, desirable. The affections and desires are holy in that they line up with who Christ really is and not who or what you may think He is. This beholding or seeing means that God has taught you the truth concerning Christ, so that your perception and longing for him truly corresponds to who Christ is for sinners.

This spiritual illumination or insight also consists of genuine repentance. What we want changes and must continue to change. Read John 6:25-39.

We learn of the nature of repentance from the crowd’s lack of repentance. Why were they coming to Jesus?

They were coming to Jesus for more bread. Bread is not bad. It was not the bread but it was their lust for the bread that was idolatrous and sinful. In fact the way in which they were coming to Jesus indicates that they were trying to manipulate him. They were trying to tempt him to do another miracle so that they might get from him more of what they wanted. It is like the way idols were worshipped in the ancient world. Idols were feared. Yet through worship, bowing to them and offering sacrifices, the worshiper sought to manipulate the god into giving him want he desired.

Jesus will have no part of this. Their affections were not holy, even when they came to Jesus seeking him. They were looking to Jesus as a means to another end. The sign or

miracle did not drive them to Jesus. They were coming to Jesus but not with faith and repentance.

Repentance entails a change in what we want. The depletion and emptiness of the goods of this life may make us weary and sad but may not move us toward repentance but rather self-pity. Then when we hear the Gospel, we really don’t hear it. WE hear: Jesus will give you what you lack in this life. In this way He is easily but wrongly viewed as a broker for your own lusts and cravings.

Two Tables

This passage paints a picture of two tables. The bread of this life is on one table and the true bread is on the other. Repentance is not simply turning away from the table of this life. It is changing your appetite. It is no longer having affection for the junk food of the world. Now some of the food on the first table is not bad: Marriages, children, jobs, careers, hobbies, etc., while much on this table is sinful and bad: drugs, illicit sex, selfish ambitions, shady business deals, etc. The problem with the good things on this table is the strength of our desires (or as Edwards would say “affections”) for such earthly gifts. While the problem with the sinful things on this table is not only their inherent evil (because God says such things are wrong) but also the desire we have for them. Sinful affections or desires for the things of this life (both good and illicit) must be replaced with holy affections for Christ and the gospel of grace. This is what happens when we repent. This happens when one truly comes to Christ. We in faith turn from the table of the bread of this life and go to the other table and take and eat the Bread of Life.

The hungering and thirsting that is described in John chapter six is not from want of unmet needs, but from conviction of sin and the horror of living alienated from God. It is this hunger and thirst that Jesus promises to meet.

Christians however need to continue to come to the table of the gospel. Faith still trusts in Jesus and with delight feeds on Christ. Faith is a continual turning to Christ as the savior.

The verbs in this text for the most part are in the present tense. Together with the metaphor of the Gospel as bread and drink, they denote that genuine faith continues to relish the feast of grace and also continues to sense the need for this nourishment.

The bread and drink is Christ. The benefits of his atoning death are not separate from him as the exalted savior. Faith in Christ is a beholding of Christ as savior of sinners. This is further unpacked in the grace of justification and adoption. The promise of the gospel is that those who see Christ and trust in him are accepted by God and made sons and daughters and heirs.

I must continue to go to this table because it is here that my life is nourished. I must continue to go to this table because I am tempted to eat the junk food of this life. I must go to this table and eat the rich and nourishing food of the gospel of grace, so that I will know how good God really is.

Hungering and thirsting continue to occur as you come to deeper and deeper awareness of remaining sin (habits, idols, lies, lustful, cravings) and are humbled and broken and repentant. Eating, drinking, coming, and believing are your looking to Christ and the benefits that are yours in the Gospel. You hear the message again and it sounds like good news. The law continues to expose sin. The gospel continues to bring assurance and gratitude that leads to a life of love and obedience.

Even as a Christian I still struggle with issues of reputation and judgment of others, so I must feed on what justification by faith means to the sinner. I must treasure God’s opinion above that of men and women. This means that I must repent of the lust for man’s approval and the fear of rejection.

I still struggle with judging others and defending myself by being critical of others. I love juicy gossip. I must repent of this and feed on the fact that I am a sinner who has been justified by the righteousness of Christ. I have no business using myself as a standard for putting others down and despising them.

I still struggle with the lust for independence and control of my world. Sometimes I sense the fact that I am not powerful enough to control my life. I must feed on the realty that I am not alone and that I must submit to God my Father and trust that He loves me as his child. I have the help of my elder brother Jesus, who is also able to sympathize with my weakness, struggles and failure.

I still struggle with the temptation to derive my nourishment form the things of this life: successful marriage, career, ministry, my children, my reputation and my successes. Sometimes they dry up and I am in despair. I need to feed on the hope that as a child of God I am also and heir. In the meantime I must further feed on the food of heaven that If God is on my side and has given me Jesus, will he not also give me all things? I am more than a conqueror.

It is the continued exposure of my sin (hungering and thirsting) and the continued eating and drinking (repentant faith) of the bread of life and wine of the kingdom (the Gospel) that is the life of the Christian. It is repentant faith that eats with desire the bread of heaven, which gives strength to the Christian’s life.

Are you a Christian? Have you heard the wonderful promise that Jesus welcomes you to come to him freely and put your trust in Him as the one who died for sinners? Have you come to Jesus? All you need do is come. There is no way you can feel sorry enough for your sin. There is no way you can be good enough. There is no requirement to change or to become more spiritual or religious. Do you see yourself as a needy sinner, who has no claim whatsoever on God? All you need do is believe and receive Jesus. He welcomes sinners. He came only for sinners. He will not refuse you. Go to Him now in prayer and ask him to fulfill His promise to sinners. Tell him you are one and that His promise is for you. Trust that he will keep his promise.

"Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.

"Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David. Isaiah 55:1-3

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light." Matthew 11:28-30

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 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 1:11-12

ConversionIn reality, all of the above material has been a presentation of conversion. The following is a summary with definitions. Remember you need to do more than be able to give a correct definition of conversion. You must be converted. It is something that you must experience and not simply be able to define. However, it is also possible to be truly converted and remain unaware of what the Scriptures teach about this work of God’s grace. The Bible gives us teaching on this grace of God in sinners’ lives and with humility of mind we need to grow in understanding of what conversion (this applies to the other themes of theology, as well) entails. Understanding more of God’s grace will only make it sweeter and more desirable to those who are converted.

In the Bible the words translated by the English conversion or converted for the most part carry the idea of turning or returning. One who turns to God is said to be converted. This is seen in David’s prayer in Psalm 51:13, “Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee.” In the NIV this is translated, “sinners will turn back to you.” The question is how does one turn or how should one turn to God? Again it is always sinners who are said to do this kind of turning. It is also suggested, if not always stated, that as sinners turn to God (are converted) they are made right with God. In this sense conversion always has change in view. Often it is said of a person who becomes a Christian, “You have really changed.” It is true. Conversion will always involve change in a person. Thus, the term conversion as been used to describe what it means to become a Christian.4

How does one convert or turn to God? By repentant faith or believing repentance. In realty faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin and they are what is meant by conversion. Conversion is a turning to (or a returning to) God. Faith and repentance are how one is to turn to God. Often in the Gospel accounts people are called to the Kingdom by being called to repent. This implies a call to faith. Saving faith is always a repentant faith. Repentance has your sin and disobedience in view. Repentance has

4 The term is also used in common speech to describe any “religious experience” that leads one to become a practitioner of the particular religion to which one has “been converted.” In this sense it can erroneously be concluded by many genuine Christians, that conversion is a choice one makes, which gives rise to a further notion that it is a work we perform. In one sense conversion is what we do but in another it is what is graciously done in us by God.

the idols of your heart in view. The call to faith entails a real change in mind (which is what the word repentance means, it means to change your mind) about what displeases God. Repentance means that we turn form our idol-lords and sin and come empty handed to Christ.

RepentanceRepentance as stated means to change one’s mind or to have a change of mind. This is more than simply deciding that instead of chocolate ice cream for dessert you changed your mind and will now have cheesecake. The concept of repentance is powerfully described in Philippians 3:4-10.

Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, 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, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

About what does Paul say he had a change of mind? He had a change of mind about what he valued, esteemed and treasured; those things which he calls the flesh and in which he placed his confidence. Then he met Christ and all that he considered gain to him he now considered loss. He had a dramatic change of mind about the value those things were to him and the greater value of having Christ. Repentance is here described as an initial experience with lasting effects: But whatever was to my gain I have counted5 loss. It is described as ongoing and all encompassing: More than that I (continue to) count (repentance is ongoing, we need to continue to repent) all things (we must have a change of mind about the value and importance of all things, so repentance is all encompassing). It is further described as radical in that it goes deep into a person’s soul and everything else is viewed as worthless in comparison to knowing Jesus: and count them rubbish.6 5 “I have counted” is in the perfect tense in the Greek New Testament. The perfect tense describes a past action that has on going or continuing results. Here Paul probably has his conversion in view and his initial experience with faith and repentance. The point is that when he met Christ (or when Christ met him), he, at that moment saw by faith the superlative value and spiritual beauty of Jesus. It was at that moment that he counted all that he had and valued as loss. Yet that moment in Paul’s life had continuing results and effects upon him. The real test of whether one is truly come to believe on Christ is whether faith continues. 6 The word here denotes refuse or dung. Paul’s point is that in comparison to having Christ all things must be viewed as worthless to the soul. Repentance is not a chore if and when you see that the things that you hold near and dear and that have a hold on your heart are in fact worthless. This is a little easier when those things don’t work for us anymore. A good example of this is the prodigal son in Luke 15, when he finally had enough of sin, which Jesus metaphorically paints in terms of living and almost eating with the pigs, he comes to his senses and says, “Why am I staying here? My father’s hired servants are better off than I am.” Then he went to his father seeking mercy (make me a hired servant) and found grace (the father ran and met him, embraced and kissed him and

Repentance is not just feeling sorry for your sins.7 Nor is it giving up things or ceasing to do bad things (although it is not less than these either). It is especially having a change of mind about what is important to you, what you value and hence what you worship. What you treasure is what has a hold on you and what has a hold on you is where your functional god is. Repentance is really a change of mind about where your treasure(s) is, or what (who) you really want to be your treasure.

Again notice how close Paul connects the reality of repentance with faith. “I count all things loss for the sake8 of Christ.” Christ is the new treasure. He has become the new and lasting object of worth for Paul. Repentance is having a change of mind about what you value and what in reality offends God (for to value anything above him is idolatry), thereby removing the hold they have on your heart so that you can grasp Jesus Christ.

In Acts 20:18-21 the Apostle Paul is saying a tearful farewell to the elders of the Church at Ephesus. He reminds them of his ministry among them:

And when they had come to him, he said to them, "You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

His message is summarized in verse 21 “solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Repentance is said to be “toward God.” God is the one we are to have in view as we repent. In the Old Testament repentance is seen as a turning to God. A turning that is always a turning away from sin and disobedience and a turning to God’s covenant with his people. The NIV captures this when the translators offer a more dynamic but nevertheless accurate translation of the Greek, “they must turn to God in repentance.” God is the one to whom we must turn. What does this mean? It may mean more but it can’t mean less than we see God as worthy and valuable. He is important to us. We are

rejoiced that his lost son had returned). An example of a person whose life-goods did not give out on him but who meets Jesus and gladly gives up what he once valued would be Zaccheus. See Luke 19.7 Repentance does entail godly sorrow. Often we are sorry for the consequences of sin and not sorry for the sin itself: that it is against God. See Psalm 51 and 2 Corinthians 7:8-11.8 “For the sake of” does not mean that Paul was doing Christ any favors. This is not like when it is said, “the women risked her life for the sake of her child.” She lays down her life for the good of her child. We do not lay down our lives for Christ or in any way benefit him. “For the sake of Christ” means that Paul counted all things loss in order to gain Christ. Jesus is both the source and the goal of this kind of change of mind. Here faith is described as a new and lasting perception of the superlative value of possessing and being possessed by Jesus Christ above anything and everything else. When I change my mind about the value of what I have been treasuring (repentance) and see the greater value in having Jesus (faith), this is done in order that I may gain Christ (for the sake of gaining Christ). In this I also honor and glorify Christ, which can be viewed with the same phrase, “for the sake of.” In other words my treasuring of Jesus (faith) above all things of lesser value (repentance) does in fact glorify Christ and is for His sake. In fact this is what worship is all about. This passage reaches to the very heights of the worshipping heart of Paul and of every believer.

going to him, seeing our sin for what it is and we are grieved because we have offended Him. We are having a change of mind about the importance, value and significance of God.

This repentance toward God can only occur as you see Him as almighty in grace to pardon and forgive. This sight of God comes through Jesus Christ. The verse literally reads that faith is “toward Jesus Christ.” Jesus is the object of saving faith. He is the one to whom the repentant sinner must flee and trust for God’s grace. Or to reverse the dynamic: God offers grace to sinners only in Jesus Christ. Faith is therefore a leaning on and glad receiving of Christ by the sinner.

Notice in the following texts how close the call to repentance is linked to such blessings as forgiveness of sins and life, which are usually said to be the benefits of faith.

Acts 5:31 "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Acts 11:18 And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."

And in Mark 1:15 salvation, which is the offer of the kingdom of God, calls for both repentance and faith in the gospel. "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." In other accounts the call to the kingdom is said to be by repentance. Matthew 3:2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 9

Repentance, on the other hand, always entails faith. This means that repentance is so much a part of the nature of saving faith that it is not a human work. Neither is it a morose or morbid work of suffering. This view of repentance arises when it is confused with penance. Penance is the belief that in order to be forgiven one must show true sorrow by suffering for sins. Penance is in essence the idea of self-atonement. In its extreme forms penance has been practiced by severe forms of self-denial and self-inflicted pain. Yet this is not repentance. The wrong idea of penance may actually become a stumbling block to true repentance, which leads a person away from self to Christ alone. In fact it can become a source of real pride. The only suffering and pain that is acceptable to God as a payment for one’s sins is death (Romans 6:23). The good news is that Christ has died in the place of sinners offering complete payment for sins.

FaithAs you are repenting you are also believing. It is like breathing. You exhale and inhale. Breathing entails both. A distinction can be made between exhaling and inhaling but

9 This message of the Kingdom of God being near and the simultaneous call to repentance and faith was a message proclaimed by both John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus. See: Matthew 3:2 and 4:17.

they go together. Repentance may be compared to exhaling (getting rid of all the bad air) and faith to inhaling, (taking in the good air). As one repents, one must look to Christ alone for forgiveness.

Just like inhaling, faith takes in or receives Christ. Faith brings Christ and all his benefits and riches to the life of one who believes. John 1:12 states, “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.”

Faith entails several components. These are like substances, which are the necessary parts of a compound. Without these there is no faith. What are these ingredients, which make true faith?

Faith entails knowledge. There is content to the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is demonstrated in the account of Philip evangelizing the Ethiopian official in Acts 8:27-38.

And he arose and went; and behold, there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship. And he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." And when Philip had run up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture, which he was reading was this: "HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. "IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO SHALL RELATE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH." And the eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?" And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" {And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."} And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him.

Philip asks him if he understands what he is reading in the Scriptures. Philip did not just call him to believe on Jesus. The official did not know anything about Jesus. Granted the man was interested in the Bible. He was no doubt a follower of Yahweh for he had made a long pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship. Yet he did not know of whom the prophet Isaiah was speaking. He even states in response to Philip’s question, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" He needed a teacher and this meant that he needed knowledge. He needed to know. He needed to understand the text he was reading. So Philip’s preaching was also teaching. He explained the Isaiah text to the eunuch. “Beginning with this scripture” implies that he used other texts and in

keeping with the model of Acts, he no doubt presented the information (knowledge) about Jesus the Christ as the fulfillment of the Scriptures.

So here is evidence that faith entails knowledge of facts and the meaning of those facts concerning Christ and one’s real need for him.

Faith also entails assent to the content of the Gospel message (the facts and their meaning). What this means is that we must believe that the content of the Gospel is indeed true. What would have happened if the Eunuch said to Philip, “It all sounds preposterous. I just don’t believe that it is true. Yahweh would not have allowed the Messiah to die such an accursed death. I don’t believe that this Jesus you tell me about could be the one spoken of by the prophet. What about the Messiah’s reign as Israel’s king? Rome still rules in Zion. No, what you say cannot be true.?” He would have been given knowledge (facts and explanations) but that is as far as it would have gone. Many people understand the content of the Gospel but reject its validity. So for faith to be real faith, it must have as one of its elements confidence in the certainly of the knowledge.

Faith also requires trust. The eunuch understood the content of Philip’s message. He obviously believed that it was the truth. Yet there is certainly more in his response. You cannot read the text without getting the sense that he was eager to follow Jesus. If you go with the earlier manuscript readings (which are the most authoritative, that is they are probably the correct reading), it would seem that as soon as they come to a body of water, in he jumps! It may have been that some scribe who worked on either the original Acts’ manuscript or a copy, had a problem with the obvious lack of any mention of faith that he introduced into the margin (and it later was put into the main text) this response of Philips,10 "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." (verse 37 in the King James Version).

Trust is a vital element of faith. Without trust in the content of the Gospel, which is trust in the Person of Christ and his finished work, such faith is no better than the faith of devils, who are said to believe and tremble. In James 2:19 we find a description of faith that contains knowledge and assent but lacks trust, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” This faith has both knowledge and confidence that the knowledge is true: “God is one.” Yet James condemns this faith by comparing it with the faith that demons have. Faith that goes only this far has been described as mere historic faith, which is belief in the historical validity of the Scriptures. This faith may even hold to a high and exalted view of the Scriptures and its teaching. It may also be called confessional faith. The reference in James 2:19 is to the Shema.11 Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! This became the foundational confession of faith of Israel and of Judaism. The phrase 10 So was this exchange purely a fabrication by some over zealous scribe? The fact that it is not in the most reliable manuscripts suggests this to be the case. It certainly is a true statement but whether it is an accurate recording of the event is questionable.11 The word “shema” is the Hebrew for “hear” which is the command of Deuteronomy 6:4. The Jews simply call this confession of faith “the Shema.”

shema is the Hebrew word “hear.” The confession is true and is necessary but to hold only to its truth is not enough. Or to believe that the Gospel is true and to give assent with your mind and lips is not faith that saves.

Trust is personal reliance upon Christ. It is captured in Galatians 2:20, when Paul proclaims with pleasure and excitement: “The life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” Unless you believe that Christ is offered to you personally and you therefore trust in him personally, then you do not have saving faith. The offer of the Gospel is universal (it is offered to each and every one who hears it) yet it is to be received by the individual. You simply take the promise of God as the good news it is for you. So you must see your great need and believe God’s great promise that comes to you in the person of Jesus Christ.

Finally, faith entails a treasuring of the grace of God that is offered and secured in Christ. This was already mentioned in comments made about Philippians 3:4-10. It is certainly found in the example of the Ethiopian official. Even in Galatians 2:20, there is a sense that Paul continues to be moved by the love of Christ for him. In the Philippians text, faith is seen as a treasuring of Christ in these statements: “I consider everything loss for the sake of Christ;” “...compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my (note the personal trust) Lord;” “I want to know Christ...” One cannot read a text like this without seeing and even feeling the desire and longing Paul has for Christ.

Faith is likened in John’s gospel to the hungry eating bread and to the thirsty drinking water. How do hungry people take food and thirsty people receive water? Do they analyze what is offered? Do they confess, “Yes, I believe this is bread and that is water?” Do they say, “Yes, I trust you are offering those to me and I will now take them into my hands and then into my mouth?” No way! They are hungry and thirsty. They take the provisions with great eagerness and great need and they scoff down the bread and gulp down the water. And they proclaim as they eat and drink how great it all tastes and how wonderfully it satisfies. Faith is like that with God’s grace in Christ.

What then is the common essential in all saving faith? What is it that makes believing in promises (of God) a saving act, rather than a deluded one like the experience of the hypocrites in Matthew 7:22? .The essence of faith is ‘being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus...’ Another way to say it would be that, in all the acts of saving faith, the Holy Spirit enables us not just to perceive and affirm factual truth, but also to apprehend and embrace spiritual beauty. It is the ’embracing of spiritual beauty’ that is the essential core of saving faith. This is what I mean by ‘being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus.’ Spiritual beauty is the beauty of God diffused in all his works and words. Embracing this, or delighting in it, or being satisfied with it, is the heart of saving faith.12

12 Piper, Future Grace, p.206.

Faith Going Public

What is so interesting about this account is the fact that Philip’s preaching really leads the eunuch to respond by requesting baptism. Now baptism is the initial public testimony of faith in Jesus. It has no saving power but it does give witness to faith in Christ. Philip’s preaching of Jesus to him must have entailed an explanation of the value of baptism. The eunuch comes to faith and signifies his faith by baptism.

The people of Israel had a longstanding covenant relationship with God. It was a relationship that made them a unique people. Their religion was both national and racial. The sign of their relationship with God was circumcision. Every male child was required to be circumcised. This mark on the body was a physical mark that the Jew looked to as a reminder of his special relationship with God. The covenant community was comprised of those who had the mark of circumcision. The problem that arose was that the majority began to look to circumcision and their physical lineage to Abraham (who was the first Jew to be circumcised) as what guaranteed their covenant relationship with God. In one sense this was true. They were God’s people by physical descent. They were the physical descendants of Abraham. In this sense it was required that the mark of the covenant be given not only to those Gentiles who wanted to convert but to all the male children born of Jewish parents. And as long as the Mosaic covenant remained in place circumcision was an act of obedience.

But the Lord had promised a new covenant.

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -- "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. Jeremiah 31:31-34

This is the reason Jesus came. He came to establish this new covenant. This meant that the way God was now going to gather his new covenant people would also be new. The promise he made to Abraham that he would make his children as numerous as the stars in the heavens, would no longer be fulfilled by physical descent or lineage but by spiritual rebirth. Such rebirth would be manifest by personal repentance over sins and a personal seeking of the Lord for remission of sins.

But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called." That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are

not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. Romans 9:6-8

And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29

This new way of gathering the new covenant people of God begins with the ministry of John the Baptist. He came to the nation of Israel and basically proclaimed that their physical connection to Abraham was not enough to guarantee them a place in the coming Kingdom. They each had to acknowledge their sins and repent if they were to benefit from the Messiah’s coming. The public evidence that they were taking the message John was proclaiming seriously was submitting to water baptism.

When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to be baptized John who was a prophet questioned the validity of their repentance. He also said something that was no doubt startling. He challenged their dependence upon their physical lineage to Abraham. John was saying, do not think that simply because you are children of Abraham that you sustain some place of safety, without now personally appealing to God for admission into the coming kingdom by true repentance.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, "and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

Matthew 3:7-9

From the time of John the Baptist the only way to become part of the new covenant community and secure a place in God’s kingdom was by personal faith and repentance. John’s baptism became the prototype as it were for Christian baptism. The difference now is that water baptism is not preparatory in anticipation for the coming Messiah. Rather because he has come we come to God with certain knowledge of who he is and what he did and what he offers and we personally put our trust in Him for our salvation.

Baptism becomes the way we publicly manifest our faith in Jesus Christ and desire to obey what he teaches. It gives public expression to our willingness to trust in Christ and become his disciples.

That is why you must really believe in Christ in the way we have tried to show you that Scripture teaches, in order to be ready to be baptized. Baptism apart from faith in Jesus Christ would be like someone wearing a wedding ring that had never been married. In the New Testament all the accounts of baptism are of people who first repent and trust in Jesus Christ. In fact the call to Christ is “repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38) not “be baptized and repent!” It was those “who gladly received his word” who were baptized (Acts 2:41).

But water baptism is not only the way you initially and publicly manifest your faith in Jesus Christ. It is also a pictured that the Lord gives you of the spiritual reality of your faith union with Jesus Christ. Your baptism is designed by God to communicate some pretty significant truth to your soul. In this way your baptism is meant to be a spiritual blessing to you and to all who witness your baptism.In Colossians and Romans Paul teaches that water baptism portrays the Gospel as it is applied to your life. Coming to faith in Jesus Christ unites you to him and by so doing you experience a death to your old life of sin and rebellion and a resurrection to a new life of union and communion with Jesus Christ.

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Colossians 2:11-14

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:1-4

Peter teaches that baptism describes our passing through the waters of judgment by appealing to God for a clear conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Water baptism symbolically parallels the waters of the great flood but just like Noah was delivered from the waters of judgment by being in the Ark so you by being in Christ and receiving the renewed conscience he offers escape judgment.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you - not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. 1 Peter 3:18-21

Commenting on this passage from 1 Peter John Piper writes, “What is baptism? Baptism is a symbolic expression of the heart's ‘appeal to God.’ Baptism is a calling on God. It is a way of saying to God with our whole body, ‘I trust you to take me into Christ like Noah was taken into the ark, and to make Jesus the substitute for my sins and to bring me through these waters of death and judgment into new and everlasting life through the resurrection of Jesus my Lord."

"This is what God is calling you to do. You do not save yourself. God saves you through the work of Christ. But you receive that salvation through calling on the name of the Lord, by trusting him. And it is God's will all over the world and in every culture - no matter how simple or how sophisticated - that this appeal to God be expressed in baptism. ‘Lord, I am entering the ark of Christ! Save me as I pass through the waters of death!’ Amen.’”13

Water baptism has no power to save you. The act of baptism conveys no saving power apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Yet it is an act of obedience. As such all those who truly trust in Jesus Christ for the salvation he offers must follow him by being baptized. To trust in Jesus Christ and not to be baptized is disobedience and all our disobedience is contrary to faith in Christ.

The church of Jesus Christ is given the responsibility to baptize new believers. This is a key part of what Jesus commissioned the church to do.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Matthew 28:18-20

Your baptism also means that you by implication come into the church or the new covenant community of Jesus Christ desiring not only to be baptized but also to be taught to obey all that Jesus commands. While you must come to Christ on your own by faith and while your baptism is an individual act of personal obedience portraying your union with Jesus Christ, it also is a picture of your becoming part of the church. Paul states this in 1 Corinthians12:13-14, For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body -- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free -- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.

13 John Piper, WHAT IS BAPTISM AND DOES IT SAVE?

Baptism thus is a sign or a symbol of your covenant and saving bond to Jesus Christ and through him with the Trinity. Yet at the same time it is a sign or symbol of your covenant bond with the church. While the church has been given the commission to make disciples baptizing and teaching them to obey, this means that those who desire to become Jesus’ disciples must be willing be baptized and taught to obey.

Your commitment to the Lord Jesus must also include your commitment to His church. Such a commitment means that you should seek membership in a particular church that bears the marks of a Christ-centered, Bible believing and Bible teaching church. Normally, a person who trusts in Christ and is baptized will make that commitment to the church that administers baptism.

There is no such person in the New Testament record who believed and was baptized but did not come into an accountable relationship with a particular church that was under the shepherding care of qualified elders. Genuine believers in Jesus Christ will see their baptism and marking not only their faith in Christ but Christ's grace to them and thus their membership in a particular church body.