Salvation involves a process which changes the character of the individual being saved. It is not like you just do a checklist, and once you have checked everything off, then there is nothing left to do.

At the same time, there are conditions that must be met as a part of that process, and they must be met in order. It would appear to those who are hostile to the notion that salvation is conditional that we preach a "checklist religion," but we do not. We recognize that salvation goes far beyond merely doing 5 things. It involves a change of the inner man. The change is so profound that we often refer to one’s being saved as his being converted (Jas. 5:19). In Colossians 3:9-10 Paul wrote, "Lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him." The entire character of the individual is worked over so that he is indeed a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17).

Our motivation to do those things on the checklist is a natural outgrowth of this inner change. What a man does is a product of what he is, "by their fruits ye shall know them" (Luke 6:43-45). So if my heart is truly converted, and the Lord asks me to do certain things in order to be saved, then I will do those things. If that requires of me making a list and checking things off as they are done, I will do that. The fact is that there are 5 steps in becoming a Christian, and thought they are not listed that way in the Scriptures, they are there, and they are clearly delineated.

In our last article we talked of the necessity of hearing the word in order to be saved. Paul points out that necessity when he says "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? (Rom. 10:13-14). The purpose of preaching the gospel is to produce saving faith in the sinner. "So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17). But the question is also, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?" Faith is an important part of our becoming Christians.

Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned" (Mark 16:16). The writer of Hebrews said, "And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him" (Heb. 11:6). We certainly can’t be saved without faith, so we need to know what it is.

The definition of faith means nothing to many. Of much greater import is the connotation attached to the word. The Calvinist gives a mystical aura by saying that it is an unexplained working of God in man, a gift unconditional and unexplained. Saying the word "faith" is for many like raising the flag. It evokes feelings long before the true meaning can be contemplated.

But "faith" is a word with substance. It means something. The best Bible definition I can find is the passage just quoted: "And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him" (Heb. 11:6). Faith is first a belief that the God of the Bible exists, and that all that he says about himself in the Bible is true. We "must believe that he is." It is also belief "that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him." In other words, the promises of God are accepted as being trustworthy. We must believe that when God says he is going to do something, it is done. For some, this is not enough. They think they need the "mystery" that so often is attached to faith. But saving faith is a normal exercise of the intellect, not of the emotion. That takes the romance and mysticism out of faith for many, so they reject saving faith for fanciful imaginings that are no more than mere fantasy. FAITH IS BELIEVING SOMETHING AND PUTTING YOUR TRUST IN WHAT YOU BELIEVE. It is an intellectual process.

When it comes to the salvation of our souls, there can be no room for doubt. God has not left himself without witness (Acts 14:17) in things pertaining to his existence or what the Bible says about him. We must believe the HE is, as he has presented himself in his revelation.

We must believe what the Bible says about Jesus. Accepting that as truth is an absolute necessity. Jesus said, "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am" (John 8:58). In taking for himself the name of God [Jehovah means "I am] Jesus makes a claim to deity and a special relationship to the Father. The Jews understood this, and not believing, they took up stones to kill him. But Jesus says to them, "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24). We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and we must believe what the Bible says about him, or we will die in our sins. "Because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom. 10:9). Perhaps that is the most difficult thing to believe, that Jesus was raised from the dead. But there can be no room for doubt, for "without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing."

Faith is more than just accepting as truth what the Bible has stated. Faith is confidence and trust. We must trust in God and Jesus, in their

a. motive (John 3:16; 14:15),

b. wisdom (Rom. 11:33-36),

d. and power (Eph. 1:19-20).

God wants to save us, he knows how, and he has ability to bring it about. Therefore, when he makes promise to us, we are willing to fill any condition that he may put on that promise. No matter how extreme the condition may be. If God requires it, I can do it. "I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4:13). That is not confidence in myself, that is confidence in his motive and judgment. Trust is the key to obedience.

If I am sick and I want to get well, I go to a doctor that I have faith in. I go because of that faith. When he tells me what is wrong, I accept his diagnosis. Sometimes the doctor tells me what I must do to get well. If I believe his word, and if I have confidence in his motive, I will submit to his treatment. I will obey his instructions.

Years ago, upon returning to these nether regions from Northern Arizona, I injured my eye. Would you let someone you didn’t trust doctor your eye? My family doctor put some dye in the eye and shone a black light on it. That told him there was a scratch on the surface of the eye, and he would have to put some gunk in it. I don’t know what that gunk was (kind of looked like Vaseline), but I let him put it in there. He told me to lie on my back, keep my eyes open wide, and my head real still while he administered the gunk. I don’t know about you, but I hate for anyone to mess with my eyes. For me to submit to his treatment and do what he asked took a lot of faith in him. And so it is with what God tells me is necessary to be saved. The faith that is necessary to be well pleasing is not some mystical aura, not some better felt than told feeling in the chest, not some intuitive realization. It is trust based upon hearing the evidence God presents. It is the trust that is necessary if we are going to make the commitment that is required of us and do what we must do. It is the trust in God without which we cannot be saved. Jesus said, "By their fruits ye shall know them."