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A popular doctrine among denominations is that all a person has to do to
be saved is to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and Saviour
of the world. But James deals with that false doctrine very well, saying,
"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith
apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith. Thou
believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and
shudder. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is
barren? . . . Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by
faith" (Jas. 2:18-24).
We should remember that faith without works is barren, or dead. As the barren fig tree was cursed as useless, so faith is barren, or useless, if it have not works as its fruit. Next we are to remember that the demons believe, yet they are not justified. But my religious neighbors say that this is no proof that a human being cannot be saved by faith only. James thought it was good proof of that very point. He argued that man is not justified by faith only and gave the demons as proof. So it is either good proof, or James was misled by the Holy Spirit. But suppose we leave James and his teaching out of the picture. There is still enough proof to convince any reasonable person who will take the time to consider the matter that something more than faith is needed to save the soul. Toward this end I propose to present a number of examples of unsaved believers. First, we notice those Jews who listened to Jesus as He told them He was the light of the world, that His Father was with Him and bearing witness of Him. "As he spake these things, many believed on him (Jn. 8:30). Did they believe on Him? The Holy Spirit says they did. But Jesus said to these very Jews who believed on Him, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do" (Jn. 8:44). Were these believers saved? Surely no one will dare affirm they were saved since Jesus said their father was the devil. But someone wishes to remind me that they had very little faith. Where is the proof? The record says they believed on Him, and from that statement I contend that it is impossible to determine whether their faith was weak or strong. We do know from the account that the faith of these Jews was barren, or dead. It was dead because it was alone, having no works to perfect it. And since they had dead faith, they were not justified. They were among the unsaved believers. Another case is found among the Jewish rulers. "Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed on him: but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the glory that is of men more than the glory that is of God" (Jn. 12:42). Did these rulers believe on Jesus? The Holy Spirit, through the apostle John, affirms that they did. Was it a weak or strong faith? We do not know, nor does it matter. Was it a dead faith or a live faith? It was a dead faith. How do I know it was a dead faith? Because there were no works of obedience to make it alive. But these men were afraid to confess their faith lest they should be put out of the synagogue. They had rather be members of the old Jewish system of religion than to follow Jesus and His new and living way. Jesus says He will confess before His Father those who confess Him here, but He will deny those who deny Him here (Matt. 10:32-33). He also says He will be ashamed to confess before His Father those who are ashamed of Him and His word in this world (Mk. 8:38). Were these rulers saved in spite of the fact they were afraid to confess Jesus? Were they saved when they loved the glory of men more than that which is of God? Surely, no thinking person will affirm they were saved. They were unsaved believers. Again we read, "And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number that believed turned unto the Lord (Acts 11:21). The order of events here is, first, they believed, and second, they turned unto the Lord. No one can be saved until he turns to the Lord (Isa. 55:7). Believing is one thing and turning to the Lord is another. But since believing comes first, it follows that the believer is unsaved until he turns to the Lord, whether it is a minute, a day, or a month between the time he believes and the time he repents. So all believers are unsaved until they turn to the Lord. But it is suggested that some of the believers here did not turn to the Lord, for it is said that a great number that believeda majority of the believersturned to the Lord. So a small numbera minority of the believersdid not turn to the Lord, and those who did not turn to the Lord at all remained unsaved. There are many people in that class today. They believe in Jesus, but for various reasons they refuse to turn unto the Lord to be saved. They are unsaved believers. On the day of Pentecost we find some unsaved believers. When Peter preached his sermon, the people were pricked in their hearts (Acts 2:36) they were convicted of their sins. One cannot be convicted of sin against the Lord until that one believes in the Lord. Therefore, these convicted people believed in Jesus. Believing in Jesus and being convicted of their sins, they asked what to do to be forgiven of their sins. Peter told them to repent. To repent means to turn to the Lord. How long was it from the time they became believers until they repented? We have no way of knowing, but if humans then were about what they are now, it was a few minutes with some, a few hours with others, and a few days with still others. But the truth is, they were not saved before they repented. So from the time they believed until the time they repented and were baptized they were unsaved believers. Now the question comes, What must unsaved believers do to be saved? Since these believers on this occasion were not saved, and since they had not repented, we can learn from them the answer to our question. When these unsaved believers asked Peter what to do, he told them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). When these believers repented and were baptized, the Lord added them to His church, the family of God (1 Tim. 3:15). They were then children of God, saved from the power and dominion of Satan and the guilt and pollution of sin. So we conclude that all unbelievers should become believers, and that all unsaved believers should immediately repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. |