Is faith/confessing Christ a one time act that leads to salvation?
Is receiving salvation by faith a one-time act that happens only at the moment one places his faith in Christ? Are faith and salvation only one time, past happenings for a believer, or are faith and salvation continual processes and realities looking forward to the culmination of salvation at the judgement?
Romans 10:9 - 13
ESV - 9 Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
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Asked July 24 2016
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Thomas K M
Jennifer Rothnie
Supporter
Salvation is one of the 'already and not yet' concepts in scripture. Different verses say we 'have been' saved (I Cor 6:11, Tit 3:4-5, etc.), that we are 'being saved' (II Cor 2:15, I Pet 1:8-9, Phil 2:12-13, etc.) and yet others that we 'will be' saved (Rom 5:9-10, I Thess 5:8, I Cor 3:15, I Cor 5:5, etc.) Faith brings salvation and leads to final salvation from the moment we first believe - but it is not a 'one-time act.' Faith must be a continual state. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but hold eternal life." 'Believes' here is active (a present active participle in the Greek) - an ongoing belief, not a one-time or temporary belief. It is these abiding believers that God wills not to perish, but to hold (present tense as well) eternal life. I Jn 5:10-12 also describes this: Whoever believes (continual) in the Son of God has the testimony in Him that God has given eternal life, and that this life is in the Son. He who holds (continual) the Son holds (continual) life - he who doesn't hold the Son doesn't have life. I Cor 15:1-2 shows that a temporary, one-time belief is in vain: "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly (continual) to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed (past) in vain. So we see that it isn't merely having the Son for a moment in faith that grants us life eternal, but continually holding the Son through faith. If salvation was all in the past, it could not be said that "our salvation is now nearer than when we first believed" Rom 13:11. Nor would we have any hope left to look forward to - it would already be fulfilled (Rom 8:24-25). Salvation, through abiding faith, is a process that begins the moment we first believe, continues as we believe, and is ultimately fulfilled as believers receive all the promises of God at the Ressurection and judgement. Some of the nuances of this process include: Redemption - we are delivered from sin and reconciled to God through the blood of Christ from the moment we first believe (Eph 1:7, Col 3:13-14), yet believers still await the redemption of their bodies at Christ's return (Rom 8:23-25, Luke 21:28) The Holy Spirit is a guarantee that God will make good on this promise to believers. (Eph 1:13-14, Eph 4:30, R) Forgiveness - Forgiveness is also 'already and ongoing' process. We have been forgiven (Eph 4:32, Col 3:13, etc.), and we are continually forgiven by Christ (I John 1:9, Matt 6:12, etc). Sanctification - this is also a past and present process. We were sanctified (Heb 10:10, I Cor 6:11, Heb 10:29) and we are being sanctified (I Thess 4:1-3, I Thess 5:23, Heb 10:14.) Justification - this, too, is already and not yet. We have been justified by faith (Rom 5:1-2, I Cor 6:11), we are continually justified as we abide in that faith (Heb 11:17-19, Gen 12; Gen 15; Gen 22) and believers will yet be justified (Rom 2:13, Rom 3:20.) Eternal life - We begin a new life the moment we first believe in Christ (Rom 6:4-14), We hold eternal life as we believe (John 3:16), and we hold the hope of future eternal life in the age to come (Tit 1:2, Luke 18:29-30, I Tim 6:19, etc.) This is why there are so many warnings and exhortations in scripture to abide, not merely sojourn for a time, with Christ (John 15:1-17, I John 2:28); to hold fast to faith (I Tim 1:19, Heb 10:23, Heb 4:14, Heb 3:6); and to not defect from Christ back to sin (Heb 6:4-6, II Pet 2:20-22, II Tim 2:12, I Tim 1:1, Heb 10:26-27, etc.) See also: - What does it mean in Rom 3:27 that boasting is excluded because of the law that requires faith? Http://ebible.com/answers/27255?ori=167400 - https://ebible.com/questions/7882-is-salvation-created-by-faith-or-is-faith-created-by-salvation