Faith in Jesus: What Does It Mean to Believe in Him? By Edwin Aaron Ediger, ed. Roy B. Zuck. Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2012. 430 pp. Paper, $30.95.
This is a tough book to review. On the one hand, Ediger does a great job of explaining and defending many Free Grace interpretations of tough texts. On the other hand, Ediger is confusing on the purported subject of the book, what it means to believe in Jesus.
You will find excellent discussion of verses like Matt 7:21-23; John 2:23-25; 8:30-32; 12:42-43; 2 Cor 13:5; and Jas 2:14-26.
However, Ediger attempts to disprove the idea of Gordon Clark and John Robbins that all faith is propositional (see pp. 3-24). Ediger sees some faith as believing a proposition and other faith, especially saving faith, as believing a proposition(s) and then trusting in a person (see pp. 13, 23-24, 409). He rejects the idea that “[saving] trust means to believe propositions to be true” (p. 8).
In at least one place he seems to contradict the idea that saving faith is both believing and trusting. He writes, “In salvific contexts it (believe) means either ‘to believe something to be true’ or ‘to put one’s trust in someone or something’” (p. 13, emphasis added). However, in other places he says the word believe “can include the thought of believing a proposition to be true and trusting in a person” (p. 54). It seems that the latter is his real view of saving faith, believing a proposition or propositions about the Person, work, and promise of Christ and then trusting in Him for one’s eternal destiny (pp. 23-24). His point is that a person needs to believe enough propositional truth about Christ in order to then “place trust in that person for his eternal destiny” (p. 24).
On one occasion, when discussing the purpose statement of John’s Gospel, John 20:31, Ediger says the first use of the word believe (believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God) refers to believing propositions about Jesus and that the second use (“and that by believing you may have life in His name”) refers to trusting in Him (pp. 218-19). He seems to imply here that any given use of the word believe carries one or the other meaning. But in light of the rest of the book, I doubt that is what he means. He seems to hold to the both/and view.
At one point, Ediger implies that one must be fully Trinitarian and must believe everything that the Scriptures reveal about God the Father and God the Son to be born again. He writes, “Christological addition results in soteriological subtraction. To alter the biblical identification of either the Father or the Son means that eternal life is denied to the unsaved because it fundamentally changes the gospel” (p. 384). Surely he merely means that one must believe the major truths which Scripture reveals about the identity of the Father and the Son. To say that we must believe everything that is revealed would make regeneration impossible to achieve. But even saying that one must believe the major truths revealed about the Father and the Son makes it impossible for children to be born again (how can they believe in the virgin birth, the hypostatic union, the eternality of God, omniscience, omnipotence, etc.). In addition, it also makes salvation impossible for most adults. Certainly it would take weeks or months of study before a person would know enough about the Father and the Son to believe the major truths revealed in Scripture about them.
I find two significant problems which Ediger fails to solve. First, specifically which propositions must a person believe to be born again? He does not say, other than speaking favorably of J.B. Hixson’s list of five essentials (pp. 7-8). But he never says that those five essentials cover all one must believe.
Second, what does it mean to trust in Jesus? If believing in Jesus for everlasting life (1 Tim 1:16) is not enough, then it is essential that we know what this second step is. What specifically must I do to trust in Christ? Ediger does not say. In some places, he says that one must trust Him “for one’s eternal destiny” (pp. 23, 24). However, in the last chapter, “The Biblical Gospel,” Ediger talks about believing “the person and the provision,” but does not mention the promise (p. 412). He says there, “Knowing about the person of Christ and the means of His provision, one is able to put his or her trust in Him” (p. 412). The very last line in the book is similarly ambiguous, “The task of evangelism is to present evidence about the person of Jesus and His provision of salvation and to invite them, even implore them, to put their trust in Him” (p. 413).
It is not clear whether Ediger believes that assurance is of the essence of saving faith. While he does say that one must “trust in [Him] for his eternal destiny” (p. 24), he does not indicate if this trust is certainty or is less than that (as when a dying man is told that he has a 50-50 chance of surviving the surgery and decides to trust the doctor as his only hope).
Finally, let me say a word about the nature of the twelve chapters in this book. The book is mostly a commentary. Nine of the twelve chapters walk through the Scriptures. This is especially evident in Chaps. 4-8, which are essentially short commentaries on Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. Ediger walks through each chapter in those five books, giving selective commentary. Presumably, this commentary is showing what propositions about Jesus can lead us to trust Him for our eternal destiny. I think what he means is that one can be led to trust in Christ through many different propositions. But since he never says what the saving propositions are, the commentary chapters do not seem to go along with the other three chapters.
Ediger appears to be saying that prior to Jesus’ baptism, people were born again by trusting in God the Father: “The Old Testament identifies God as the one in whom trust is to be placed, and prepares for the coming of the Messiah, identifying Him by prophetic means” (p. 65). Ediger later in the book specifically rejects the idea, for example, that Gen 15:6 refers to Abraham believing God’s promise concerning the coming Messiah (p. 270).
The three chapters which give the most discussion of the book’s title and subtitle are chaps. 1, 2, and 12. In chap. 1, he presents and rejects some of what Clark and Robbins said about propositional truth. Those of us who agree with Clark and Robbins would have liked to have seen a fairer presentation of their views. Chapter 2 looks at a few problem passages (Acts 2:38; Rom 10:9; 2 Cor 13:5). Chapter 12, the shortest in the book at just four and a half pages, tells us presumably what “The Biblical Gospel” is. Unfortunately, this is the chapter that needs the most discussion, not the least.
Ediger clearly rejects Lordship Salvation and works salvation. However, his presentation of the faith-alone message is not clear.
I would not recommend this book to new or untaught believers. However, I would recommend it for pastors, church leaders, and others who wish to stay abreast of the latest writings about saving faith by Free Grace people.
Robert N. Wilkin
Associate Editor
Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society