By Hayden Bray
Confusion about the saving message of Jesus Christ has plagued the Church since the days of the apostles. Most commonly, attacks on the grace of God amount to shoehorning works into the saving transaction, either by front-loading repentance, commitment, and obedience as co-conditions of faith, or by back-loading perseverance until death.
A less obvious obfuscation of the simplicity of the gospel, common to evangelicalism and, surprisingly, even in Free Grace circles, is to substitute believing in Jesus for trusting in Him.
The problem arises when we substitute trust for belief. So, what is the difference, and does it matter when it comes to the saving message of Jesus Christ?
The contrast should be obvious. To trust or hope in Jesus (elpizō) is naturally related to but not equivalent to believing (pisteuō) in Him. The former speaks of confidence; the latter speaks of persuasion. Let it be plainly stated that one is unlikely to believe something without first trusting its source, especially about matters as lofty as everlasting life or death.
The late Zane Hodges masterfully distilled the problem of using trust in an evangelical context when he spoke at a GES conference years ago:
Trust has a range of meanings, some of which would be synonymous with the word believe and some of which would not.
I could say, “I sent Bob Wilkin downtown to deposit my check, and I hope he’ll do it. I guess I’ve got to trust him.” That is not the same thing as believing that Bob Wilkin is going to deposit my check.
On the other hand, there are contexts in which the word trust is used by us as a synonym for believe. But I like the title of the book somebody wrote Whatever Happened to the Word Believe? Why are we always substituting things for believe?
I like the emphasis Earl Radmacher gave and that others have given, that we need to tell them what it is they need to believe, and then we won’t be fishing around for something that substitutes for the Biblical word believe.i
In John’s gospel, believing in (pisteuō eis) Jesus is used interchangeably with believing that (pisteuō hoti) He is the Christ. In both cases, the object of saving faith is Jesus and His promise.
Take, for example, John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (emphasis mine).
The purpose statement of John’s Gospel is a call to believe, not a call to trust: “but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (emphasis mine)(John 20:31).
Everywhere that belief in Jesus is called for, it is presented alongside His promise. One cannot believe in Jesus without regard to the promise He offers those who believe in Him. The object of saving faith is both the gift and the gift-Giver (John 4:10). What is not being asked of the unbeliever is a general trust in Jesus or even a degree of confidence in Jesus for salvation.
The inclination to substitute Jesus’ own words with words we think better communicate the saving message is foolish. Do we really think that we can improve on His evangelistic method?
The word trust does not mean being convinced of the truthfulness of a fact or proposition. It implies confidence that is less than assurance. I trust my doctor to do a good job in surgery. But I am not convinced the surgery will be successful. I do not consider that there is a guarantee.
We, as grace people, should be careful to follow the pattern set by the perfect Evangelist, Jesus Christ. We should proclaim the saving message that whoever believes in Jesus has everlasting life that cannot be lost.
Hayden is a husband, father, and student of the GES Seminary. He facilitates a focused free grace small-group where he lives in Brisbane, Australia. All are welcome. You can contact him at hlbray91@gmail.com.
i See this YouTube short: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_MkKLyIodO8.
