Question
What is the Free Grace definition of belief? Also, what is “intellectual consent,” and is it more than a belief in a historical Jesus? I would like to understand.
Answer
There are disagreements in Free Grace (and in Evangelicalism and Christianity) circles over those questions. Here is my answer in the form of twelve theses on belief:
- All belief is propositional.
- To believe is to be persuaded that a proposition is true.
- Belief does not come in degrees: you are either persuaded or you are not.
- Before you can believe a proposition, you must first understand what the proposition means.
- You can understand a proposition without believing it to be true.
- There is only one way of believing (i.e., being persuaded), but there are many different propositions you can believe.
- Whether or not you have saving faith depends on what you believe, not how you believe it.
- The historical facts of Jesus’ life and the saving message are both propositional.
- You can believe the historical facts of Jesus’ life and also believe a false saving message.
- To be saved, you must believe the saving message (i.e., Jesus’ promise of eternal life, or justification by faith alone, or the equivalent).
- The power of salvation lies in Jesus and His promise, not in your belief, which is merely instrumental, and certainly not in your behavior.
- Assurance of salvation is propositional—it is believing that Jesus’ promise of eternal life is true “for me,” and that Jesus is “my Savior.”
Phil
The most wonderful thing about the Free Grace message is that it is CLEAR!!!
I occasionally read, or listen, to criticisms of our view because, well, it’s good to hear the opposition sometimes. To see what they think. But, every time I listen or read, I come away with a great big load of confusion. It’s as if they are holding a sale on contradictory statements.
I have found no other gospel that is a clear, logical and to the point as that of Free Grace.
Many thanks to all who spread this message.
Michael
This is very well presented. I would also include a definition of “proposition” such as, “A proposition is a statement of fact or opinion.”
Vernon K. Lockner
Respectfully, I truly believe that GES has changed the gospel, which brings with it the anathema of God, Gal. 1:8-9. The gospel is not, “Believe in Jesus for eternal life.” Look in Acts, when the Apostles preached the gospel, the core of their message was the cross of Christ and His resurrection. We come to Christ by faith for salvation from sin, death, and condemnation. The gospel is not some fire insurance policy that brings no change, or salvation from sin. Faith in Christ is not just some mere intellectual assent. It is resting and relying on Christ alone, His perfect person and perfect work. Yes, He gives us eternal life through faith, but He is that life. If you think you’ve believed in Him for eternal Life, and you have no eternal relationship with Him, that is that Life, then you have deceived yourself and believed in vain.
Alvin
It is amazing that God would give Himself to us freely without any strings attached, simply as a gift. That we could know Him, but not know Him as Philip did. That we could take His gift of eternal life freely without even loving Him. He said “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.
And at the end of our life, even if all our works get burned up we’re still saved as by fire.
Simply Amazing what unconditional love this is~! But we should know that~! He died for the ungodly, that is even those who reject Him, He paid for their sins.
(Rev 22:17; John 4-10; 14:7-9; 6:47; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15; Romans 4:5; John 1:29; 1 Timothy 4:10)
Now the Calvinist god is a different story.
Tim Fohey
I respectfully disagree with you Vernon K. Lockner. You don’t understand what salvation is. Receiving the gift of eternal lift is just that. The recieving of a gift. We have nothing to offer, but everything to recieve. Most people who hold to a lordship salvation position believe you have to do something in order to recieve the free gift. What they don’t realize is that they have nothing to give. They are spiritually dead. The only thing they can do is believe the message of everlasting life in Christ alone. If they try go beyond that then they are adding works to the saving message and it becomes a works salvation that will not save.
Once a person is saved, then they can grow spiritually but it is not automatic. God does not take over a persons will and cause them to do anything. It is however his desire for a believer to grow in grace and learn of the Lord. But again it is not automatic. GES is not changing the Gospel. They are one of only a few evangelical organizations that give the true message of life. If you haven’t looked at their other resources I challenge you to take a look. They have consistently given a freegrace message. You may not agree with that freegrace message. Ges’s view is consistent with scripture because that is where they get it from scripture.
Timothy Grady
Vernon , do you believe an objective level of change must be evidence of true faith ?
Can you tell us how much ?
Would you also share precisely what must be believed in addition to verifiable good works ?
Thanks much .
Alvin
The Book Of Acts isn’t written for the purpose of the unbeliever to have everlasting life. The Gospel of John is (John 20:30-31), and the life is in His name.
But, remember Paul’s pattern to those who are going to believe on Him is FOR eternal life (1 Timothy 1:16).
Here is the key, THE CHRIST is the core of the Gospel even if it is not stated, the LIFE is in His name.
John who wrote the Gospel of John says in his First epistle that: Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.
Whether that is Christ crucified or just called the Gospel of Christ the life is still in His name and is Paul’s PATTERN TO THE UNBELIEVER. Jesus knew this, Paul knew this and John knew this. So, the Christ has a special meaning, and we find it in the Gospel of John that has eternal life more than all the rest of the Bible. John’s definition is given to Martha by Jesus in John 11:25-26. And Martha confirms it by declaring that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Which John uses both Christ and Son of God as synonyms in his gospel (John 3:18). That is anyone who believes in Jesus for their eternal well-being is born of God. If they die He will raise them from the dead and if they live and believe they will never die because they have been born of God. The Moment You Believe In Jesus name as the Christ you are born of God.
Diane
Thank you Shawn for this clear post on what it means to believe. Before I ever understood any good theology, I came to faith in Christ by simply grasping for the first time John 3:16 in high school. I believed what God said about His Son… that just by believing in Him apart from anything else, I HAD everlasting life. THAT was the proposition that I believed that brought me from death to life. That was God’s promise to me. I knew at that moment I would be with Him forever. I didn’t know much more than that, but I knew my eternity was settled forever because of that promise He made on the pages of scripture~!!! I believed the correct PROPOSITION (the truth of what God promised me), and because of understanding that simple and wonderful truth I never doubted my salvation in all these years. It’s so important to grasp this~!!! Thank you for posting it~!!!
KEN TAMASHIRO
Thank You Pastor Shawn,
I understand what you are saying here because many Christian’s will try and dissect the word believe and ending confused themselves.
What’s interesting here is in Jesus’ day they never tried to define or split up the word believe but the bigger controversy was about Jesus Himself.
Was he the Messiah or was he a Fake Messiah.
Was he sent from God or was he a Cult Leader?
Did his powers to heal the sick and raise the dead come from God or Satan himself?
Many questions surrounding him needed to be searched out and confirmed as to his authenticity
Jesus said he did not come to bring peace but a sword,… but to divide peoples opinions about him.
Grace and Peace to You,
Ken Tamashiro,
KEN TAMASHIRO
Hi Pastor Shawn,
May I also share another perspective on Believe.
The word Believe has some kind of action that is attached to the sentence of Belief.
A simple example would be this action that would encourage Belief: John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
Belief can come in various ways and is not limited to one action, and many will put their Faith in Christ in various ways as described in Belief or Believe.
You will see Jesus is not limited to how a person Believes.
Grace and Peace to You,
Ken Tamashiro
Alvin
Ken, there is no action on our part at all believing is passive. That is God is the One who MUST turn on the light, He opens our understanding. No one can choose to believe something their not persuaded is true, and once we are persuaded we have already believed. That is we find ourself believing, it’s not an action or a decision.
Acts 28:24 And some were PERSUADED by the things which were spoken, and some DISBELIEVED.
Acts 16:14. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord OPENED her HEART to heed the things spoken by Paul.
Luke 24:45. And He OPENED their UNDERSTANDING, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
2 Corinthians 4:6. For it is the God who COMMANDED light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our HEARTS to give the light of the KNOWLEDGE of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
It is God who MUST flip the switch on, it is illumination that brings belief.
There are truths that have been made known to everyone, we can either believe those truths or suppress them (Romans 1:18-19; Acts 17:27).
God wants to be found (Isaiah 65:1 I said, ‘Here I am, here I am Acts 17:27 they should seek the Lord, in hope that they might grope for Him and find Him).
Timothy Grady
Precisely Alvin .
Action and belief are not synonymous. , nor grace and works (Ephesians 2:8-9;Romans 4:16,11:6)
KEN TAMASHIRO
Alvin,
Here’s my proof of (Action or Cause) taken on the part of the person who believes.
38 Then Peter said to them, (ACTION) (“Repent), and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
John 2:23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they (CAUSE or ACTION) (saw) the signs which He did.
My point is this,..however, someone believes it is not an intellectual belief but a (Cause or Action) that led them to Believe.
Alvin
Ken,
These ones who Peter is speaking to already are born again when they were told they had crucified their Christ, and then it says they were cut to the heart and asked what shall we do? Showing they had believed. John said in His First Epistle that whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God 1 John 5:1a.
So they had eternal life, and were justified before God, and had a positional forgiveness which is all by faith alone in Christ alone. What they were lacking was fellowship forgiveness which Jesus spoke of in John 20:23 which is not free gift language….”If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
An excellent book to read on this subject is Zane Hodges book “Harmony With God” a fresh look at repentance. Zane in this book harmonizes Scripture without doing violence to the childlike verses as John 3:16 where the ONLY condition is believe.
John 20:29b Blessed are those who have NOT seen yet have believed
Tim Amoroso
God is so kind. He is constantly giving all peope more time, patiently waiting for them everyday to believe in Him for everlasting life. I am so I my eternal destiny is settled for ever and I am sure and secure I have everlasting life b/c Jesus gave it to me according to His word.
KEN TAMASHIRO
Hi Pastor Shawn,
When someone Believes there is an (Action or Cause) taken on the part of the person who believes and not Intellectual Faith of the one who Believed. So I think we can dismiss the perspective of the opposition.
Here are some examples given;
38 Then Peter said to them, (ACTION) (“Repent), and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
John 2:23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they (CAUSE or ACTION) (saw) the signs which He did.
My point is this,..however, someone believes it is not an intellectual belief but a (Cause or Action) that led them to Believe.
Grace and Peace to You,
Ken Tamashiro,
Michael Walker
I am convinced it is impossible for God to lie. Every time he speaks, it is truth.
I am convinced he spoke the universe into existence.
Either you have eternal life based on God’s promise or He lied.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
God gave us his Word.
Gotta believe it!
Vernon K. Lockner
The gospel is set forth in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. That is what the Apostles preached. They preached Christ crucified, 1 Cor. 1:23. They never left out His death, burial, and resurrection. The GES gospel is different, just believe in Him for eternal life. No conviction of sin, absolutely no change in the life. No faith in His death and resurrection. You can believe in Christ for eternal life, supposedly get saved, and then become an athiest afterwards, or a serial killer, and you will go to Heaven when you die. That is not the gospel, friends. Christ saves His people from their sins, Matt. 1:21. He doesn’t save His people to continue in sin.
Michael
Then according to your “gospel” Vernon, you must remain sinless until death to either keep everlasting life or prove that you received it. How’s that going for you? The fact that salvation is a free gift is apparently lost on you. Jesus died for every person’s sins (past, present, and future) and rose from the dead so that the person who simply believes in Him for everlasting life has everlasting life. That is the gospel, and GES preaches and teaches it: https://faithalone.org/beliefs/
Kelley Easley
With respect, Vernon…I haven’t been around here for very long, but what you are asserting is not the message I’m receiving from the GES. I’ve read numerous books by GES authors, I read the blog, magazine, etc. I don’t think yours is an accurate assessment.
I was wondering if perhaps you pastor somewhere and found online a beautiful poem you wrote for what appears to be a 2010 issue of Grace in Focus, entitled Christ Alone. In the second stanza, you wrote these words: “No obedience or faithful fruit will I boast before the throne; my faith is in the Lamb of God, I trust in Him alone.”
Could it be that your view has actually changed?
Vernon K. Lockner
Kelly, I don’t boast of any of my fruit before His throne, but some fruit will be there in all christians. Even GES, teaches that. I was a member of GES and studied there teachings since 1995. See my post where I post my email for further respectful discussion. I welcome all comers. God bless you!
Samuel
I think the difficulties with GES position rely on the meaning of believe in Jesus. What propositions about Christ must be believed. Jesus said to the Jews “…For unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”. It’s clear that is necessary to believe witch Jesus is the Son of God. I think the correct position includes some definitions about Jesus and his promise of eternal life freely. The Gospel includes who are Jesus and what He did to us as Savior.
Timothy Grady
Vernon , the gospel means good news . it covers a wide range of topics .
1 Cor. 15 nowhere invokes justification by faith alone – the message of life (John 3:16,5:24,6:47,101:24-27).
1 Corinthians 15 is clearly not an evangelistic template or an exhaustive list of necessary doctrines in order to be born again .
Interestingly , we find no reference here to the Deity of Christ , the Trinity , nor the hypostatic union either .
We do not find your response concerning an objective level of good works that certifies your concept of salvation (changed life) .
Vernon K. Lockner
Not to clog Shawn’s blog, I include my email: Locknervernon98@gmail.com
For those who wish to engage in respectful dialog, I welcome such dialog, and emails. God bless you!