By Zane Hodgesi
The exchange that took place at Sychar’s well has as its basic premise the discussion of a gift. According to Jesus, it is one that He would be glad to give the woman upon request (John 4:10). But it is in the nature of gift-giving that, once the gift is bestowed, it is in the possession of the recipient. A single transaction consisting of giving plus receiving suffices to bring the exchange to pass.
That is why the imagery of a drink of water is so pointedly clear in the Biblical story. Jesus possesses the water. He gives a drink of it to the Samaritan woman, and it is hers forever. Indeed, it transforms her inwardly. From then on, she will possess an inward fountain, or “spring,” whose supply of water is as unending as eternity itself.
Here again we meet the miracle of regeneration. The life-bearing Word of God accomplishes an inner transformation when it is received in faith. The reception takes place at a point in time—it is like taking a drink of water. But the effects of that drink are unending.
Or to put it another way, the water of life is received once and it is possessed forever. It is a forever gift!
The Biblical picture of the saving experience is masterful in its clarity and simplicity. A single, one-time appropriation of God’s gift results in a miraculous inward transformation that can never be reversed.
Since this is true, we miss the point if we insist that true saving faith must necessarily continue. Of course, our faith in Christ should continue. But the claim that it absolutely must, or necessarily does, has no support at all in the Bible.
In a book called Recovering the Real Lost Gospel, a leading New Testament scholarii argued that faith must be continuous to be saving:
By far the most common way to summarize the proper response to the gospel is to talk about faith [italics his]. The simple definition of faith is trust. The idea is so fundamental to Christianity that we often refer to Christianity as “the faith.” Faith is an idea worth probing. For one thing, it is not static. That is, we do not have faith in a moment; it is an ongoing state. That is part of what tells us that the gospel is about more than a transaction. An act of faith initiates our new relationship with God, but faith is not a one-time act; it keeps going [italics added]. When we equate faith with belief, we are talking about an ongoing faith, not merely a moment of intellect assent. That is why trust, or reliance, is better a synonym than belief. This faith means that we are open to God and responsive to Him. Without that responsiveness, faith is not faith.”iii
But the Bible predicates salvation on an act of faith, not on the continuity of faith. Just as surely as regeneration occurs at a point in time, so surely does saving faith.
That is why, in the case of Abraham, the moment of his justification is historically fixed. It is in the precise historical circumstances described by the context of Genesis 15 that we read: “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen 15:6).
So, according to the Biblical record, it was on this occasion—and on this occasion only—that Abraham was justified by faith. The statement of Gen 15:6 is utterly unique in the Scriptural account. Nothing like it is to be found anywhere else in the inspired narrative of the patriarch’s life.
Nor should we expect there to be. After all, both justification and new birth are unrepeatable events, just as is the faith that appropriates them. Both events occur at the same point in time for every Christian, and that particular historical moment is also the moment of saving faith.
Through justification, we acquire the very righteousness of God, which is credited to us on the basis of faith alone (Rom 3:21-22). Through regeneration we acquire the very life of God, which is likewise imparted to us on the basis of faith alone. Therefore, in a moment of time we obtain both perfect acceptance before the bar of God’s justice and full membership in His family.
And all of this is absolutely free and absolutely permanent. “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29).
Continuous faith in Christ is not required for regeneration. Nor is it required to remain regenerated. Faith may fail. But everlasting life cannot fail. Once one drinks the water of life, his membership in God’s family is secure.
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Zane Hodges taught New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary for 27 years, authored over a dozen books, and was passionate about the grace of God.
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i The start of this article about the woman at the well is from Chapter 5 (p. 48) of the book Absolutely Free. The remainder of the article, other than the block quote, is drawn from the conclusion of Chapter 5 (pp. 56-57). It has been slightly edited.
ii Editor’s note: Zane Hodges taught in the NT Department at DTS with Dr. Bock from 1982 until he retired in 1986.
iii Darrell L. Bock, Recovering the Real Lost Gospel: Reclaiming the Gospel As Good News (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2010), p. 98, italics added except where noted. Editor’s note: this quote was added to the conclusion of Hodges as a concrete example of his concern.
