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 | Salvation By Faith: Paul agreed with the author(s) of the Gospel of John. He
apparently believed that personal salvation was dependent solely upon faith, not on good
works. But it was belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus
which seems to have been of paramount importance to Paul. Some liberal theologians believe
that Paul died before belief in the Incarnation (Jesus as the Son of God), or in the virgin birth had developed within the Christian movement. There
are indications that Paul was unaware of those two beliefs. 1
These verses are frequently read in conservative churches.
Some passages from the NKJ version of the Bible which show salvation by faith are:
Paul rejects salvation by good works, as described in various places in his writings. Two of the passages indicating this are:
One passage in Romans is given great weight by some Christian denominations. It implies that thinking is insufficient to gain salvation: that one must actually speak the thought in words.
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Salvation by law:
Paul also held a second belief: that salvation had once been attainable through adherence to the system of Jewish laws in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). However, it only applied to people who had previously died. In Galatians 3:23-26, Paul writes: "But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." (NKJ) This implies that individuals could have previously been saved by strict adherence to the law. However, after Jesus came, salvation was by faith in Christ only. Paul seems to have assumed that people everywhere had been exposed to the Gospel. In Romans 10:18 he wrote: "But I say, have they not heard [the Gospel]? Yes indeed: 'Their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.'" (NKJ) He was wrong, of course. Christianity at the time of Paul's execution circa 65 CE had extended through much of the Roman Empire, but had not made significant inroads into the Far East or Northern Europe. The inhabitants of the Americas and of most of Africa had not heard the gospel message at all. There are countries in the world even today in which Christianity has made no significant inroads.
Reference
- Michael Martin, "The Case Against Christianity", Temple University Press, Philadelphia PA, (1991), Page 202.
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Copyright © 1997 to 2002 incl. by
Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2002-DEC-29
Author: B.A. Robinson
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