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NASB | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
Subject: What does the word"believe"involve |
Bible Note: “Believe is often used in the Bible to include belief and obedience.” “On a side note, just because God gives us something as a gift does not mean that He can not require something of us to receive the gift.” I’m sorry DD. I read you answer and all I see is a contradiction of the key verses you quote. In one breath you agree with Rom. 3:28 and Eph. 2:8,9, and in another breath you contradict them saying, “believing plus....”, instead of grace alone by believing alone. At best there is a confusion of justification (salvation by believing alone) and sanctification (the results and benefits of salvation by believing alone, one of which is obedience). At worst it’s a flurry of words that still mean that we contribute to our salvation by believing and some kind of external obedience (works) to God’s commands. The gift of salvation includes the gift of believing (Ehp 2:8,9). To say that God requires something of us to receive the gift is the same as the heresy of meriting the merits of Christ. B. B. Warfield was referenced somewhere in this thread. I recommend you read his discussion on what the Bible teaches on justification by faith alone. I think you'll find him very helpful in understanding the difference between justification and sanctification. |