Lesson 17 : God’s Use of the Word “Believe” in the Book of Acts

1. Please pick up a handout from the table in the back of the auditorium for class this morning. Lesson 17:God’s Use of the Word “Believe” in the Book of Acts

2. I. “Believe” (Gk, pisteuo) Can Be Used As “Mental Acknowledgement” • When someone is exposed to certain information, believing can mean, simply, “to consider such information to be truthful/reliable.” • Examples: 1 Corinthians 11:18; James 2:19; Acts 26:27

3. II. “Believe” (Gk, pisteuo) Can Be Used in the Full Sense of “Trustful Obedience” • True “believing” goes a step beyond “mental acknowledgement,” for it moves to action. • “Believing” can mean “to trust” what God says and “to obey” what He says to do.

4. II. “Believe” (Gk, pisteuo) Can Be Used in the Full Sense of “Trustful Obedience” • Often, the word “believe” (pisteuo) is used interchangeably with “obedience.” • John 3:36 “He who believes(pisteuo) on the Son has eternal life; “but he who does not obey(apeitheo) the Son will not see life…” • Hebrews 3:18-19 “…they would not enter His rest…who were disobedient(apeitheo) “…they could not enter in because of unbelief(apistia)” • Acts 14:1-2 “A great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed(pisteuo). “But the Jews that were disobedient(apeitheo) stirred up the souls…” • To “believe” the Lord is to “do what He says,” and “a refusal to obey” is “disbelief.”

5. III. “Believe” (Gk, pisteuo) Can Be Used As a “Summary Term” for All Conditions of Salvation • In many instances, “believing” is a summary term that encompasses all the conditions of God’s plan of salvation. • God frequently makes use of “synecdoche,” which is a figure of speech by which a part of something can stand for the whole (or vice versa). • In the matter of salvation, God frequently uses a part of His plan for the whole. • Ex: John 3:16; Rom. 10:9-10; Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30; 1 Pet. 3:21 • A part not specifically stated does not mean it is not a condition of salvation.

6. III. “Believe” (Gk, pisteuo) Can Be Used As a “Summary Term” for All Conditions of Salvation • “Believe” (pisteuo) can be used to summarize the entire process of being saved. • On Pentecost, the process of being saved encompassed: • A heart-pricked petition, “What shall we do?” (2:37). • Command to “repent” and “be baptized” for remission (2:38). • Those who “received his word were baptized” (2:41). • Full picture: believers repented and were baptized to be saved. • As a summary term for their obedience, Luke states: • “Now all who believed were together” (2:44) • “Believed” = those who repented and baptized for remission. • “Believed” is a summary of the obedience described in 2:37-41.

7. III. “Believe” (Gk, pisteuo) Can Be Used As a “Summary Term” for All Conditions of Salvation • “Believe” (pisteuo) can be used to summarize the entire process of being saved. • The same word is used in 4:4, which points back to 2:44. • “Many of those who heard the word believed; and the number…5,000.” • The 5,000 in 4:4 includes the 3,000 in 2:41-47. • Therefore, “believed” in 4:4 means exactly what it did in 2:44 (i.e., full obedience).

8. III. “Believe” (Gk, pisteuo) Can Be Used As a “Summary Term” for All Conditions of Salvation • “Believe” (pisteuo) can be used to summarize the entire process of being saved. • In Philippi, the process of being saved encompassed: • “Believe…and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). • “Washed their stripes” as a fruit of repentance (16:33). • “Immediately” was “baptized” (16:33). • Full picture: believers repented and were baptized to be saved. • As a summary term for obedience, Luke states: • “…He rejoiced, having believed in God” (16:34). • “Believed” = had repented and been baptized for salvation. • “Believed” is a summary of the obedience in 16:31-33.

9. IV. “Believe” (Gk, pisteuo) Can Be Used to Specifically “Include Baptism” • “Believe” and “be baptized” are two distinct steps in God’s plan of salvation (Mark 16:16). • It is possible for a person to do one without doing the other. • However, in God’s scheme of redemption, both are essential for salvation; therefore, one is no good without the other. • If one has been saved by God, he has taken both of these steps, without exception.

10. IV. “Believe” (Gk, pisteuo) Can Be Used to Specifically “Include Baptism” • “Believe” (pisteuo) can be used to include the act of baptism. • To a group of sincere students in Acts 19, Paul asked two questions to ascertain their level of understanding and the steps they had taken prior to his arrival: • “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (19:2). Answer: “No” • “Into what then were you baptized?” (19:3) • Paul was not changing topics with his second question. • Belief and baptism are tied together. Paul was just getting more specific. • In fact, their baptism (in v. 3) was a part of the belief process (in v. 2).

11. IV. “Believe” (Gk, pisteuo) Can Be Used to Specifically “Include Baptism” • “Believe” (pisteuo) can be used to include the act of baptism. • Those who responded to the gospel in Corinth followed the same pattern: • It is stated that “Crispus…believed on the Lord with all his household” (18:8). • Also, “And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized” (18:8). • Crispus did not do something different or less than the others (see 1 Cor. 1:14). • Luke merely summarizes (through synecdoche) to encompass all, incl. baptism.

12. V. The True Nature of Faith in the N.T. Is Emphasized in Becoming and Living As a Christian • “Believe”(pisteuo) is used to reflect the entire process of becoming a Christian because: • “Believing” is the foundation of one’s surrender to Christ. • “Believing” is the motivating factor for further obedience. • However, “believing” alone, without full obedience, is dead! • “Believe” (pisteuo) is also used to describe those who have already become Christians. • “the multitude of them that believed” (4:32). • “those who had believed through grace” (18:27). • Paul said he had persecuted “those who believe” (22:19). • True “believing” is so much more than mental acknowledges. It is trusting obedience!