Salvation has always been by grace through faith alone and the key word is "believe".
Example Pre-Christ.
Genesis 15:5 And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Examples during the life of Christ:
John 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
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.
Example Post Resurrection:
1 Cor. 15:1-4 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
The object of faith is always God and combined with a promise/words of God. You and I are sinners, Jesus died for your sins and my sins and 3 days later He rose from the dead. The moment one 'believe's that Jesus did this for them" then they receive the Holy Spirit. They are saved. Faith always has an object and the object of faith in the gospel is Jesus and Jesus saves through faith.
Intellectual 'faith' is believing that God exists and sent Jesus to die for the sins of the world. God saves through faith when one believes that Jesus died for the sins of me, and He alone is the object of my trust. It helps to think of this in it's opposite. The opposite of believe is to not-believe or to trust in something else other than Jesus.
Jesus is enough and the work is complete and sufficient.
Example Pre-Christ.
Genesis 15:5 And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Examples during the life of Christ:
John 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
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.
Example Post Resurrection:
1 Cor. 15:1-4 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
The object of faith is always God and combined with a promise/words of God. You and I are sinners, Jesus died for your sins and my sins and 3 days later He rose from the dead. The moment one 'believe's that Jesus did this for them" then they receive the Holy Spirit. They are saved. Faith always has an object and the object of faith in the gospel is Jesus and Jesus saves through faith.
Intellectual 'faith' is believing that God exists and sent Jesus to die for the sins of the world. God saves through faith when one believes that Jesus died for the sins of me, and He alone is the object of my trust. It helps to think of this in it's opposite. The opposite of believe is to not-believe or to trust in something else other than Jesus.
Jesus is enough and the work is complete and sufficient.