Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel Alicea
I've been studying the Hebrew mindset a great deal lately... Hearing and believing to the Biblical Hebrew means much much more than what our Western mindset sees it as. Hearing to the biblical Hebrew is to not just 'hear' as we think of, but to understand in your heart and mind, and to DO what you hear. So to them, hearing means to hear, to understand, and to do.
In that concept, if I ask you to get me a glass of water, and you don't do it, you haven't heard me.
The same is true in the concept of belief. Belief to the Hebrew mind is trusting in... to grasp onto something and not let go. To fight tooth and nail to hold on to a concept. So, the biblical concept of belief isn't just acknowledging something is true-mental assent. It's latching onto it with all you have and not letting go.
Does that make sense?
If you believe, you will do, but it's the belief in Jesus Christ, who in turn, saves us. Not the doing. You 'do' because you believe (acknowledge, understand, accept and submit as absolute truth) first.
(written by Ron)
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Nicely written Dan and Ron. But...
The Hebrew concept of hearing... hearing leads to doing. From experience I can tell you that when I ask my children to clean their rooms and I know they hear me (because I get a "yes, mom") and then they don't it.
Mt 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mt 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Hearing is hearing, seeing is seeing, understanding is understanding. Ron, you will have to convince of what you say with scriptures.
Here is a Bible definition of belief:
17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:
20
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Despite what Abraham could see with his carnal eyes, circumstances that could have led him to doubt, He
believed God's promise and he glorified God and God counted his faith as righteousness.
When the Paul talks about works, he is almost always talking about works of the law. In
Romans 3-5, Paul contrasts justification by faith and justification by works of the law. Repentence and the baptisms are not works of the law but the obedience of faith involving the work of the Spirit. Obeying the gospel in associating ourselves with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (
Acts 2:38) is (IMO) not a work we do of ourselves to earn salvation.
The thing is we can't remove "for the remission of sins" from
Acts 2:38. And in this case "eis" is looking toward the action to be done not an action that was already done. Remission means forgiveness. And forgiveness is through the blood of Jesus.
The men Peter preached to in
Acts 2 believed Peter's words as evidenced by their conviction and response "What shall we do". If belief was enough why would Peter say anymore? and why would he speak of the baptism of the Holy Ghost as the promise.....the promise of the prophet Joel, IF the Spirit is given upon faith in hearing the gospel?
Mark 1:14 Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Do you think Jesus put these words in the wrong order?
I don't have it all figured out but I find it difficult to believe the words and actions of the apostles in the book of Acts upon the founding day of the church do not somehow agree with what Paul wrote in an epistle years later to the saints in Rome.
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