The New Testament has only 1 commandment to the UNSAVED

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Even obedience to God has radically changed from the old covenant’s obeying commandments of the Law in order to be “right and pleasing” to God to the completely-different-in-kind New Covenant’s “obedience of trusting-relying-faith” (a) in “Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord” (b), thus NOW simply “obedience to Jesus Christ” (c) and “obeying the gospel” of God about His Son (d).  The UNSAVED have 1 thing to work or do to NOW be “right and pleasing” to God.  <Notes> a) Romans 1:5, 16:26, b) 1 Corinthians 12:3; Romans 10:9; Philippians 2:11, c) 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 10:5, d) 1 Peter 4:17; Romans 10:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:8.

To the UNSAVED, Christ gave only 1 entole commandment (a), a word used very infrequently in the NT because of its universally-binding status.  Jesus said:  “The Father who sent Me has Himself given Me a [singular] entole commandment – what to speak.  And I know that His [singular] entole commandment is zoe genuine-life everlasting (b).  So what was it that Jesus said to the UNSAVED Jews?  “Then they said to Him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the [plural] works (aka OT commandments) of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the [singular] work of God, that you have trusting-relying-faith in Him (the Son) whom He (the Father) has sent’” (c).  Notice that Jesus diverted their attention away from OT plural “works of commandments” to 1 NT commandment.  Paul also speaks of the “work of God” (d) being the “work of trusting-relying-faith” (e).  Jesus also told unbelieving Jews:  “Have trusting-relying-faith in Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, or at least have trusting-relying-faith on account of the works [of miracles Jesus performed] themselves” (f).  <Notes> a) entole: official-decree, all-authoritative, universal orders – see Only 2 Commandments page, b) John 12:49-50, c) John 6:29-30, d) In the context of Romans 14:20 this is trusting-relying-faith versus obedience to dietary Laws, e) 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:11, f) John 14:11.

In other words, the 1 entole official, all-authoritative, universally-binding decree given to Jesus by the Father to give to the UNSAVED Jews who followed the Law of commandments was to “put their trusting-relying-faith instead in Jesus as the Son of God, their Messiah, the Christ or Anointed One and their Lord.”  Similarly, Paul’s logos gospel message to the UNSAVED Athenian intellectuals: “But now He (God) commands-as-over-troops (a) all people everywhere to repent (b), because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by [one] Man [Jesus] whom He has appointed” (c), so the gospel message was one of repentance to turn to Christ (d).  In 14 places where “trusting-relying-faith and unconditional-love” are associated, they are in that order (e), 6 places directly coupled as such (f).

In 5 places the order is reversed to “unconditional-love and trusting-relying-faith” (g).  So as the previous BLOG states, 1 John 3:23 aptly describes GOD’s single entole commandment under the completely-different-in-kind New Covenant, one part to the UNSAVED and one part to the SAVED:  1) that we have trusting-relying-faith in the name/authority of His (the Father’s) Son Jesus Christ, and/coupled 2) unconditional-love one another – just as He gave a [singular] entole commandment to us.” <Notes> a) paraggello: orders or charges, as a commander his troops, b) metanoeo: turning your heart/mind to trusting-relying-faith in Christ, c) Acts 17:30, d) Matthew 3:2, 4:17; Mark 6:12, e) Ephesians 1:15, 3:17; Colossians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 3:6, 5:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Timothy 1:14, 2:15, 6:11; 2 Timothy 1:13; 2 Timothy 2:22, 3:10; 1 John 3:23, f) 1 Thessalonians 3:6, 5:8; 1 Timothy 1:14, 2:15; 2 Timothy 1:13, g) Ephesians 6:23; 1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 3:15; Philemon 1:5; Revelations 2:19.

Salvation through the total surrender or repentance, confession, and water-baptism is the “obedience of trusting-relying-faith” Paul preached to the UNSAVED, obedience to 1 commandment.   Repentance, confession, and water-baptism into Christ were closely linked in the Great Commission passages (a) as with: “Whoever has trusting-relying-faith and is water-baptized will be saved, but whoever does not in fact have trusting-relying-faith will be condemned” (b).  Really simple but religious people always try to get around simplicity!  This was integral to the Church’s evangelistic preaching, starting with the first logos gospel message by Peter that concludes in Acts 2:38-39, “Repent and/coupled be water-baptized every one of you in the name/authority of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the grace-gift of the Holy Spirit – for this promise [of the Holy Spirit] is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.”  If that’s not clear, try Peter later on in 1 Peter 3:21, “Water-baptism, which corresponds to this (c), now saves you – not as a removal of dirt from the body but [saves you] as a pledge/confession/appeal to God for a good/clear conscience – thru-the-realizing-channel-of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”  Nothing saves us unless Jesus rose from the dead, but because He did the same Holy Spirit will raise us from the dead into glorified bodies to be with Christ forever.  This is the blessed hope Paul preached (d).  <Notes> a) Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 24:47, b) Mark 16:16, c) Noah and his family saved through the flood waters, v. 20, d) Romans 8:23-25; Titus 2:13; 1 Peter 1:3.

The outward act of water-baptism, also a common Jewish practice for Gentile conversion that resulted in them being “born-again” Jews, was also viewed during the first 30 years of the mostly Jewish-Church as a person’s public confession or pledge of “trusting-relying-faith in Jesus as Messiah and Lord,” and “appeal” to be cleansed by the blood of Christ for their “conscience to be made good,” but only possible because of “the resurrection of Christ.”  This is just as Paul says in Romans 10:9, “If you homologeo confess (a) that ‘Jesus is Lord’ (b) and/coupled have trusting-relying-faith in your heart that God resurrected Him from the dead, [then] you will be saved.”  Confession was a person’s audible reciprocation of the logos gospel message that was just evangelistically shared or preached to them that “Jesus was Lord,” indicating verbally that they were in total agreement, like when we say “Amen” to mean “so be it.”  See Surrender Control page. <Notes> a) homologeo: literally, to declare the homo same logos message, b) 1 Corinthians 12:3.

The NT and the early Church Christians didn’t try to separate confession from repentance, or separate these from trusting-relying-faith, or separate any of this from “receiving/embracing/welcoming” the logos gospel message, or from water-baptism, or from salvation, or from Spirit-baptism for godly enabling-power and grace-gifts of ministry.  Instead they are ALL intimately and inseparably connected as so many verses show, even in the Great Commission (a). <Notes> a) Matthew 3:11, 28:19; Mark 1:4, 16:16; Luke 3:3, 24:47; Acts 2:38, 41, 8:13, 16, 36-38, 9:18, 10:47-48, 16:15, 33, 18:8, 25, 19:3-5, 22:16; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 1:13-17, 12:13; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:5; Colossians 2:12; and 1 Peter 3:21.

It’s irrelevant to debate whether water-baptism is a “saving work” after so many verses that integrate it with repentance and confession of trusting-relying-faith of “Jesus as Lord” all “for the forgiveness of sins” so that “you may receive Spirit-Baptism.”  Water-baptism has always been a Jewish “act of obedience” as an external public testimony of a person’s internal trusting-relying-faith.  Neither is saving by itself because they are integrally and inseparably connected.  The unique Christian difference is the NOW “water-baptism in in the name/authority of Jesus Christ” and we get “Spirit-Baptism” as the “promised grace-gift of the Father.”  Only the later Greek philosophers and western Christian denominations influenced by them would try to separate all these components and say one is saving and one isn’t.  The NT and early Jewish-Church kept them together and so should we!  Neither our repentant turn to trusting-relying-faith in Christ, our Confession of The Faith, or our water-baptism by itself has any ability to save.  It only saves because of Christ’s resurrection and it only saves if we fully participate in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ to get Spirit-Baptized and the only way to do that is to do all components (a) – see also Surrender Control, Water-Baptism, and Spirit-Baptism pages. <Notes> a) see also Acts 2:41, 8:12, 16, 36, 9:18, 10:47-48, 16:33, 18:8, 19:4-5, 22:16, Romans 6:3-4, 8, 8:15; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27, 4:5-7; Ephesians 4:5; and Colossians 2:12.

Prayer:

Thank You God that Your Son Jesus met ALL the conditions of obedience, and did ALL the “works of commandments” of the OT, so that NOW Your unconditionally-loving-favor-of-grace towards ALL the UNSAVED is to DO only 1 work, 1 rule, 1 law, 1 commandment – to repent or turn their hearts/minds to put their trusting-relying-faith on the finished work of Christ and/coupled publicly confess this through water-baptism so that they can receive Your saving Holy Spirit.  We will not add anything to Your perfect plan!

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