The Easy Believism Debate

Boxes of old cards, photographs, and notes are scattered around me as Dan Gibson’s classical music swirls through the air. Picking up a wedding card I read it, and then put it on an ever-growing stack. Each card and note takes me back down memory lane making this process a lengthy one. Our seven years in Haiti has turned me into a minimalist and my final project is to tackle a giant box of cards and photos.

I’ve been putting it off for a long time now; but today is the day! For one, I’ve run out of things to minimalize, and two, it’s a dreary, rainy, Saturday afternoon, perfect for this kind of job. With at least 12 years of memories stored in this particular box the task of deciding what to keep and what to let go off is not an easy one.

As I go through each item one by one, I notice a neatly typed, two page letter, addressed to me. Leaning back on the living room rug I read it through. The gist of the letter consists of warning me about the dangers of ‘easy believism’ and how people who claimed to be believers when questioned about their conversion experience did not have a real story to tell. What does God’s Word say in response to this? I wonder.

I’m quickly reminded of the words in Matthew 7:20: Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them, and spend the next few days thinking, studying and praying about this particular topic.

These are my findings:

When a person believes in Jesus he or she receives the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 1:13

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38

And the Holy Spirit in us will be evident because the Holy Spirit produces fruit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. John 15:8

Our assurance comes from believing in Jesus.

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 1 John 5:13

“It’s so simple that we’re liable to miss it, but assurance comes from believing in Jesus. This is the gospel: when we trust in His name, we cease striving to earn heaven by drawing upon our own moral bank account; instead, we withdraw on His righteous account in our place. The gospel, by its very nature, produces assurance. Because the gospel proclaims “Jesus in my place,” my assurance does not depend on how well or how much I have done. It depends on whether or not I rest in his finished work. So the question is not, “Can I remember praying a prayer?” or “Was my conversion experience really emotional?” The important question is, “Are you currently resting on Jesus as the payment for your sin?” J.D.G.

God changes us. 

Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Phil 1:6

“This is how God changes us: not by browbeating us with rules, but by giving us a new heart. You no longer love dishonesty and hatefulness and immorality like you used to. You do not avoid them because of threats from God, but because these things start to make you sick.” J.D.G.

“Of course, this does not mean that you become immediately perfect, or that you no longer struggle with sin. But you stop engaging in sin willfully and defiantly. You cannot love God and love the things that grieve him. You cannot have a mouth that sings praise to Jesus with a life that openly crucifies him. It is not your mouth that best reflects your love for God; it is your life. 

And when you do start to go back toward your sin—which we all do!—Jesus protects you and renews you. In fact, one of the signs that your salvation is genuine is that even though you fall, you never permanently fall away. God brings you back, again and again. As Proverbs says, “The righteous man falls seven times, and rises again” (Prov 24:16).

Your new nature is not demonstrated by never falling, but by what you do when you fall. Salvation does not means sinless perfection, but it does mean a new direction.” J.D.G

At the end of my research I found this paragraph which I felt summed everything up: “Much of the debate over easy believism is unnecessary and is based on a misunderstanding of the Scriptures. The Bible is clear that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Where easy believism fails is its lack of recognition that a person with faith in Jesus will lead a progressively changed life. Salvation is a free gift from God to those who believe, but discipleship and obedience are the response that will no doubt occur when one truly comes to Christ in faith.” Gotquestions.org

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them, Matthew 7:20