Is Continuing to Believe in Christ a Work?

The following is a listener-supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.

Faith for Eternal Salvation is not considered a work, but if continuous belief is required

for eternal salvation, then that might be considered to involve work.

There's a question about this today and we'll discuss it right here on Grace and Focus.

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Now with today's question and answer discussion, here's Bob Wilkin, along with Sam Mar.

Bob, we've got a question from Marcia on belief, so she asks,

I'm studying eternal security and wondering if believing in Jesus is what we need to do to be saved,

and yet it's not a work, why is continuing to believe in Jesus considered a work?

Yeah, that's a great question, Marcia.

When you first read that to me, it kind of stumped me because believing in Jesus is not what Paul

would call a work.

Now Jesus does call it a work in John 6.29.

Remember Jesus asked, what works plural must we do that we may work the works of God?

And Jesus answer was John 6.29, this is the work singular of God that you believe in him,

whom he sent.

So I think Jesus was speaking sarcastically there or ironically there, you know, it's almost like,

let me put some air quotes around it.

This is the work of God that you believe in him when we sent.

So I think Jesus was not saying it was a work in the sense of a work of the law,

or what Paul would call a work in Ephesians 289, but it's an action, right?

It is an action, and the question she's asking is that ongoing action, a work,

and I would say no, because what we believe is simply what we are persuaded is true.

It's not a work to continue to believe something, whether it's believing in Jesus for the gift of

everlasting life, or whether let's say I believe that it's more blessed to give than receive,

or I believe I should love my wife as Christ loved the church, continuing to believe those things

is not a work. What's a work is what I do with what I believe.

But before we get there, and we can go over to James 217 in a minute, but you mentioned that we

probably ought to talk about John 316. So what's going on? Why would some people say,

you have to have continuous faith in order to have everlasting life?

Right. Her question is starting with the foundation that she agrees with us, that belief

in Christ for everlasting life is a one-time event. But some people will say, because John 316,

the word used there for belief is a present active participle, they translate it for whoever

continues to believe in him, shall not perish, but that everlasting life, or the ones believing in him.

It's translated different ways, but essentially some people will say, you have to have continuous

belief in Christ. Therefore, if at any point you stop believing in Christ, you are no longer

having everlasting life, and you can now perish.

Right. Or they would say you never had it, because let me give you an example. Two

New Testament scholars from my alma mater, Dallas Seminary, both said,

Ha Pistuon, the present active participle you're talking about, with the definite article Ha,

means the one who continuously believes, and they say that a single act of believing is not

what that means. Dr. Bach went so far as to say that it's persevering in faith over the lifetime.

Well, if that were true, you will not yet have persevered in faith, right? I have not yet

persevered in faith. Even if you've believed continuously for 50 years, if you stop before you

die, well, then you're not going to get everlasting life, because you stopped continuously believing.

You don't get it while you're content. You get it if you continue to the end of your life.

And the problem with that view is it doesn't make any sense. For example, John the Baptist is called

Ha Baptid Zone. It's the same thing. It's a present active participle with the definite article.

He's still the Baptist long after he died. He's called the Baptist in Scripture after he had

been put to death. And it doesn't mean that John is baptizing people right now in heaven.

Think, for example, when Jesus says, the one who drinks of this water, he uses the present active

participle Ha Penoan, the one who drinks. He doesn't mean the one who continuously drinks of this

water has to drink again. He's saying the one who drinks of this water has to keep coming back

to drink again later, because one drink isn't going to forever satisfy your thirst,

unless you drink the living water and then one drink will do it. And the same thing with the one

who lives. In John 11, 26, Jesus said, the one who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Ha Zon Kai Ha Pistuan. Well, the Ha Zon doesn't mean one who lives forever and never dies.

It means if you're talking to a living human being who right now believes in Jesus,

you're talking to someone who's never going to die spiritually. They have everlasting life.

So part one of the answer to Marcia's good question is it doesn't take continuous faith

to have everlasting life. All it takes is believing in Jesus. Now let's do her part two. Why isn't

this a work? Well, it's not a work because faith while it works is dead. Remember James 217,

James 220, James 226. Three times James says faith while it works is dead. And it's clear what he

means by dead. He doesn't mean faith while it works is not faith. What he means is faith without

works is unprofitable or unproductive. For example, James 214 starts out what does it profit or

what uses it or what good is it depending on your translation. Verse 16 ends with the exact

same expression in Greek and English. What profit is it? What good is it? What uses it? And then he

says, so also faith that works is dead. That is unprofitable, useless, no good. It's coming. It'll

be here before you know it. What am I talking about? The Grace Evangelical Society's National

Conference 2026. May 18th through the 21st at Camp Copus, an absolutely beautiful campground in

North Texas right on the lake with lots of recreation, great food, a great place to stay,

wonderful fellowship, and wonderful free grace Bible teaching. Information and online

registration now at faithalone.org slash events. First timers wave registration fees. Faithalone.org slash events.

Let's say you believe that you should honor your husband. You believe you should submit to your

husband. Well, that's a good belief. But if you don't do anything about that, you don't honor

your husband. Then what uses that? You have the belief, but you don't have the work that is

pleasing to God. So in terms of what God tells us, if we don't apply God's word, then we are not

working for God. If you believe that by faith in Jesus, you have everlasting life, but you aren't

going to church, praying, worshiping, giving. It's not influencing your work life. It's not

influencing the way you drive. It's not influencing anything in your life. Then what good is your

belief and what good is it to you and what good is it to the people around you? Exactly. The context

of James 2 is your hungry brother who has no clothes and your faith is no good if your faith tells

you to tell him be warm to be filled, but you don't give him anything of faith that works as one

that would give your brother clothes and give him food to eat. I think that's where people get confused.

I mean, that's where this question comes from. People want the clear distinction of their faith

and their works and those are the only two categories. Everything's either a belief or a work.

And so when you have continuous beliefs, some people want to say, well, you don't have to continue

believing to have everlasting life so it must be a work. But I think that's a misunderstanding of

continuing belief. I get the fact that Paul says, if we endure, we shall also reign with him.

And the Lord Jesus said, he overcomes and keeps my works till the end to him. I will give authority

over the nations. But that's different than saying, if I endure in believing in Jesus.

I must endure in my confession of Jesus in order to rule and reign with him. Jesus said,

he who confesses me before men, him will I confess before my father who is in heaven, Matthew 1032.

And then he went on to say, he who denies me before men, him will I deny before father who is in

heaven, Matthew 1033. The part about he who denies from him will I deny. That's second Timothy

212 part B. If we endure, we'll reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us the privilege of

ruling and reigning. So Matthew 1032 and 33 is interpreted by Paul. It's not dealing with unbelievers,

it's dealing with believers. And it's saying, if the believer does not endure in confessing

Christ, then that believer is not going to reign with him. And so the fact that you endure in

your faith doesn't mean you're enduring in your confession of Christ. And part of the way you

confess Christ is going to church. You're in the believing community. If you simply believe in

you're a secret Christian, you are in a person that's serving God, then yeah, you have eternal life,

but you're not enjoying it now. And you're not going to be highly rewarded at the judgment

of seed of Christ. You're not going to rule and reign because you're not a confessing Christian.

So we need to first believe in Christ for everlasting life. That's always the starting point.

And that's the message that you should share with unbelievers. Everything else we've talked about

here is not fruitful to an unbeliever because they're still dead. They need to receive life first

before this can apply to them. Right. But then once you're a believer, you need to maintain

your belief. And like you said, it's not necessarily a work you do, but there are certainly

works and actions you can take that will strengthen your faith or weaken your faith like we talked

about previously. If you stop going to church, if you isolate yourself from other believers,

that can affect your belief. And eventually you might stop believing. You might lose that faith

because you're not strengthening yourself with other believers with God's word. But the continuing

belief we have is your foundation line. And on that, we build good works where we help other people.

We live the way God wants us to. Yep. We confess Christ until the end. And then that's when we're

persevering. That's running the race like Paul talks about. But you still have to have that

continuing faith as your foundation for that. But it's not the work. It's the reason you're doing

those things. Yeah. And one other quick point, it's not enough to believe that by faith in Jesus,

I have everlasting life, there are probably a million different propositions in the Bible. And God

wants us to believe all of them. So all the commands of scripture we should believe and apply. Part

of Christian growth is learning what God wants us to do and applying that. And also part of Christian

growth is learning how to do that. It's by going to church and having the word taught. And my mind is

renewed. And as a result, my behavior is transformed. We're almost 12 to 2nd Corinthians 3, 16.

We'll marcia a great question. And in the meantime, let's keep grace in focus.

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The preceding has been a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.