Status Updates From Salvation by Allegiance Alone

"In this chapter, the heart of what I want to say about how union relates to an individual person’s justification is this: properly speaking, at the present time Jesus the king is the only person who has already been directly judged by God (the Father), found to be in the right (justified), and vindicated. His resurrection from the dead is proof of his innocence—that he truly has been justified."

Chapter 6: I disagree with Bates's interpretation of John's vision at the end of Revelation (see Leithart's excellent "On Earth as in Heaven").

Chapter 7: A chapter on man as God's idol. I could have written this chapter myself. It directly centers on one of my personal favorite emphasis.

Bates has covered what pistis is not, now it's time to be constructive by determining what pistis is.

Right off the bat, "pistis" does not directly equate to "allegiance" as if one can just do a straight word-replacement of one for the other anytime "pistis" appears in the Greek. Although there is great semantic overlap between the meanings, the overall semantic range of "pistis" differs from any English synonym.

Does Jesus Himself preach the Gospel? And if so, what is the content of this Gospel that Jesus preached? How does it differ from what is commonly preached today? Bates covers all these questions in chapter 3.

We've all seen the tracts, “How to Be 100% Sure of Heaven” detailing a five-to-six step program capped off by reciting the sinner's prayer. Perhaps we've been led or even led someone through "The Roman's Road" or "The Four Spiritual Laws."

But is the gospel primarily about our own salvation? How we can go to heaven when we die? Or is it somehow even bigger, grander, and more whole-cosmos oriented than this?

"The Greek word "pistis," generally rendered "faith” or “belief,” as it pertains to Christian salvation, quite simply has little correlation with “faith” and “belief” as these words are generally understood and used in contemporary Christian culture... At the center of Christianity, properly understood, is not the human response of faith or belief but rather the old-fashioned term "fidelity.""

Bates's Thesis: "The gospel is not primarily about the necessity of the human response of 'faith alone' in Jesus’s saving work, but rather about how Jesus came to be enthroned as Lord of heaven and earth. 'Allegiance alone' is required for salvation."