Learning From Mokusatsu
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Acts 16:30-33-And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
Definitions are important. The proper definition of a word can make a huge difference in a message that is being conveyed: and a misunderstanding of a definition of a word can have serious consequences.
In July 1945, the Allied leaders delivered the Potsdam Declaration to Japan. It demanded unconditional surrender by the Japanese, and warned that if Japan didn’t comply, there would be “prompt and utter destruction.” The Japanese Prime Minister responded to the Declaration with the word “mokusatsu.”
Now, that word can have several different definitions, depending on the context. Sometimes it means “ignore;” other times, it could mean “to treat with contempt.” Sometimes that word could also mean to be “respectfully quiet until a better offer is made.” As such, it is possible that the Japanese were respectfully waiting for the Allies to make a better offer then unconditional surrender, not that they were completely rejecting the offer being made!
To this day, we are not sure which definition of “mokusatsu” was meant by the Prime Minister: but we know that our government took it as a rejection of terms. As a result, the atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and then on Hiroshima.
Definitions are important.
Let’s notice an example from the Bible of this principle.
Often when I study the Bible with my friends and neighbors, we discuss the subject of the relationship between baptism and salvation. Every passage in the New Testament which mentions baptism and salvation together places baptism before salvation (cf. Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; John 3:5; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27; Ephesians 5:26; Colossians 2:11-15; Titus 3:3-7; Hebrews 10:22; 1 Peter 3:20-21). After noticing this, the question usually arises, “But doesn’t Paul tell the jailor that all he needed to do to be saved is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?”
Yes, Paul does say that.
Now the next question is, what does the word “believe” mean?
To answer, we must look at how that word believe (Greek, pisteuo) is defined in the time that Acts was written.
“Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament gives this definition of pisteuō when used of the faith by which a man embraces Jesus: A conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah – the divinely appointed author of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God, conjoined with obedience to Christ.10 James M. Whiton abridged Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon, and under pisteuō gives these possible meanings: 1. To believe, trust in, put faith in, confide in, rely on a person or thing. — 2. to believe, comply, obey.11 Bultmann has the article on pisteuō in Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. After giving a history of the use of the word in the Old Testament, he outlines its use in the New Testament. II. General Christian Usage: 1. The Continuation of the Old Testament and Jewish Tradition: a. pisteuo as to Believe; b. as to Obey; c. as to Trust; d. as to Hope; e. as Faithfulness ….12 Thus, the Lexicons reflect the idea advanced earlier in this study that any of the elements of pisteuō (i.e., knowledge, assent, confidence, obedience) may be emphasized, and that the context or the Greek grammatical construction (for example, certain prepositional phrases) in which pisteuō appears will often determine the exact meaning.” (Gareth L. Reese, New Testament History: Acts-A Critical And Exegetical Commentary, 16027-16039 (Kindle Edition): Moberly, Missouri: Scripture Exposition Books LLC)
In the first century, when people were told that they needed to “believe” in Jesus in order to be saved, they would not have thought that this meant the idea of merely accepting the truth of Who Jesus is. They did not think, “I am saved by faith only,” when they were told to “believe.” Instead, they would have understood from this word the idea of the popular song:
“Trust And Obey.”
Jesus is the Author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9). Clearly, the jailor understood this, because the Bible goes on to say that after hearing God’s Word, he and his whole household were baptized “immediately” or “the same hour of the night.” Indeed, it is after they had “trusted and obeyed” God’s Word that Luke says they rejoiced, having believed in God!
Acts 16:34-Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
Will you have the faith to follow Jesus to the waters of baptism?
Will you have the faith to be a faithful member of Christ’s church?
Will you have the faith to follow Jesus where He leads, even in the difficult challenges of life?
Will you have the faith as a baptized believer who has sinned to repent and confess your sins to God and walk with Him again (1 John 1:9)?
Lord, help us to have an obedient faith today. Encourage us to be faithful to You and to walk where Your Word leads us. Amen.