So, the big question: Is every believer a Christian. Who is a Christian?

Ill briefly give an overview of salvation by faith, from where the question arises
obviously. Then, I can answer the question in few sentences.

In Ephesians 2:8, Paul gave an insight to the salvation that Jesus proffered for man:

For by grace

If any man is saved, he is saved freely by his grace without the deeds of the law
(Romans 3:24, 28). The Bible clearly explains that we are saved not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy (2 Timothy 1:9;
Titus 3:5). This reveals that salvation is an unmerited gift of God to man, it comes by
grace. Grace can be defined the the free, unmerited favour of God towards the
undeserving and ill-deserving. No man can make claim or boast of any work or deed
done to have attained, or deserve or qualify for salvation.

through faith

Paul clearly presents to us the mechanism through which we obtain or receive this
undeserved gift of God FAITH! The term faith appears 245 times in the New
Testament of the King James Version of the Bible. The term faith is generic it is
applicable to an entire class or group. People believe and have confidence in all sorts of
things, ideologies, principles, persons, practices and possibilities. Faith can be
manifested towards anything and anybody and there is a general notion in the world
today that whatever you believe works for you. However, the kind of faith which Paul
declares as the means of obtaining salvation is specific, it is the SAVING FAITH. Saving
faith is not a unique kind of faith. Faith is faith. What makes saving faith saving is the
object. A proper understanding of this kind of faith is of the essence, because we start,
maintain and finish our Christian race upon this subject faith!

From Philip's encounter with the eunuch, we see faith as the agency through which we
get saved. Having heard the message of Jesus, the eunuch saw a certain water and
asked what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with
all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God (Acts 8:36, 37).

In Acts 16 in verses 30 and 31, the keeper of the prison asked Paul and Silas a salient
question Sirs, what must I do to be saved? At this time, this poor man only
understood the principle of doing something to get something. The answer he got was
contrary as they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
and thy house.

Understanding saving faith is important because the Bible speaks of people who are
saved by faith, but it also mentions others who have "faith," yet are not saved. What
then is required in order for a person to believe to the saving of the soul (Hebrews
10:39)? According to the dictionary, to believe means to have confidence in the truth, the
existence, or the reliability of something. Obviously, this definition will never help us to
grasp saving faith because just believing in the existence and reliability of God does not
save anyone. At least, the devils also believe, and tremble (James 2:19). They believe
(that there is one God) but only tremble, they dont get saved as a result of their belief.

It is NOT just what you SAY, FEEL or THINK. It is not believing the facts of the existence
or attributes of God. There are many who acknowledge the existence of, or evidence for
Jesus even though they have never seen Him. For example, there are many world
"religions" that "believe" in a man named Jesus. Islam says He was a "prophet", Jehovah
Witnesses say He was "an angel who became a man", Mormons say He was "one of many
gods", Buddhists say He was "an enlightened man", Hindus say He was a "teacher", some
just say He was a "historical figure". This is why it is wrong to say that just "believing"
in Jesus alone will save.

There are three component elements of saving faith: knowledge, assent, and trust. That's
why faith comes by hearing the Word of God because it's the kind of faith that has to
know the truth. And not only knows the truth, but in the heart it assents to the truth.
It knows it and it believes it. But there's something more, just those two can add up to
a non-saving faith. The third is the will which acts in total trust and makes the
commitment. Saving faith involves all three, it involves all that we are in coming to
Christ. It starts with knowledge, moves to conviction, and ends with commitment. This
kind of faith holds the knowledge of God and the knowledge of the gospel and the
knowledge of Christ. Christ is the subject of the believers faith in that He saves believers
from their sins (Matthew 1:20-21); he is also the object of the believers faith in that
people must believe in Him in order to be saved (Acts 4:12; John 14:6, 3:16). We consider
the three elements in details:

- Knowledge In The Mind (Cognition)

In the first place, genuine saving faith must be intellectual. It must know certain things
about God and His will. Faith is not a blind leap in the dark or a believing for no reason.
Faith is not bereft of reason or intellect, it is not blind. Because man is a free moral
agent, he needs knowledge to make informed decisions. Christianity is not the blind
leading the blind. Pauls theological writing to the Romans gives us this portrait when
he added ... and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? ...
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:14,
17). Here he poses a principle of the outworking of faith by knowledge. A person cannot
believe on a principle or person he does not know. This is why Christs commission to
the apostles was to teach all nations, in other words, impart in them the knowledge
of Christ and of the Good News. Saving faith is not a superstition, it is founded upon
accurate knowledge and intellectual understanding of the truths of divine revelation.
Certainly, a person does not need to obtain a Masters degree in Theology to be saved,
but we must know the fundamental truths of the Gospel if our faith is to rest on the
right foundation. What is the Gospel? Pauls admonition to the Corinthians answers the
question: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto
you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are
saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in
vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he
rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Here,
Paul outlined the facts that he made known to the Church at Corinth by which they
were saved and are even still standing. The knowledge that contributes to saving faith
includes belief in one God, in the full humanity (1 John 4:3) and deity of Christ (John
8:24), and His death for sinners on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:3), as well as His physical
resurrection from the dead. Romans 10:9 says That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. It is important to note that although knowledge
is essential, it does not save anybody. Look at the Pharisees who planned to trap Jesus
with questions. They clearly lacked this saving faith but they could attest to knowledge
which they had of Jesus: Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way
of God in truth (John 3:2). If you stop with head knowledge, you will be nothing but
an intelligent unbeliever or an unsaved church member. Thats why saving faith begins
with knowledge but it never ends there.

- Assent In The Heart (Conviction)

Faith that saves is born in the heart, the next level in advance of the first. This is exactly
what Paul sought to establish when he told the Romans for with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness (Romans 10:10). It is possible to know about the
Christian faith and yet believe that it is not true. Genuine faith says that the content
taught by Holy Scripture is true. What is the difference between knowledge and
conviction? Well, Knowledge is a mental assent to fact while conviction is an acceptance
of the truthfulness of a known fact with its relational application to personal situation.
Conviction means to know something and then to be fully persuaded in the heart that
it is true. That Hebrew word comes over into English as Amen which literally means
Yes, it is true. Saving faith involves saying Amen to the facts of the gospel. It goes
beyond knowledge to a personal conviction that these things are true. From Philips
response to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:37, we learn that salvation only comes If
thou believest with all thine heart. This is where doubts are dealt with. A person
may say, I know that Christ died for the sins of the humanity, but what if my sins are
too many to be forgiven? Or what if God rejects me? Or let me first become a good person
so that I can be accepted by God. Conviction is the juncture where truth and belief
coincide. I know the truth, and I believe that the truth is true and that it applies to me
too. Similarly, conviction is essential because you must be personally convinced of the
truth, but that alone has not saved anyone. King Agrippa only possessed mental assent
to many truths found in Scripture, yet he clearly lacked saving faith. When the apostle
Paul was on trial before King Agrippa, Paul said: "King Agrippa, believest thou the
prophets? I know that thou believest" (Acts 26:27). At this time it was clear that King
Agrippa did not have saving faith. Notice his reply to the Pauls previous statement in
the next verse: "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian". King Agrippa
possessed mind knowledge of the prophetic writings of Scripture, which the apostle Paul
called to mind. In addition, he appeared to have some agreement with Gods Word as
indicated by the apostle Pauls statement; but while King Agrippa was seemingly close
to getting it, he still lacked one thing, just one thing!

- Trust In The Will (Commitment)

The last part of faith is a full trust in and commitment to the One who loved us and died
for us. This is of critical importance simply because it is possible to understand these
truths, believe they are true, and yet pull back from the necessary commitment that will
actually enlist us as one of Christ's followers. Knowing and believing the content of the
Christian faith is not enough, for even demons can do that (James 2:19). Faith is only
effectual if, knowing about and assenting to the claims of Jesus, one personally trusts
in Him alone for salvation. Commitment is the active part of faith. This entails entrusting
one's soul and all that one is and have to Christ. It involves looking to Him (Isaiah 45:22;
John 6:40; Hebrews 12:1-2) as the only basis upon which one is saved and to commit
oneself to Him (Matthew 11:28; 2 Timothy 1:12) as His follower (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke
9:57-62). Saving faith reaches out and trusts Christ as Lord and Savior. Saving faith is
not passive, it is dynamic, and it expresses itself. Abraham's faith was signified by
leaving his home and laying his son on the altar. The poisoned Israelites had to look at
the brazen serpent before they were healed. Sinners are urged to repent. This is an
act of the will. God will not impose salvation on any man, he doesnt seek religion, he
seeks a relationship and no love relationship can be entered into without the giving of
affection, mind and will. This aspect of faith involves making a choice and acting on it.
The action may be a prayer, a profession, a baptism, whatever it is, it shows a
commitment of the will to a conviction. Saving faith does not only understand and
believe the gospel, it also commits to the gospel as the only hope of salvation.

To summarize, believers are those who by grace through faith have heard the gospel,
have understood and believed who Jesus Christ is and what He has accomplished on
the cross, and have accepted and committed themselves to Jesus Christ as their
personal Lord and Savior. Grace is the first and last moving cause of salvation; and faith,
essential as it is, is only an important part of the machinery which grace employs. We are
saved "through faith" but salvation is "by grace" - C. H. Spurgeon.

It is noteworthy to state that faith is not enough to save you. If it is our faith that saves
us, then we have the deed of faith to boast about, for our salvation. It is not our faith in
God that saves us, rather, God saves us through our faith in Him. The basis, the ground
of our salvation is the death of Jesus Christ who pays the penalty for our sin. That is,
God offers the gift of salvation based on Christ's sacrifice on Calvary, but faith is only
the hand, and the only hand, that reaches out to receive the gift.
Okay! Thats the end of my overview on salvation by faith. So, I proceed to the question
at hand.