Because I attended Moody Bible Institute, I was very interested when a few years ago a biography of D. L. Moody, the founder of MBI, was published. Particularly I was interested in what Moody said about the topics we discuss in this blog—is salvation is just a matter of belief or is it the renovation of our entire soul.
Moody did acknowledge that a creed (a belief system) has its place but he also believed belief was, by itself, insufficient. What God asks us to believe in is a person who is Jesus Christ. [1] However, for Moody, belief in Jesus is more than an acknowledgment that Jesus existed. Moody stated: “I would not give much for all that can be done by sermons, if we do not preach Christ by our lives” [2] Even the New York Times acknowledged this when in reporting on Moody’s New York city meetings stated that changed lives would be the legacy of Moody and his meetings. [3]
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV).
Moody noted that in heaven, “Faith and hope will be past,” we will have no need of them because our faith and hope will become reality. “But love will still reign” [4] because love is an action word, it is not just a belief.
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[1] A Life D. L. Moody. Kevin Belmonte. Chicago: Moody Publishers. 2014, p. 214.
[2] Ibid., p. 216.
[3] Ibid., p. 137.
[4] Ibid., p. 217.
