Some matters the scriptures leave entirely to our own judgment.  When Jesus and Gentiles came together in the early church, serious trouble arose because of their different backgrounds and customs.  The Jews considered some meats unclean, and also felt obligated to observe certain days, such as the Sabbath, Passover, and others; whereas Gentiles had no such customs.  The Gentiles, however, were used to idol worship, and according to I Corinthians 8, when they saw a Jewish Christian in the market buying meat that had been sacrificed to an idol, they supposed he was also worshipping, or approving the idol.  With such differences Jews were condemning Gentiles and Gentiles were offended by Jews, who knew that an idol was nothing, and that being offered as sacrifice to an idol did not affect the quality of the meat.  In Romans 14:3, Paul urges them both not to reject or condemn each other.  "Let not him that eateth set at nought him that eateth not; and let not him that eateth not judge (or condemn) him that eateth; for God hath received him." Paul, in verse 14, says he was persuaded that "nothing is unclean of itself; save that to him who accounteth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean".  They were free to explain their convictions to each other, but not to bind their views on others.  "The faith (or conviction) which thou hast", Paul says, "have thou to thyself alone." Each must follow his own faith, his conviction and conscience, but not force his views on others.  Yet even in these matters, Paul urges in I Corinthians 8, that they restrain their own liberty so as not to offend those who differ from them.

In the application of great principles the Bible also recognizes the difference between people in abilities and maturity, or development.  In Romans 12:6, Paul says we have "gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us." So if we are able to prophesy, "let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith." This is a recognition, not only of a difference in abilities, but also in the amount of faith we may have.  He urges those who give to give with liberality.  But "liberality" to one who has grown rich in Christian experience may mean far more that to one just starting the Christian life.  Then, since there are such differences in both ability and faith, one of great faith should not condemn one who is still a babe in Christ.

But aside from matters of opinion like eating meat or observing days, and aside from the application of great principles which people attain only with different degrees of perfection, the Bible does contain clear positive commands and statements.  Of these, if one says, "That's just your interpretation", he must be careful he is not rejecting the plain statement of the Lord.  In Mark 16:16 Jesus says, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned." How can any one miss the meaning of this statement?  It clearly means that both faith and baptism are necessary if one is to be saved.  But even with such a plain statement it is necessary to know whether the statement is complete within itself, or whether other things besides faith and baptism may be necessary to salvation.  To "believe" the "gospel" as Jesus specifies is to accept everything that Jesus and His apostles taught.  According to Like's account in Luke 24:47, Jesus in His final instruction to His disciples emphasizes that "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name unto all nations." Following this instruction, in Acts 2:37-38, when Peter had convinced the Jews that they had crucified the Son of God, with this new understanding, this new faith, they cried out, "Brethren, what shall we do?" And Peter replied immediately, "Repent ye, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins." In response to this command three thousand were baptized, and the Lord added them to his church, Acts 2:47.  So both Jesus and Peter add repentance to faith and baptism, as necessary for salvation.  But in Matthew 10:32-33, Jesus says, "Every one who shall confess me before man, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven.  But whosoever shall deny me before man, him will I deny before my Father who is in heaven." In harmony with Christ, Paul says in Romans 10:9, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord and shall believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Thus both Jesus and Paul add confession to faith and baptism.  So if we examine all these statements about salvation, we find that faith, repentance, confession, and baptism are all required.  The danger is in depending on one statement alone.

When a preacher was asked once just how we become Christians, he quoted Galatians 3:26, "We are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus", and he stopped -- leaving the impression that faith alone was all that was necessary.  He ignored the very next verse, which says, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ." He also ignored both Jesus and Peter who specified repentance.  He ignored both Jesus and Paul, who included confession, and he ignored the second chapter of James, which explains clearly that faith alone cannot save, for even the demons believe.  James points out that the faith that saves is a faith that obeys whatever God commands, as Abraham's faith led him to his obedience, and through that obedience his faith could be counted for righteousness.  So no matter whose "interpretation" we hear, if we examine everything the Bible says on a specific subject, any command becomes clear because the Bible is its own interpreter.