Easy believism is a form of perversion of the truth. It is a cursed thing to embellish the gospel. If you tell people more or less than what the Bible teaches, you are warned by the apostle Paul of the consequences. Galatians 1:6, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” I admit without shame that I must stick with the absolute truth when it comes to the doctrine of salvation. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is not something we can “fiddle” around with, it is what it is and we best not be short or long on the truth of it.
THE GREAT DEBATE: In John 8 we have the account of a debate between the Lord Jesus and the self-righteous Jews. In verses 12-29 Jesus states in essence that He is the promised Messiah, the Son of God. In verse 30 it says that “many believed on Him.” But the question is, to what extend did they believe? Because in verse 45 Jesus says “And because I tell [you] the truth, ye believe me not.” So, you can see that the question was not whether they believed, but what did they believe and to what extent did they believe? The difference is found in John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” A person is not born again by believing, but he believes because he is born again; for you cannot reborn yourself (See John 6:37-40; 44). Regeneration must come before faith.
The Jews in John 8 only believed in a philosophical way. They may have believed His claims to be a son of God, but they too were sons of God through their ancestor Abraham. They believed what they thought He said, but they did not believe what He really said.
Look closely at what the Lord’s response to their mental assent to His claim of Divine Son-ship in verses 31-32. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, if ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Now, do some research and compare that passage with John 5:24 and Romans 6:18-22.
TRUTH IS IMPORTANT. There is a very important truth that must be understood in the matter of salvation. It is not only what you believe, but to what extent you believe. In Romans 10:1-11 we have the proper instructions on how to approach God for salvation. Many preachers will bypass this portion of Scripture and go straight to verse 13, “Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But if you do not include the commentary which follows (verses 14-15) you may miss apply the verse. Verse 13 DOES NOT teach that you must ask Jesus into your heart or pray through to salvation. That my friends, is at best a stretch and a misuse of the word of God. Just tell people the truth; repent of your sins and trust the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit.
Salvation is for sinners who come to realize, that outside of the saving work of Jesus Christ, there is no hope in the here-after; and having trusted Him, the person is renewed in their mind and go to follow Him as their Lord and Master. If you claim to be a Christian and there is no proof or fruit to confirm it, you should be very concerned whether your salvation is real. E-mail, johnpruitt@frontiernet.net
Believing In Jesus (continued)
