According to the Bible, Christ is The Sufficient Saviour
John 3:16, Revelation 1:5-8
Jesus is His human name, Matthew 1:21-25.
Christ is not His last name but the name that signifies He is the Messiah, The Son of God sent by God, John 11:25, She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
The two names, Jesus and Christ are One Person. That One Person is God clothed in human flesh, Joh_10:30 I and my Father are one.Joh_17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
It is the word believe that is so important in our life. 1Jn 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Can you look at that verse and upon the authority of what HE said, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life,….” And say, I know I have eternal life? That is on the authority of His Word and not on your feeling.
“These things have I written…” are verses, 9, 10, 11, and 12 and those verses are not four [4] different things to believe to be saved. But rather they are One promise of Eternal Life to anyone who believes on the name of the Son of God, Acts 4:12. In those four [4] verses He gave four [4] reasons to believe what HE [The Father] had to say about the Son of God, These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
I recently had the idea that I would give a book, “Secure and Sure” to those that I have a date of their believing in Christ. For eternal life. And I started a few weeks ago doing that. And I wanted to give it on the occasion of their month and day anniversary. [ and I know that God keeps the record in heaven] But I have since given up trying to remember the day month. it is too much to keep up with.
And I wanted to give the book as a reminder of the enormity of our Great God. His greatness cannot be described in one word; I could say, the Love of God but that alone does not describe Him. I believe the words of Jesus say it all, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I gave the book to remind you, the believer of the certainty of God’s Word and the sufficient of Christ, 1Jn 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Now back to the book for a moment. I do not know what I will do when my supply runs out. They were on sale for .99 cents. Unbelievable at that price, they normally sell for around $10.00. At the same time, there was another book, “Journal of the GES” the special Zane Hodges Memorial issue. In his book, there is an article called the” Two Step”. There is a dance called the Two-step or the Texas Two-step or the Country two steps a fast-traveling dance that is popular with country music lovers. [I google it to understand the two-step dance] But this two-step is not about the dance but about adding to the Gospel. It is about modern-day preaching and teaching that is a two-step dance between the Word believe plus something else. And may I say there is no something else given in the Word of God or from the lips of Jesus.
And may I say again the addition of a second step is very deceptive. These additions may sound good but if not in the Word of God they are not right. And God is not bound to honor these additions but only His Word. [Phillip Chidavaenzi says in a December 18, 2016, article in the Standard, “Many pastors are now incorporating their ideas and opinions into the gospel, but God isn’t under any obligation to honour your opinions. He only honours His word.”]
[1]Many Evangelicals today will read a passage like Mark 7:1-16 and recognize that the Pharisees and scribes were being legalistic about requiring hand washing before meals as a religious practice. Yet those same Evangelicals cannot recognize when they do the same thing by following some of their own traditions.
Anything added to the truth of the Gospel takes away from the sufficiency of Christ, 1 Cor. 1:30-31 1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Every time you add something to Christ to aid you in the Christian life or to add something other than faith to give you confidence in Christ, you have added to the truth of the gospel. [And that includes Masonry ]
The Bible says that God is the Justifier of him who believes in Jesus, Rom 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. It is at the name of Jesus that every knee will bow, Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. No one has ever believed in that name for a home in heaven who has not been saved by doing so.
There are many ways the believer is presented in the Word [the man sick of the palsy, Nathanael, Woman at Jacob’s Well, Woman in John 8, Mary and Martha, Thomas, The Nobleman, the man born blind, the thief on the cross, Just to name a few] and they all bring you to Faith in Christ, Acts 4:12, Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. There is one noticeable fact about believing in His name for salvation and that is He saves all who believe in His name for salvation. Remember Jesus can see your faith – He knows your attitude toward Him. Do we think that Jesus Christ must see our works to know if we have faith in Him? If Christ cannot see your faith how then could you be justified by faith? Faith in Christ is the motivation for works. I work because of Christ. Works are not the motivation for faith in Christ. [Romans 10:17]
But it is the teacher and preacher who wants to define the word believe that brings the problem. I once had a speaker who said, “If you did not believe in eternal security when you believe in Christ then you were not really saved”. I thought when I heard his statement, that is not right. I believed in eternal security before I was saved but that did not give me eternal life. Jesus used the word “believe’. In the greatest sermon ever preached, John 3:3-21, i.e. V14&15, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Jesus continued in His sermon to Nicodemus in v16 -18, Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Jesus promised you eternal life by believing in Him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
If someone had asked me to define all that I believed after I was first saved or to say did you believe this or that, I would have had to say, I never thought about those things. I knew that I had never been saved, that I was a sinner. And when I looked into the Word of God, I understood that my salvation depended on Jesus Christ and not on me and I believed in Him. Jesus is God’s offer or gift of eternal life. Everything about being saved and our life as a believer is centered around the word believe.
In the attempt to define “believe” many requirements have been added to simply believe. I read this illustration from Zane Hodges, [“Suppose I am in deep financial trouble and a stranger named, Sam, let us say, tells me he will get me out of my trouble if I will just believe him to do it. Perhaps Sam strikes me as a reliable and honest type of person and I am convinced that he can and will do what he says. So I leave the matter in his hands and sure enough, he comes through and saves me from my financial ruin with a generous infusion of cash. Did I believe in Him? Yes.
Suppose after believing in Him, I find out he is a very successful CEO of multiple companies and he is a multi-billionaire. Would he later come back to me and say you did not know enough about me when you believe in me, so I am afraid I can’t help you now? Our deal is canceled.]
Jesus Christ would not invite you to believe in Him and then later deny your faith by saying you did not know enough about Him to believe in Him. Saving Faith is not a special kind of faith; it is faith that is in Jesus Christ. [2]We are not saved by believing a series of theological propositions, however true and important they may be. We are saved by believing in Jesus.
“Belief is persuasion:” If you are persuaded that something is true, you believe it. Meaning you have confidence in whom you have believed, Paul said, “…for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
Are you persuaded that Jesus is able to give you the eternal life that He promised? Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. John 6:47.
The Person of the Cross and the Resurrection is the assurance of Salvation, 1Jn 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. We must never lose sight of the Person of Jesus Christ and that He alone is the giver of Eternal Life.
What are these things that are written? The preceding verses, 1Jn 5:9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 1Jn 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 1Jn 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1Jn 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
What is at stake is the truth or the untruth of What God has said. And what has God declared? What is the testimony about His Son? V11a – He is saying that Eternal Life is God’s Gift to us in Christ. There is no other work given to possessing eternal life than to possess God’s Son V11b and 12. Then you the believer in the Son may know that they have eternal V13. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Listen to His word, 1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Did you know and understand all things when you were first saved? No.
How do the church and the Pastor relate to your believing and your growth as a believer? To many, many people they do not relate in any manner. And that is a false assumption.
1] God chose the foolishness of preaching to save all who would believe. 1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
2] God calls to the ministry, 1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
3] When you received the messenger you received the message, Act 16:13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. Act 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. Act 16:15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. When you reject the messenger you may be rejecting the message from the LORD.
Paul said, 2Co_11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. By the language that Paul used here, He was treating these believers he had brought to faith in Jesus as his bride.
What was his fear? That some false teacher doing the two-step would corrupt their minds about Christ. 2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
4] When you received the man whom God sent, you gave him the authority/ responsibility to watch for your soul. Heb_13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. And also you receive the Word of God by receiving him.
In Acts 16:15 Lydia constrained Paul and Silas to abide at her house, And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. We can only imagine the blessing of the Word of God upon her house and family by bringing Paul and Silas into her home!
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