"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also." [1 Jn 2:22-23]
"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world… And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God." [1 Jn 4:2-3, 14-15]
In order for us to be Christian, it is obvious that we must confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior, placing our faith in Him and who The Bible reveals Him to be. This much is certain. For no man, denying Jesus and instead confessing to believe solely or jointly in Ghandi, Muhammad, the Pope, Mary, Siddhartha, or some other god, can rightly call themselves Christian. Such a man would be deemed a liar, and rightly so: for the very nature of the name Christian implies that that man believes in and lives his life according to Jesus, the Christ. And though we know that mere confession and belief is not enough, for James writes, “thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble;” [Jam 2:19] and Jesus, “many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord…and then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity;” [Mt 7:22-23] yes though these are not in themselves sufficient proof of true Christianity, yet they are necessary indeed.
This brings us to our next proof of genuine salvation: belief in Jesus. However, we must expound upon this a little. For we do not simply mean that one must believe Jesus existed as a person: for all of history should agree to that; nor do we mean that one should believe Jesus is God, Christ, or Lord: for there are many such people who confess such things and are unsaved and wicked. No, but we must delve further beneath the surface to see what it is to believe in Jesus – and very importantly, we must remind ourselves of the true Jesus, for “there be gods many, and lords many,” and there are such that preach “another Jesus,” as well as “another spirit…[and] another gospel.” [1 Cor 8:5, 2 Cor 11:4] Jesus warned of this too, saying, “for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many.” [Mt 24:5, Mk 13:6, Lk 21:8]
When The LORD was giving instruction to Israel through Moses, He said,
“And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.” [Ex 20:25]
The LORD said that uncut stone must have been used for the altar; a stone which was modified by human hands through the use of a tool was defiled and unusable. If that stone was not one that was cut without hands, natural, then it was unclean, it was defiled, and not to be used for worship. Regarding Christ, it says, “behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone.” [1 Pe 2:6, Isa 28:16] Jesus is referred to as a stone, as the chief cornerstone. This is not uncommon to scripture; many times it is said, “The LORD is my Rock,” and in a prophecy regarding The Messiah, The LORD pictures Jesus as “a stone cut without hands.” [1 Sam 2:2, 2 Sam 22:2, 32, Psa 18:2, 31; 92:15; 94:22, Dan 2:34] If Jesus is The Rock then let us not modify Him. Let us not shave or cut off that which is too sharp for our liking; let us not smooth out one corner, or plaster over some part of His character; let us take Jesus, as He is described in The Bible, and worship and serve Him, or let us not take Him at all. If we say we believe in Jesus, it must be the Jesus of The Bible, who is called, “The Word of God.” [Rev 19:13, Jn 1:1] For again, The LORD says of His word, and would say too of Christ who is The Word, “what thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” [Deut 12:32]
Therefore, let us look at a few of the characteristics that John points out, which must be present in our belief of Jesus. John says a true Christian must believe Jesus is The Christ, The Son of God The Father, that He came in the flesh (and is coming back in the flesh), and that He is The Savior of the world.
First, that Jesus is the Christ is a necessary belief for salvation is evident; for John writes, “who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is The Christ?” [1 Jn 2:22] The word Christ simply means “Anointed One,” and anointed means, “smeared or rubbed with oil; set apart; consecrated with oil.” [Webster] That is, when we say Jesus Christ, what we are saying is that Jesus is the anointed one of God, the one who has been consecrated, set apart, with oil. Remember at Jesus’ baptism how it is written,
“And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, ‘this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” [Mt 3:16-17]
And regarding this event, “John bare record saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him…And I say, and bare record that this is The Son of God.” [Jn 1:32, 34] Jesus is the One chosen of God, anointed of The Holy Spirit, to take away our sins; as John also said, “behold The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” [Jn 1:29] And as Jesus claimed Himself, quoting Isaiah and saying, “this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears,” [Lk 4:21]
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” [Lk 4:18-19]
True Christianity must agree with these statements. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is that One whom God The Father has chosen to save men from their sins. As the angel told Joseph, “and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.” [Mt 1:21] If a man does not believe Jesus is The Christ, This Christ – who singularly takes away sin and is chosen of God for such – then that man ought to have no assurance of salvation, for, “whosoever believeth that Jesus is The Christ is born of God.” [1 Jn 5:1]
Second, Jesus is God’s Son. And specifically, The Son of God The Father, that is, YHWH. That Jesus is specifically YHWH’s Son is of utmost importance; for there be many gods, but Jesus is named “the only begotten of the Father,” [Jn 1:14] and that word “only begotten” literally means, “one-and-only unique.” See then, that Jesus is not just a son of God or of man, nor is He some other god’s son, but He is The One-and-only Unique Son of The Father, YHWH, and it is this Son Jesus of whom it is written, “whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” [Jn 3:16]
We thus conclude, that if a man believes Jesus to be the Son of another god, or that Jesus is not the Son of YHWH, that man is not saved, for He has not believed in the Jesus of the scriptures, he has believed in a false Jesus. Jesus said to the religious elites of His day, who vehemently opposed Him, “ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also,” [Jn 8:19] and in Isaiah God prophesies, “unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given…and His name shall be called…The Everlasting Father.” [Isa 9:6] Jesus, being God The Father’s Son, takes upon Himself His characteristics, He being, “the exact expression of [God’s] substance,” [Heb 1:3] and thus said to the Pharisees again, “…if ye believe not that I Am, ye shall die in your sins.” [Jn 8:24] And that phrase, “if ye believe not that I Am,” Jesus would say to all men today – those who do not believe Jesus is YHWH’s Son are not possessing eternal life in the least.
Third, a man who is truly believed will confess that Jesus both came in the flesh and is coming again in the flesh. John writes, “every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God;” [1 Jn 4:3] and, “for many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus is coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.” [2 Jn 1:7] Regarding the fact that Jesus must have come in the flesh some two-thousand years ago is clearly explained in Hebrews, where it says,
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that has the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily He is not laying hold of angels; but He is laying hold of the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto his brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” [Heb 2:14-17]
And regarding that Jesus must come again in the flesh, we see that He must reign upon earth bodily. For The LORD says,
“And [The LORD’s] feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives…and The LORD shall be king over all the earth…” [f.f., Zech 14:4, 9]
And the angel promised to Mary, confirming what is replete in the Old Testament prophecies regarding The Messiah,
“He shall be great, and shall be called The Son of The Highest: and The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His Father David. And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” [Lk 1:32-33]
If a man believes Jesus to only have been a spirit or an apparition, they are still dead in their sins, for “it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren,” and it is also written, “what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” [Rom 8:3] If Jesus did not come in the flesh, He could not have shed His blood for sins and, “without shedding of blood is no remission.” [Heb 9:22] Further, a man who does not believe Jesus to still be flesh, and thus coming again in the flesh, has no mediator between Himself and God and is thus unsaved as well; for The Spirit tells us, “there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” [1 Tim 2:5]
Finally and fourthly, the true Christian believes that Jesus is the Savior of the world. Jesus is the Savior of the entire world, of all who choose to accept Him and follow Him. And He is the only Savior; as we are told, “neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” [Acts 4:12] In John, Jesus says regarding Himself,
“For God so loved the world, that He gave his One-and-only Unique Son, that whosoever is believing in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” [Jn 3:16]
And,
“And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” [1 Jn 2:2]
The man who does not confess and believe in Jesus as Jesus appears in the Bible has defiled The Rock of Christ and cannot obtain salvation from such a Jesus. That man does not believe in God’s Son, but an idol and a false god. If you believe in Jesus, let me ask you, ‘which one?’ Do you believe in Jesus, who is YHWH’s Son; who is singularly the Savior and Christ of the world; and who came in the flesh and is coming again in the flesh? If not, good man, you do not believe in the Jesus who saves men, in the Jesus who forgives sin and who rescues souls from hell, and you are in danger of eternal damnation.
To see past and future posts in this series of Testing Your Salvation, click here.