He That Believeth Shall Be Saved

Most of us are familiar with the passage in John 3:16-18, reproduced below: 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life... Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

- John 3:16-18

From this text, we can understand that on the day of judgement, there will be a class of people that will not perish but will have eternal life, and we are told that these people are those who "believe in Him". Far too little attention is paid to this defining characteristic. What does it mean to believe in Christ? Jesus makes the crucial importance of this matter apparent by including it in his final words before ascending to heaven:

"Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

- Mark 16:15-16

This article seeks to explore what Jesus had in mind when he uttered the words: "Whoever believes.." To help us along with our analysis of what it means to believe, let us turn to the last part of Jesus' sermon on the mount, where he gives the crowd a sobering message:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' 

- Matthew 7:21-23

This passage from Matthew tells us that on the day of judgement, there will be a class of people who clearly, in a sense, do believe in Jesus Christ. They think that they will escape hell, though they remain "workers of lawlessness". But their "belief" in Christ does not secure them from Hell for even a moment. These people greet Jesus, saying "Lord, Lord", and R.C. Sproul tells us of the significance of that:

"[T]here are times in Scripture when names are repeated, and we need to take note of these occurances, for they are expressions of deep and profound personal affection. When one person greets another by the repetition of his or her name, it shows that they have not just a casual acquaintance but a very deep bond... Jesus was saying that not everyone who addressed Him in terms of deep affection would be saved. Some of them, He said, would come to Him on the day of judgement and, still addressing Him in terms of intimate affection, would remind Him of all they had done for Him... These people honestly believe they were in intimate relationships with Jesus and that they had served Him faithfully. But Jesus said they would be deceived."[1]

 

These people certainly believe, in one sense, of the existence of Jesus, and maybe even in the saving power of Jesus. But yet, there is a very real sense in which they do not truly believe in Christ. They don't believe in Christ with all their hearts. Nor do they truly know Christ, or take him for their Saviour. They are blind to their own exceeding sinfulness, and also Christ's greatness, gloriousness, beauty, excellence and mercifulness. For if a man is terminally ill but does not know of his dangerous condition, and thinks that he is well, he will not go with all his heart to the physician to cure him. Likewise, those who do not know their own misery and do not see their need of Christ will not come to him with all their hearts.[2] They may by outward appearance, and by their external actions, perform many deeds in the name of Christ. But if it does not proceed from an inward, hearty and sincere holiness and faith in Jesus Christ, it is nothing; just as how Amaziah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart. And as a result, all that he did was not acceptable to God (2 Kings 14:1-20), who searches the hearts of men, and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).[3] Anyone can say, "Lord, Lord," but many who do so are only honouring God with their lips. "Many make false professions of faith and deceive themselves into thinking that they belong to Jesus, but they have never repented, never put their trust in Christ, and never embraced Him with their hearts."[4]

Believing in Christ

Only those whose hearts have been changed by God the Holy Spirit can say, "Lord, Lord," and mean it, for Paul writes: 

"no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit."

- 1 Corinthians 12:3

Therefore, as written by Edwards:

 "For a man to believe in Christ is to come to him with all the heart, to take him for his Saviour and give himself to him, to be one of his people and to have all his dependence on Christ to make him happy... They that truly believe in Christ, they see how lovely he is, and they love him with all their hearts... They that do truly believe in Christ, they give themselves to him to be his people. They give their hearts to him. They are made willing to give up themselves to him wholly in soul and body forever. They that do truly believe in Christ, they in their hearts forsake all for Christ, forsake all their sins, forsake the world, and are willing to leave all for Christ. They that truly believe in Christ, they are willing to forsake father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, yea, and their own lives, rather than to forsake Christ (Matt. 19:29)."[5]

 

And About What Matters Are We Believing Christ?

We can never pay God for the sins we have committed against him by anything we can do. "Sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4), and the bible tells us:

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

- Isaiah 53:6

We have "exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25), and therefore deserve the due penalty for our error - we deserve the wrath of God: to be thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur to be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10), where the "worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:48). 

And therefore, our hearts must go to Christ for salvation, and we must not go anywhere else. Christ has suffered for us, and has satisfied God's wrath for our sin, and has paid down a sufficient price for our salvation. He has done all. There is nothing for us to do now but only believe in Christ, and with all our hearts to come to him for salvation. We must see our own vileness and wickedness, and lie down in the dust before God, and know that we deserve nothing but to be cast into hell. And we must come to Christ and trust in him only, and not in our own righteousness, for salvation. Those whose hearts come to Christ, are joined to Christ; and they belong to him and are saved for his sake. Scripture calls these people the members of his body (1 Cor. 6:15, 12:12).[6] 

We believe that Christ "is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). 

I end of this article with the words of Jonathan Edwards:

"Christ stands at the door and knocks. If you will open the door, he will come in and he will give himself to you, and all that he has... Therefore make haste. Delay not. Give your heart to Christ and he will save you from hell, and all heaven shall be yours".[7] 

 

And also the words of Paul:

"In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."

- Ephesians 1:4-14

Praise Be to God!

Oh how wonderful is God's mercy and grace! He has redeemed us as his people - we who deserved condemnation for our trespasses. He has adopted us as his own children, and clothed us in righteousness - we who provoked his wrath by rolling in the mud of our vanity. He has imputed onto us his righteousness and promised us an inheritance of the new earth (Matt. 5:5) - we who are helpless to stand on our own feet. And he makes us holy, as he is holy. So that we cry together with david: "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it" (Psalms 139:6). 

[1]: R.C. Sproul, Matthew: An Expositional Commentary, "Reformation Trust, A Division of Ligonier Ministries, Orlando, FL, at p 180-184.

[2]: Jonathan Edwards, He That Believeth Shall Be Saved, "Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader", Yale University Press, 1999. 

[3]: Jonathan Edwards, The Way of Holiness, "Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader", Yale University Press, 1999. 

[4]: Supra n 1, at p 184. 

[5]: Supra n 2.

[6]: Ibid.

[7]: Ibid.

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