Believing in Jesus, and receiving the Holy Ghost do not happen simultaneously. See: Acts 2:4-41, 8:12-18, 9:17-18, 10:43-48, 19:1-7)
Is it enough to just believe in Jesus?
- Thread starter LeeLoving
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Come on man.
John 6:47 is a general statement of truth.
It's not a all-encompassing, blanket and definitive panacea on the remission of sins.
This is a hallmark of weak theology.
You take a general verse and use it to negate a more definitive verse.
All the verses are true. Both the general and more definitive ones.
There is nothing in John 6:47 that negates baptism as the moment of the remission of sins.
Believing in Jesus is much more than a mental acknowledgement of His person.
Jesus is the Word; therefore to believe in Jesus is to believe all that the Word reveals.
Jesus said, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." John 12:48
Could you make a detailed list in the order of what must be believed and what must not be believed about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
Can you list to what degree of faith must be attained to reach the level of salvation?
Can you explain when is the moment of our faith in Jesus that crosses over from mere acknowledgement of His existence to a full acceptance of His Lordship?
Must I believe that Jesus is part of a triune Godhead?
Must I believe that He was born of a virgin human mother?
Must I believe that He was fully human?
Must I believe that He physically died?
Must I believe that He physically rose from the dead?
What parts of His second coming must I accept?
And what other levels of faith "must be accomplished for someone inquiring about what it takes to be saved?
Details please.
So.... because of one verse, you conclude that belief is all you need?
"You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder."
How about this one from 1 Peter.... "21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, "
or, from Acts 2....... "21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ "
Taking all the multitude of verses about salvation, and being saved, unless one has a pre-conceived notion, then what is stated in post #36 above is a pretty good description about what is necessary to be added to the body of Christ....
edit: sorry, I quoted the wrong statement... I meant to reply to @Sipsey
Philip was pretty clear about it to the Eunuch ...
36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.
and Peter was pretty clear about it at Pentecost.... when Jesus' church was established...
37 Now when they heard this, they were [aj]pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
.
When the Lord journeyed thru the land of Egypt during the original Passover
described in the 12th chapter of Exodus; He wasn't looking for piety, nor
repentance, nor charity, nor religion, nor perseverance, nor courage, nor
confession, nor kindness, nor tithing, nor weeping, nor prayers, nor
morality, nor baptism, nor gender, nor age, nor ethnic identity, nor would it
have mattered if people inside some of the homes didn't taste their lamb
because the Lord was looking for only one thing: the blood.
Now as long as the blood was applied as directed; even the Wiccans, the
Voodoo priests, the mediums, the terrorists, the Hamas, the Hezbollah, the
Syrians, the Palestinians, the LGBT, and North Korea's Kim family dynasty
would've been safe inside those homes because the people's personal
conduct wasn't important that night.
● 1 Cor 5:7 . . Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us.
FAQ: How might someone participate in Christ's Passover?
REPLY: I suggest an RSVP
Find a quiet spot, anyplace will do.
Cover your face with your hands for a sense of connection and tell God, in
your own words, out loud or under your breath, that you've thus far not
measured up to His standards and you're pretty sure you never will. Tell Him
you'd like to take advantage of His son's crucifixion to protect yourself from
retribution.
People need speak up like that only once and never again because Christ's
crucifixion is very much superior to the Levitical atonement system.
For example: the great day of atonement, a.k.a. Yom Kippur, is always
catching up; it can't even keep up, let alone get ahead. The moment the
annual ritual ends, people begin accumulating sins towards the next Yom
Kippur; which is a whole year away.
In contrast, Jesus' crucifixion atoned for the people's entire lifetime-- their
past life, their current life, and tomorrow's life. Consequently those who take
advantage of his crucifixion to protect themselves from retribution are
guaranteed to be passed over at the great white throne event depicted by
Rev 20:11-15 where people that are unprotected will be slammed with a
mode of death akin to a foundry worker falling into a kettle of molten iron.
_
When the Lord journeyed thru the land of Egypt during the original Passover
described in the 12th chapter of Exodus; He wasn't looking for piety, nor
repentance, nor charity, nor religion, nor perseverance, nor courage, nor
confession, nor kindness, nor tithing, nor weeping, nor prayers, nor
morality, nor baptism, nor gender, nor age, nor ethnic identity, nor would it
have mattered if people inside some of the homes didn't taste their lamb
because the Lord was looking for only one thing: the blood.
Now as long as the blood was applied as directed; even the Wiccans, the
Voodoo priests, the mediums, the terrorists, the Hamas, the Hezbollah, the
Syrians, the Palestinians, the LGBT, and North Korea's Kim family dynasty
would've been safe inside those homes because the people's personal
conduct wasn't important that night.
● 1 Cor 5:7 . . Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us.
FAQ: How might someone participate in Christ's Passover?
REPLY: I suggest an RSVP
Find a quiet spot, anyplace will do.
Cover your face with your hands for a sense of connection and tell God, in
your own words, out loud or under your breath, that you've thus far not
measured up to His standards and you're pretty sure you never will. Tell Him
you'd like to take advantage of His son's crucifixion to protect yourself from
retribution.
People need speak up like that only once and never again because Christ's
crucifixion is very much superior to the Levitical atonement system.
For example: the great day of atonement, a.k.a. Yom Kippur, is always
catching up; it can't even keep up, let alone get ahead. The moment the
annual ritual ends, people begin accumulating sins towards the next Yom
Kippur; which is a whole year away.
In contrast, Jesus' crucifixion atoned for the people's entire lifetime-- their
past life, their current life, and tomorrow's life. Consequently those who take
advantage of his crucifixion to protect themselves from retribution are
guaranteed to be passed over at the great white throne event depicted by
Rev 20:11-15 where people that are unprotected will be slammed with a
mode of death akin to a foundry worker falling into a kettle of molten iron.
_
Definition of “in”—“something located inside a specific space.” Believing IN Jesus is just what it says—believing in something ( in this case SOMEONE) in a specific space, in this case a specific person.
Definition of “ON”—something that is touching something else, whether physically or metaphorically.” In this case, believing on His name is simply believing in Jesus because His name is “touching Jesus, metaphorically.
God’s word does not differentiate between believing on His name or believing in Him. There is no distinguishable difference. It all amounts to the same thing in the long run. Since God did not differentiate between these two expressions, neither should we.
I have no idea exactly what DJT_47 was getting at (he'll have to speak for himself),
but I do think it's fine to point out that the word "believe", in scripture, refers to a number of understandings and processes which all sort of occur simultaneously.
In English we use the word "believe" to signify something like "assent to a proposition."
But in the Bible, that simple term is rich, and deep, with many layers of understanding... which are all part of turning our life over to Christ.
Again, I'm not sure what DJT_47 was talking about, but I'm not talking about any works that occur after salvation.
I'm just pointing out the the word believe, in scripture, has a lot of depth.
God Bless.
.
I completely agree. The context provides nuanced meanings throughout Scripture. The query was likely the result of a question I directed to another member about belief plus what qualified one for eternal life.
Sispey,
Nothing in post# 11 addresses any of the issues in post# 44.
You are the one pushing faith alone regeneration theology.
In what sequence must our faith progress to "be accomplished for someone inquiring about what it takes to be saved?
Just be honest and address the issue.
How much faith?
Faith in what?
Faith in what order?
Faith to what degree?
I am afraid we have both misunderstood each other. No problem. But that’s way too many questions for me to answer. I am just a sinner saved by grace, not a Theologian.
John 15 verse 5c; Philippians 2 verse 13 ~ Apart from Me you can do nothing. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
Where is the part about
Drinking his blood
And eating his flesh?
Unless you did this
Jesus stated
You do not have
No life in you.
An elaboration "believe" by including what is implied by that word that could serve as the Christian creed is this:
The normative way of stating the kerygma/GRFS per Paul in the NT is “Accept Christ Jesus as Lord” (as in 2Cor. 4:5 & Col. 2:6).
The main points of Christian orthodoxy implicit in this statement can be explained or elaborated as follows:
- There is a/one all-loving and just Lord or God (Deut. 6:4, John 3:16, 2Thes. 1:6), who is both able (2Tim. 1:12) and willing (1Tim. 2:3-4, Ezek. 33:11) to provide all morally accountable human beings salvation or heaven—a wonderful life full of love, joy and peace forever.
- Human beings are selfish or sinful (Rom. 3:23, 2Tim. 3:2-4, Col. 3:5), miserable (Gal. 5:19-21), and hopeless (Eph. 2:12) or hell-bound at the judgment (Matt. 23:33 & 25:46) when they reject God’s salvation (John 3:18, Rom. 2:5-11).
- Jesus is God’s Messiah/Christ and incarnate Son, the way that God has chosen (John 3:16, Acts 16:30-31, Phil. 2:9-11) of providing salvation by means of his atoning death on the cross for the payment of the penalty for the sins of humanity (Rom. 3:22-25 & 5:9-11), followed by his resurrection to reign in heaven (1Cor. 15:14-28).
- Thus, every person who hears the NT Gospel needs to repent and accept God’s justification in Jesus as Christ/Messiah the Lord or Supreme Commander (Luke 2:11, John 14:6, Acts 16:31), which means trying to obey His commandment to love one another (Matt. 22:37-40, John 13:35, Rom. 13:9)—forever (Matt. 10:22, Psa. 113:2).
- Then God’s Holy Spirit will establish a saving relationship with those who freely accept Him (Rev. 3:20) that will eventually achieve heaven when by means of persevering in learning Truth/God’s Word/sanctification everyone cooperates fully with His will (John 14:6, 17&26, Rom. 8:6-17, Gal. 6:7-9, Eph. 1:13-14, Heb. 10:36, 12:1, Jam. 1:2-4).
Yes, those who were saved believed the Gospel and were baptized.
Faith not followed by works = manifested by baptism of the Spirit is not genuine.
Just for clarification for you, you are not and cannot be saved prior to baptism. What are you being saved from? It's your past sins and those are removed at the time of baptism, not before. So, if you're still in sin at the point of your belief, you're NOT saved.
1st Peter 3:20-21
20Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 21The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
Acts 22:16
And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’