“Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
“And Jesus cried out and said, ‘Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.’” (John 12:42-50 ESV)
It is not enough to just acknowledge the truth of who Jesus Christ is and of what he has done for us in dying on that cross to deliver us from our slavery to sin so that we can now serve him with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. And it is not enough to just verbalize faith in him, especially if we do this secretly and we do not tell anyone, especially out of fear that they may reject us and persecute us and cast us off as unwanted and as unnecessary because we believe differently from them.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:24-26; cf. Luke 9:23-26).
We must forsake our lives of sin, and we must follow our Lord in walks of obedience to him, and we must confess him before other humans, proclaiming not only our faith in him, but his gospel message, too, so that others can also believe in him and have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But we must make certain that “the gospel” we are sharing is the one taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles, as taught in full context and not out of context like many are doing today who want to deceive others.
“So Jesus said to them, ‘The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light...’” (John 12:35-36 ESV)
So, we cannot just make an intellectual assent as to who Jesus is and as to what he did for us on that cross. We must walk (in conduct, in practice) in the light (God/Jesus Christ, the full gospel message, truth, righteousness) and then we will have fellowship with God and with his true church, and the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all sin. For if we say that we have fellowship with God, but while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin), we are liars who do not practice the truth. (see 1 John 1:5-10)
For Jesus said that he came into the world as LIGHT so that whoever believes in him may NOT remain in darkness (sin, wickedness, disobedience). And if anyone hears his words but does not keep (obey) them, he will be judged by the Word of the Lord on the last day and he will not inherit eternal life with God, even if he has made a verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ. For it is not enough to profess him as Lord, but he must BE LORD of our lives, and we must follow him in obedience to his ways.
For Jesus also said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven. So please take this to heart. (see Matthew 7:21-23).
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Matthew 24:9-14; Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:35-58; John 8:31-32; John 10:27-30; John 14:15,21,23-24; John 15:1-11; Acts 26:18]
Who Believes?
An Original Work / October 3, 2013
Based off Isaiah 53
Gospel message, who believes?
Jesus Christ died on a tree,
Saving us from all our sin,
So we might be cleansed within.
Had no beauty found in Him,
That we should desire Him.
Man of sorrows, suffering;
Crushed for our iniquities.
Surely He has borne our griefs;
From our sadness, brings relief.
Bore the stripes; forsaken, He,
So forgiven we might be.
We, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us turned his own way.
Jesus calls, “Repent today;
My commandments, now obey.”
Jesus said, to come to him,
We must die to all our sin.
Crucified with Him, we live,
Walking in His righteousness.
Suff’ring servants, we will be,
Taking His identity on us,
When confessing Him
As our Savior, Lord and King.
https://vimeo.com/115517757
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