“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’” (John 11:25-27 ESV)
What Jesus Said
This conversation took place between Jesus and Martha (the sister of Mary and Lazarus) after Lazarus had died and before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. But I am not going to talk about that Bible story now, but I am going to focus on these few verses here and what they mean for us, and with regard to how that applies to our lives today in 2025.
So, the first thing I need to discuss is what it means to “believe” in Jesus Christ. Well, first of all the word is “believing,” which indicates something that is active and ongoing, not something that happened just once. And a good study of the New Testament Scriptures will bear that out, that faith (belief) that is genuine (of God) is not a one-time thing in our lives but it is something that must be lived out in our lives day by day, by the Spirit.
And the word “believe” or “faith” means to be persuaded, i.e. in this sense to be persuaded by God. For not one of us can even come to faith in Jesus Christ of our own doing, but only if God the Father first draws us to Christ and he persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness and of our sinfulness and of our need to forsake our sinful practices, to die with him to sin, and to now walk with him in obedience to his commands, in his power, by his grace.
[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2]
So, what Jesus said to Martha was, basically, that whoever believes in Jesus Christ with this faith (described above), even though we will one day physically die (unless Jesus returns to take us home first), we will live in the Spirit and we will have eternal life with God, so we will not spiritually die. For we who have died with him to sin and who obey him will live with Christ for eternity.
Idols, not God
But the situation that we are in today, at least here in America where I live, is that so much of the church (or what is falsely being called church) is not teaching the gospel that Jesus taught, but they are teaching a diluted and altered gospel message created in the minds of humans which cuts the gospel in half and which removes the most critical elements to the gospel of our salvation which are necessary for true faith to exist.
And they have made these false gospel messages, and the false church, and some human beings (pastors, politicians, etc.) their gods in place of God (Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit) as their one and only true God. And they are worshiping other humans and false gospels and false churches in place of Jesus Christ as our only Lord (the Christ), and in place of his message of death to sin and walking in obedience to him.
So, they largely have literally hidden the truth of the gospel from the people and they are spreading a half-truth (false) gospel message, instead, and the majority of those professing faith in Jesus Christ appear to be accepting of this half-truth (false) gospel which largely does not require that we die with Christ to sin and that we now walk in obedience to his commands, in his power, by his grace. It is more feel-good stuff.
They are literally sullying the gospel that Jesus taught, and that his NT apostles taught, by not teaching death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands, and by giving their adherents the notion that they can “believe” (rarely biblically defined) in Jesus, have all their sins forgiven, be on their way to heaven, but regardless of how they live. But it isn’t just preachers who are doing this. Some politicians professing faith in Jesus Christ are muddying the gospel message, too. It is not all inclusive.
So, just because someone says, “I am a Christian,” or “I believe in Jesus Christ,” it doesn’t mean that they truly are biblically defined Christians and that they believe in the biblical Jesus and all that he is and was and taught and practiced. Pay attention to all that they say and what gospel message they are really conveying. And pay attention to whatever else they say that they believe in or that they accept and/or embrace. Not all is Christian. Much of it is very ecumenical and all-inclusive of different faiths.
And don’t make other humans your god or your savior. So many people calling themselves “Christians” are idolizing other human beings as though they are gods, or as though they are our saviors who are going to rescue us from what ails us as a nation, or as the world. But what ails us is sin, and only Jesus Christ is the solution for sin. Only he could and did die in order to put our sins to death with him so that now, by God-persuaded faith in him we will die to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands.
For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him, in practice. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. We will die in our sins, and we will not inherit eternal life with God. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands, then we have eternal life in him.
Judged by Our Works
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
Idolatry
[1 Corinthians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Corinthians 10:1-33; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 3:5-10; 1 Peter 4:1-5; 1 John 5:21; Revelation 21-22]
Your Grace Divine
An Original Work / November 6, 2011
All I have is Yours, Lord.
You gave all to me,
When You died at Calv’ry
On that cruel tree.
Crucified for my sins;
You paid what I owe,
So I’d be forgiven;
My God come to know.
All I have is Yours, Lord.
You gave all to me,
When You died at Calv’ry
On that cruel tree.
Lord, I am so thankful
For Your grace divine.
I invited You, Lord,
In this heart of mine.
I have been forgiven
For all of my sins,
So I’d live with Jesus;
His grace flow within.
Lord, I am so thankful
For Your grace divine.
I invited You, Lord,
In this heart of mine.
Growing in Your grace, Lord;
Live for You each day;
How I love to worship
You throughout my day.
Sitting at Your feet, Lord,
List’ning to You speak,
Leads me to love You, Lord,
More throughout the week.
Growing in Your grace, Lord;
Live for You each day;
How I love to worship
You throughout my day.
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