Believe Jesus
Faith is so easy that most people stumble right over it, looking for something more complicated. It just means believing. We all believe something. But the faith that God wants isn't based on what we believe. It's based on who we believe.
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me." (John 14:6) Jesus is the One we must believe to be saved. That's it. That's the whole plan of salvation in a nutshell. Believe Jesus, and we will have eternal life. We're not talking theological faith, i.e. faith about Jesus (e.g. that he existed, that he is God, or that his mother was a virgin) even though that may all be true. We are talking about believing Him. Believe what he said, and we will be saved. Disbelieve what he said, and we are lost.
If all the arguments from the different churches confuse us, why not get away from them all and just listen to Jesus. If we can't do that, then our chances of salvation are pretty slim. God is a jealous God, and he doesn't want us believing anyone more than we believe him (or, in this case, his Son).
It's not that there isn't some truth in the churches, but believing a church will not save us. Only believing Jesus will save us. We have to keep listening to Jesus, and not let anyone talk us out of it.
II Corinthians 11:14 says the Devil will come to us disguised as an "angel of light". Jesus said that people would come in his name, and they would even claim to do miracles and cast out devils, but they would still be trying to steer us away from him. (Matthew 7:22) Obviously they are going to sound convincing... but the bottom line is that they will tell us that we do not need to believe Jesus to be saved. They will tell us to believe them to be saved, to believe a whole lot of church leaders to be saved, or even to believe the Bible to be saved, all of which sounds good. But the end result is that they will teach us that we do not need to believe Jesus to be saved. And that is very wrong!
Now here are some things that Jesus said. We should ask ourselves if we believe him when he says these things to us today. If we don't, then we are lost - condemned to hell - because our faith is in someone else... someone who told us that we don't need to believe Jesus to be saved.
JESUS SAID: "Anyone who does not forsake all that they own cannot be a Christian." (Luke 14:25-33) This can be easily looked up in the Bible and read for ourselves.
JESUS SAID: "Anyone who hears my teachings and does not obey them is building his faith on sand. When the 'storm' comes, that 'house' will collapse." (Matthew 7:13-27) The storm is God's judgment, and the collapse is our eternal damnation... all because we did not obey the teachings of Jesus. Is that what our church leaders are teaching?
JESUS SAID: "Depart from me" to those who did not visit prisoners, feed the hungry, visit the sick, clothe the naked, etc. He said that they would "Go away into everlasting punishment because they did not help the needy," but those who did do those things would "go into eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46) This is about eternal salvation, and it is about Jesus' plan of salvation, not some bargain basement discount offered by some church leader.
JESUS SAID: "Anyone who is ashamed of me and of my teachings... I will also be ashamed of them when I come in the glory of my Father." (Mark 8:34-38) It is good to read this passage. There's more than what is written here, and it's all challenging stuff.
When asked by a man how he could have eternal life, JESUS TOLD the man to "Sell all that you have, and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Luke 18:18-25) Remember, this is in answer to the question of how to have eternal life. Is that what we want? Then perhaps we should listen more seriously to how JESUS answered that question.
JESUS SAID: that God wants to give us the kingdom, but that we should "take no thought" for material things; we should sell all that we have and give to the poor if we want to receive it. (Luke 12:22-33) Do we want to be a part of the kingdom (of heaven)? Have we done what Jesus said we must do to inherit it?
The list goes on and on. Over and over Jesus said that people needed to discipline themselves according to his teachings if they wanted to be considered Christians (i.e. disciples). His teachings, his words, his commands, were always the key factor, and not theological statements. (See Luke 6:46)
So, in conclusion, the only "faith" that will save us must be faith in Jesus, and that means believing everything that he said. Do we believe it? And if we say we do, are we acting like we believe it?
Faith is so easy that most people stumble right over it, looking for something more complicated. It just means believing. We all believe something. But the faith that God wants isn't based on what we believe. It's based on who we believe.
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me." (John 14:6) Jesus is the One we must believe to be saved. That's it. That's the whole plan of salvation in a nutshell. Believe Jesus, and we will have eternal life. We're not talking theological faith, i.e. faith about Jesus (e.g. that he existed, that he is God, or that his mother was a virgin) even though that may all be true. We are talking about believing Him. Believe what he said, and we will be saved. Disbelieve what he said, and we are lost.
If all the arguments from the different churches confuse us, why not get away from them all and just listen to Jesus. If we can't do that, then our chances of salvation are pretty slim. God is a jealous God, and he doesn't want us believing anyone more than we believe him (or, in this case, his Son).
It's not that there isn't some truth in the churches, but believing a church will not save us. Only believing Jesus will save us. We have to keep listening to Jesus, and not let anyone talk us out of it.
II Corinthians 11:14 says the Devil will come to us disguised as an "angel of light". Jesus said that people would come in his name, and they would even claim to do miracles and cast out devils, but they would still be trying to steer us away from him. (Matthew 7:22) Obviously they are going to sound convincing... but the bottom line is that they will tell us that we do not need to believe Jesus to be saved. They will tell us to believe them to be saved, to believe a whole lot of church leaders to be saved, or even to believe the Bible to be saved, all of which sounds good. But the end result is that they will teach us that we do not need to believe Jesus to be saved. And that is very wrong!
Now here are some things that Jesus said. We should ask ourselves if we believe him when he says these things to us today. If we don't, then we are lost - condemned to hell - because our faith is in someone else... someone who told us that we don't need to believe Jesus to be saved.
JESUS SAID: "Anyone who does not forsake all that they own cannot be a Christian." (Luke 14:25-33) This can be easily looked up in the Bible and read for ourselves.
JESUS SAID: "Anyone who hears my teachings and does not obey them is building his faith on sand. When the 'storm' comes, that 'house' will collapse." (Matthew 7:13-27) The storm is God's judgment, and the collapse is our eternal damnation... all because we did not obey the teachings of Jesus. Is that what our church leaders are teaching?
JESUS SAID: "Depart from me" to those who did not visit prisoners, feed the hungry, visit the sick, clothe the naked, etc. He said that they would "Go away into everlasting punishment because they did not help the needy," but those who did do those things would "go into eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46) This is about eternal salvation, and it is about Jesus' plan of salvation, not some bargain basement discount offered by some church leader.
JESUS SAID: "Anyone who is ashamed of me and of my teachings... I will also be ashamed of them when I come in the glory of my Father." (Mark 8:34-38) It is good to read this passage. There's more than what is written here, and it's all challenging stuff.
When asked by a man how he could have eternal life, JESUS TOLD the man to "Sell all that you have, and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Luke 18:18-25) Remember, this is in answer to the question of how to have eternal life. Is that what we want? Then perhaps we should listen more seriously to how JESUS answered that question.
JESUS SAID: that God wants to give us the kingdom, but that we should "take no thought" for material things; we should sell all that we have and give to the poor if we want to receive it. (Luke 12:22-33) Do we want to be a part of the kingdom (of heaven)? Have we done what Jesus said we must do to inherit it?
The list goes on and on. Over and over Jesus said that people needed to discipline themselves according to his teachings if they wanted to be considered Christians (i.e. disciples). His teachings, his words, his commands, were always the key factor, and not theological statements. (See Luke 6:46)
So, in conclusion, the only "faith" that will save us must be faith in Jesus, and that means believing everything that he said. Do we believe it? And if we say we do, are we acting like we believe it?