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BELIEVE IN THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST FOR SALVATION |
People think of the LORD JESUS CHRIST in different ways. Some just regard Him as a prominent historic figure or great teacher of religion. Even some who claim to be Christians believe that He is no more than a Man who is filled with the Spirit of God. It is highly essential that one must have the correct faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
“And
he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:30-31)
Here are the basic beliefs in the Lord Jesus Christ that enable Christians to be saved.
Believe
the Lord Jesus Christ is the One True God who manifested Himself in the flesh “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Jn.
1:1) “And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn. 1:14) “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God
was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached
among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.” (1 Tim.
3:16) Our
Lord Jesus Christ said: “Therefore I said to
you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you
will die in your sins. . . . They did not understand that He spoke to them of
the Father.” (Jn. 8:24-27) He
said: “I and My Father are one.” (Jn. 10:30) “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the
Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.” (Jn.
14:11) After
Jesus walked on the water His disciples worshipped Him. (Mt. 14:33) After His death, burial and resurrection His
disciples worshipped Him. (Mt. 28:9, 17)
Thomas called Him “My Lord and my God.”
(Jn. 20:28) The
Lord Jesus Christ is the One True God.
Believe
the Lord Jesus Christ is the One True God who became the Savior In order to save mankind from sin there
must be a perfect sacrifice. The sin-bearer
himself must have no sin. There is not
a single human being on earth who could assume that role so God Himself became
the Savior. During the Old Testament
time the One True God declared: “I,
even I, am the LORD (YAHWEH), And besides Me there is no Savior.” (Isa.
43:11) When
God manifested Himself in the flesh as the LORD JESUS CHRIST He is also the
only Savior. (Acts 4:10-12; Tit. 3:4,6)
The One True God and the Lord Jesus Christ are the same Divine Being and
the same Savior.
Believe
the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
therefore He has no sin The Son of God would be born “and
His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6) Jesus
has no human father; He was conceived
of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. (Isa. 7:14; Mt. 1:18-25; Lk.
1:30-35) He is sinless therefore He
alone was able to become sin for us. (2
Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:22; Isa. 53:6) “And
you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no
sin” (1 Jn. 3:5)
Believe
the Lord Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed of God There are more than one hundred Messianic
prophecies in the Old Testament that have already been fulfilled in the Lord
Jesus Christ which proves He is the only true Messiah of God.
Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled
in the Lord Jesus Christ
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Old Testament
Prophecies |
New Testament Fulfillment |
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The seed (descendant) of the woman (Eve) |
Gen. 3:15
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Gal. 4:4
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A descendant of Abraham, blessings to all families of the earth |
Gen. 12:3; 18:18 |
Acts 3:25-26 |
A descendant from the Tribe of Judah
|
Gen. 49:10 |
Mt 1:2; Lk
3:33 |
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An heir to
the throne of David |
Isa. 9:7 |
Lk. 1:32 |
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A prophet like Moses |
Deut. 18:15-19 |
Acts 3:22-23 |
Declared to be the Son of God
|
Psm. 2:7 |
Mt 3:17; 17:5 |
Born in Bethlehem
|
Mic. 5:2 |
Lk. 2:4; 5:7 |
|
Triumphal
entry into Jerusalem as the King riding on a donkey |
Zech. 9:9 |
Mt. 21:1-11 |
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He would be
crucified and experience extreme suffering |
Psm. 22 |
Mt. 27:34-50 |
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He would be
buried with the rich |
Isa. 53:9 |
Mt. 27:57-60 |
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He would
die and be raised from the dead (resurrected) |
Psm. 16:10,11;49:15 |
Mt. 28:5-9; Acts 1:3 |
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He would ascend to Heaven |
Psm. 68:18 |
Mk. 16:19 |
Believe
the Lord Jesus Christ died for your sins The Bible states: “For
all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;" (Rom. 3:23) "For the
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our
Lord." (Rom. 6:23)
"For
there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus;" (1 Tim. 2:5) "For Christ
also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to
God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit;" (1
Pet. 3:18) "But
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8)
Believe
the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ washes away sins The Lord Jesus Christ
took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to His disciples, saying, “For
this is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins.” (Mt. 26:27-28) The
apostle John wrote: “To Him who loved us and washed us from
our sins in His own blood.” (Rev. 1:5) John
was present at the Cross where he personally witnessed the crucifixion of his
Lord. This is what he saw.
“But
one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and
water came out. And he who has seen has
testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows he is telling the truth, so
that you may believe.” (Jn. 19:34-35)
This
miracle of the blood and water that flowed from the Lord’s side integrates two
important events in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. The blood points to His crucifixion and the
water points to His baptism. The
apostle Paul wrote: “Or do you not know that as many of us as
were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through
baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory
of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life.” (Rom.
6:3-4) When
we are baptized into the death of the Lord Jesus Christ His blood cleanses us
from all sins because “This is He who came by
water and blood – Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness,
because the Spirit is truth.” (1 Jn. 5:6)
Believe
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ We are all familiar
with John 3:16. If we continue to read
two more verses we will discover the importance of believing in Jesus’
name. “He
who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God.” (Jn. 3:18)
“These things I have written to you who believe
in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,
and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” (1 Jn.
5:13)
Just before
our Lord gave the Great Commission He proclaimed His supreme powers as King of
the heaven and the earth. He said: "All authority
has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." (Mt. 28:18) The
word "authority" in this verse
is translated from the Greek "exousia",
that means the Lord Jesus Christ have supreme power over everything in the
universe. The authority is in His name "YAHSHUA", Hebrew name for “JESUS” that means “YAHWEH is
Savior.” It is the name God has given to His Son “for He will save His people from sins.” (Mt. 1:21) “To Him all the prophets witness that,
through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”
(Acts 10:43) “Then Peter said to them,
‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts
2:38) “Nor is there salvation in any other,
for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be
saved.” (Acts 4:12) The Early Apostolic Church baptize in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:38; 8:12, 14; 10:48; 19:5)
"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the
name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus (YAHSHUA) every knee
should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the
earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father." (Phil 2:9-11).
The authority
of the name "YAHSHUA" (JESUS)
is so powerful that prayers are answered when invoked in this name (Jn.
14:13-14). Miracles, signs and wonders are performed through the name of Jesus
(Acts 2:22; 3:6-9; 4:30; 9:34). Even demons are subjected to the name. (Lk.
10:17; Mk. 9:38; 16:17; Acts 16:18)
This Article is the response of Paul Wong
to a discussion in the ARK Forum on August 12, 2002
For comments please write first to: ark@pdq.net
Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International.
His ministry also serves as an architectural service company in Houston.
The ARK Forum on the Internet is international and non-denominational.
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