Is “Believing” in God Enough???
John 8
The Truth Will Set You Free (31-38)
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered Him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill Me because My Word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
You Are of Your Father the Devil (39-47)
They answered Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.” They said to Him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of My own accord, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear My Word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
Before Abraham Was, I Am (48-59)
The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. Yet I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks it, and He is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My Word, he will never see death.” The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps My Word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known Him. I know Him. If I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know Him and I keep His Word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
According to this passage, if you…
a) Do not fully love Christ
OR
b) Do not attempt to abide in God’s Word
OR
c) Have any disregard for the practice of righteous (sin-free) living
OR
d) Have any aversion towards doing the things which are pleasing and glorifying to the Lord
(also known as: failing to follow God’s Word)
OR
e) Cannot clearly understand/know/hear God’s Word or reject the Truth
OR
f) Refuse to believe in Christ’s identity: “I AM”
…well then, if you fall into any of the above groups, you can go ahead and say you believe in God all you want; there are indications it might not be true! Your belief is not consistent with being a true child of God, according to Jesus’ own testimony. Hence you have potentially fallen into the same trap; your belief could be a false one, just as it was for the Jews of Jesus’ day. The Jews were very confident they were God’s chosen people and that they would be heavenly residents as per the Abrahamic Covenant; a guaranteed covenant. This can be likened to some “Christians” who believe they said a prayer to accept Jesus’ and received a “fire insurance” policy as an eternal guarantee in exchange. However, whether it be the Jews falsely asserting the Abrahamic Covenant and circumcision, or the fire insurance “Christians” falsely presenting a prayer and a baptism as their heavenly guarantee; anyone that believes these faulty things, based on erroneous methods of salvation, do not have God as their Father. Hey, even the demons believe (Jas 2:19) – and their father is the devil, along with faulty believers (as per this passage: v44). Demons are eternally condemned and destined to the everlasting lake of fire, along with all those who believe falsely (Rev 20:13-15). Look, truth be told, many will be duped even up to Judgment Day. They will believe they are saved, but they will not be (Matt 7:21-23). They will hear these daunting words from Christ Himself, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
If you are unsure, or your salvation is not 100% guaranteed as far as you’re concerned, there is still great hope to get this firmed up and live the life of freedom that Christ had taught about in this passage; this all due to God’s amazing grace. Rectify any problems in this regard ASAP…for God’s sake, as well as your own! I would love to help you figure this out. Also, here is a link that could assist you: http://knowgod.com/en/fourlaws/?utm_source=4laws&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=4laws-visit&utm_content=english.
Please reach out to me if you are having any trouble making sense of all this…
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)