Many unsaved people have the heathen mindset that they have faith in God, but do
not regard the name of Jesus. I once witnessed to a man who replied by
expressing his love for God. It appeared that he truly loved God as he spoke
highly concerning Him. But then I mentioned the name of Jesus Christ and he
immediately cursed, saying, “Ah, I don't believe in that @#$%^&*!” I knew
immediately that the man was lost and on his way to Hell without Christ.
The Bible teaches that God manifest (i.e., revealed, made known) himself to the world through the person of Jesus, the Christ, the only begotten Son of God. John 14:9, “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” Jesus Christ came into the world—the Godhead incarnate (in the flesh). Literally, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were manifest to mankind in the body and person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:9, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” God revealed Himself to the world through Jesus Christ!!!
When Jesus spoke, God was speaking. Jesus is called the Word of God, because Jesus is the living Word, and the Bible is the written Word. John 1:1-3 and 14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ... And the Word was made 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.” God (the Godhead) was born by a miraculous virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23) into the world, for the purpose of bearing witness to the truth that He is the Christ. John 18:37, “Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”
May I say, confidently my friend, that faith in God means absolutely NOTHING if you do not recognize Jesus Christ as GOD IN THE FLESH. 1st John 2:21-23, “I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” Anyone who denies that Jesus is the ONLY way (the Christ) to Heaven is a LIAR!!! The Bible speaks THE TRUTH, and no lie is of the truth!!! The world's cultures have been bombarded with lies since the beginning of mankind, because Satan is trying to lead people astray and into the fires of the Lake of Fire forever.
This particular article addresses the truth that faith in God is void if it's not faith in Jesus Christ as God in the flesh. But let me also add briefly that faith in a perverted view of Christ is effectively the same thing. That is, if you deny Christ's deity as do Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Science followers, then in effect you are denying Christ, because you are denying that Christ is almighty God as Revelation 1:8, John 10:33, Colossians 2:9 and John 1:1-3 teaches (all references to the King James Bible). Roman Catholics elevate Mary to godlike status, even deifying Mary as a co-redeemer in many religious circles, blaspheming the deity of Christ by perverting the Doctrine of Christ. The great battle of every generation is THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST (that is, all that the Bible teaches us concerning the Lord Jesus Christ).
Satan knows that if he can subtly introduce ANOTHER Jesus, or ANOTHER spirit, or ANOTHER gospel than what the Word of God teaches, then He can lead you into false religion and into the fires and damnation of Hell forever. 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” Have you believed a lie?
Jesus taught us to “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES”
in John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me.” The Scriptures testify
truthfully of Jesus Christ. Joel Osteen speaks of everything else, as do most
other false prophets these days. A genuine Bible preacher uplifts, glorifies,
loves, honors, exalts, praises, thanks and teaches about the precious Lord Jesus
Christ!!! False prophets talk about self, the energy that binds all life, the
life's power of the universe, God in vague generalized terms and humanistic
religious terms that lead people to trust in themselves or other frail, flawed
and errant humans. In sharp contrast the King James Bible teaches us to trust
upon the Lord Jesus Christ, Who lived a sinless life, God in the flesh, our
great God and Savior!!! Amen and amen!
Salvation is Found Only in the Name Of Jesus
Acts 4:10-12, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
The Bible teaches that God the Father sent His only begotten Son into the world to die for our sins, so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life. John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” As you just read, clearly, salvation is only found through faith in Jesus as the Christ. God the Father didn't send His Son Jesus to condemn anyone; but rather, to save men from their sins. Likewise, our duty as Christians is not to condemn sinners (of whom we are all included); but rather, to preach the gospel in an effort to bring the lost to Christ to be saved (Romans 1:16).
The Bible condemns all mankind. It's the Law of God that condemns humanity, teaching us that the curse of God's Law is upon all mankind. Galatians 3:22-24 plainly teaches that the purpose of God's Law is to reveal man's wickedness, showing us how exceedingly sinful we really are, and then pointing us to the blessed Savior, Who has made a way of escape through His precious blood sacrifice. Galatians 3:22-24, “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
Isn't that beautiful? You'll never hear Biblical truth like this from heretics like Iyanla Vanzant and Oprah Winfrey, two of the biggest false prophets of our generation. Dr. Vanzant persistently talks about the power from within, humanism and new age concepts; whereas the holy Scriptures teach that man in sinful, deserving of punishment in Hell forever. But thanks be to God the Father, Who in His abundant love gave His only begotten Son for us all. Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe, because we all owed a sin debt that we could not pay. Thank God for the gift of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ Who DIED, was BURIED and miraculously RESURRECTED three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).
Revelation 19:13, “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.” The Bible testifies of Christ, because Christ is the manifestation of God almighty to humanity. To reject Jesus is to reject God. To receive Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, is to receive God the Father. John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Roman Catholics cannot get to Heaven by keeping their Seven Sacraments. Nor can Lutherans get to Heaven by keeping their Two Sacraments (Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, as they call it). Sacramental salvation is of the Devil. Water baptism is NOT necessary for salvation and Lutherans, Church of Christ and Episcopalian adherents who trust in it will go to Hell. It's Jesus or Hell. Religious dogma is the enemy of the gospel. Salvation is secured by simple faith in the gospel (Christ's death, burial and resurrection). There is no other way to be saved. Mankind's isms and schisms, and man's intelligencia cannot help him get to Heaven.
We are saved exclusively by Christ's righteousness, that is, through the righteousness of God which is imputed to every believer at the moment of salvation. Romans 4:5-6, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.”
We are also taught in 1st Timothy 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Modern corrupt Bible versions butcher 1st Timothy 3:16, watering the meaning down to a mere, “he was revealed in a body” (New International Version). Instead of the direct proclamation that “God was manifest in the flesh,” the errant NIV renders the Scripture meaningless, leaving the reader to ponder the vagueness of who the pronoun “he” suggests, and what sort of “body” is the context referring to? Clearly, the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ is under attack by Satan.
I have shared with you the truth from the Bible. I hear so many people talking about “searching for God.” My friend, you don't need to search for God if you SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES as Jesus commanded (John 5:39). Learn of Christ and you will learn of God. Receive Jesus as the Christ and you will have also received God. I believe that Jesus is the Messiah Who was prophesized by the Old Testament prophets to come into the world to save men from their sins... DO YOU?
