According to John’s gospel, Jesus Christ spoke these words:
“Whoever believes in him (the Son) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).
Why is it that simply believing in someone can make the difference between gaining eternal life and being eternally lost? Surely God doesn’t expect us all to believe in someone we can’t even see or hear? Surely scientists, historians and archaeologists of our time -the clever people – have all concluded that there is no God and that Jesus either didn’t exist at all or was deluded or misquoted?
Please forgive me for any ugly ads or gaps in this post. I’ve put my subtitles on the same line as script in an effort to minimise this problem.
MOTIVATION. The message of the New Testament and of the Bible as a whole is not that we should just believe in something or someone against all the claimed evidence, screwing up our eyes and forcing ourselves to visualize Jesus as we might imagine a leprechaun or a pixie. Believing that God exists – a “no-brainer” according to Biblical Scripture – is not a passport to eternal life:
“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (James 2:19).
James is explaining ironically that simply believing God exists doesn’t impress God. Instead, he says, if you have real faith it will be evidenced in the way you live your life. This isn’t a gospel where the more good you do the more likely you are to go to heaven, it’s a matter of your life demonstrating the state of your inner being. Notice that the ministers of Satan “believe” in God, yet their allegiance is elsewhere. Believing isn’t enough – your heart must be in it.
Believing in Jesus isn’t about believing in some abstract intangible concept without reason or purpose, and it isn’t about believing without evidence. On more than one occasion Jesus accused some of those around him of not believing in him – a rather non-sensical observation considering his physical presence and the fact that they were talking with him at the time. They didn’t see him as a ghost or as a mythological figure. They weren’t doubting his physical existence – they were doubting that he was anything more than just an influential teacher, and one they didn’t like. They were doubting his consequence and his claims about who he was:
The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe” (John 10:24-25).
The kind of belief Jesus required was a willing acceptance of who He was. He went on:
“The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:25-27).
FAITH AND FACTS. We don’t have to be aware of any related historical or archaeological evidence for our faith. There is a place for that, and it can be a faith-builder, but it isn’t vital for salvation. People on the street believe in evolution or in a number of other philosophies and religions, often without being aware of any claimed scientific evidence for their faith. They believe in those things because they want to. Their hearts are given over to the notion that they have no creator, no master, no fixed set of principles to follow, and no consequences for their lifestyles.
They are the “sheep” of the theory of Godless creation. They believe that human beings evolved by way of a rock, a bacterium, a fish, a lemur and a monkey, not because they’ve seen the evidence and they’re convinced by it, but because that’s what they’ve chosen to believe, or perhaps because they’ve never been allowed to hear alternative ideas which they could then explore and ponder.
Apologies to the Reformists among you, but I believe the words of Christ:
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).
Christ draws “all” people and not just some. How does Jesus draw “all people” to himself? What is that drawing effect? Whatever it is some of us respond, and some don’t, and it isn’t about how much intelligence you have or don’t have, it’s about where your heart is. Consider scientist Nathaniel Jeanson. He has a PhD in cell and developmental biology from Harvard University. He believes wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ is the son of God, and that in the beginning God made the heavens and the earth. He isn’t the only scientist with that view.
EVERYONE HAS A BIAS. The testimony of Biblical Scripture is that the human mind is guided by bias, and the natural course of humanity is guided by a bias against God and against the son of God. Jesus observed this:
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).
It isn’t about what you force yourself to believe against the evidence (although your bias will guide your conscience in a direction) but according to Jesus it’s about what you love, or more precisely, who you love.
THE DOOR. The gospel of Jesus Christ can be seen as a gateway or door to another world. It’s a narrow, seemingly unimpressive gateway. It has no bars or locks. It has no coded entry or security cameras or face-recognition devices to keep some people out: it’s there for anyone to enter. As Christ said above, He will draw “all” people to himself. If you feel that drawing; if you like what it is that Jesus said and did as recorded in His word – the Bible, and if you like what it stands for, you can and will walk through the gateway, unhindered. On the other side is all the evidence you could ever wish for, available for discovery throughout this life, and obvious in the next as the true reality of eternity:
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10:9).
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).
Fuel for Faith, Food for Thought 