Belief: Its Power and Limitations Part 3

VI. Consider some things that God’s word says about Jesus Christ and ask yourself whether man’s belief or unbelief of these things has any bearing on their reality. A. He is of the seed of David. ROM 1:3. B. He was conceived by God in the womb of the virgin, Mary. MAT 1:18-20. C. He is therefore the Son of God, uniquely so. LUK 1:35; JOH 1:18. D. He is God Incarnate. JOH 1:1-3, 14, 1TI 3:16. E. He is fully man, the Son of man: this is the nature He took upon Himself. MAT 16:13; 1TI 2:5; HEB 2:16. F. He is the God-Man, fully God and fully Man. COL 2:9. Belief, Its Power And Limitations 2-5-23 Page 4  G. He is Abraham’s seed to Whom the promises were made. GAL 3:16. H. He is holy, harmless, sinless, undefiled, separate from sinners. HEB 7:26; 1PE 2:22. I. He was baptized and entered public ministry at the appointed time, being about thirty years old. LUK 3:23; GAL 4:4. J. He was approved of God by good works and miracles but was falsely convicted and crucified unto death. ACT 2:22-23. K. He was buried but resurrected and showed Himself alive to men for forty days. 1CO 15:4; ACT 1:3. L. He ascended bodily into heaven to take David’s throne in heaven. ACT 2:29-35. M. He is therefore Lord and Christ (Messiah), the promised One. ACT 2:36; 7:52; 17:2-3. N. He is therefore the Judge of all. ACT 17:31; 10:42. O. He is King and Priest for ever. ISA 9:6-7; REV 11:15; HEB 7:17. P. He is coming back with and for His people. 1TH 4:14-18. 1. Mark the wording, “For if we believe that...” 2. This is obviously not setting up a condition for His return, as if man’s unbelief would forbid Him from returning and raising the dead. 3. It rather sets forth a logical progression: the return of Christ to raise the dead should be as certain in our belief system as His own life, death, burial and resurrection. Q. None of the above declarations of God’s word concerning Jesus Christ are validated by man’s belief nor thwarted by man’s unbelief. They are facts of history, the present and the future that the whole creation must ultimately concede. PHIL 2:5-11. VII. Consider some things that God’s word says about Jesus Christ’s mission and ask yourself whether man’s belief or unbelief of these things has any bearing on its realities. A. He shall save His people from their sins. MAT 1:21. 1. He has a people: they are His. 2. He shall (not “try to,” “could,” “make possible,” etc.) save them from their sins. 3. Their sins shall not persist with them. 1JO 3:2. B. His people were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world by God’s will. EPH 1:3-6. C. His people were given to Him by the Father to utterly save. JOH 6:37-39. D. He gives (not “offers”) them eternal life and they shall never perish. JOH 10:27-29. E. His task of eternally saving them was completed by His obedience unto death. JOH 17:2-4 c/w JOH 19:30; PHIL 2:8. F. His blood was shed to remit their sins and redeem them to satisfy the terms of God’s everlasting covenant with them. MAT 26:28; EPH 1:7; HEB 13:20. G. He took His people’s sins and gave them His righteousness instead. 2CO 5:21. H. The mission and its fulfilment are declared facts of His purpose, method and performance for saving His people. 1. This Jesus is truly the Savior. He actually saved His people as designed. He should not be believed on if He did not do the Father’s works. JOH 4:34 c/w JOH 10:37. 2. There is preached another Jesus (2CO 11:4) who saved nobody by his works; he only made salvation a possibility conditioned upon the sinner’s belief. a. The actual savior there, therefore, is the sinner’s will, not Jesus. b. Ironically, this is the very kind of Jesus that should not be believed in, per JOH 10:37. I. Again, man’s belief or unbelief of the stated facts of the biblical Jesus and His work cannot cause, validate, alter or negate them. Belief, Its Power And Limitations 2-5-23 Page 5 VIII. Consider that Scripture consistently describes the eternal salvation of sinners from the possibility, presence and final penalty of sin (the lake of fire, REV 20:15) by Jesus Christ as a completed part of history as much as it declares Jesus Christ’s conception, birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven as historical realities. He came to take away sin. HEB 9:26; 1JO 3:5. A. (1PE 2:24) Who his own self bare our sins in his own body... B. (HEB 1:3) ...he had by himself purged our sins... C. (ROM 5:8) ...while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. D. (ROM 5:9) ...being now justified by his blood... E. (ROM 5:10) ...we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son... F. (ROM 5:11) ...by whom we have now received the atonement... G. (ACT 13:39) And by him all that believe are justified... H. (ROM 3:24) Being justified freely by his grace... I. (ROM 8:30) ...whom he did predestinate, them he also called...justified...glorified. J. (TIT 3:7) ...being justified by his grace... K. (GAL 3:13) Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law... L. (1PE 1:18-19) ...ye were not redeemed with corruptible things...But with the precious blood of Christ... M. (REV 5:9) ...hast redeemed us to God by thy blood... N. (EPH 1:7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins... O. (COL 1:14) In whom we have redemption though his blood... P. (HEB 9:12) ...he entered in once..., having obtained eternal redemption for us... Q. (2CO 5:18) ...hath reconciled us unto himself by Jesus Christ... R. (REV 1:5) ...Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. S. (COL 1:20-21) And having made peace through the blood...yet now hath he reconciled... T. (1CO 1:30) ...Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. U. (HEB 10:10, 14) By the which will we are sanctified... by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. V. (2TI 1:9) ...hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling... W. (1PE 5:10) ...hath called us unto his eternal glory... X. (EPH 2:6) ...hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places... Y. (TIT 3:5) ...according to his mercy he saved us... Z. Consider the paradox created by those who hold that eternal salvation is conditioned upon the belief of the sinner (Jesus Christ’s work is futile unless/until believed). 1. They assume that none of the above declared facts about eternal salvation’s accomplishment are true: they require one to NOT believe these things! 2. Thus, while touting the power of belief for procuring eternal life, they are (albeit unwittingly in most cases) promoting unbelief of God’s words as the means to procure eternal life! This is a form of doing evil that good may come. ROM 3:8. 3. They will even sing, “Jesus Paid It All” while holding that He didn’t, that He only made a down-payment and the sinner must come up with the balance. 4. They may say, “But all of these things (above) are written to those who made a decision for Jesus Christ and that’s what made them effectual for themselves.” But then righteousness would not be by the obedience of one (ROM 5:19) but at least by two since believing Jesus Christ is a commandment to be obeyed. 1JO 3:23. 5. Boasting is excluded by biblical faith. ROM 3:27. 6. It behooves men, that if they are persuaded that someone has paid off their debt for them, that they should not assume the transaction was invalid until they pay it off themselves, and so walk as free men. GAL 5:1. Belief, Its Power And Limitations 2-5-23 Page 6