Sermon Central
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What Does It Mean To Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ?
Contributed by Jimmy Chapman on Nov 5, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: To accept the WORDS of Jesus To appropriate the WORK of Jesus To appreciate the WORTH of Jesus
Acts 16:30,31
What Does It Mean To Believe On The Lord Jesus Christ?
What is the determining factor in salvation? Exactly what does a person have to do to be saved. The Bible does not leave us in the dark!
In Acts 16 the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas , “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” and they answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”
The jailor was asking, “What one thing is absolutely necessary for my salvation?” And the answer was , “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
In John 3:36 Jesus divides the world into two groups. “ He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” In John 3:18, again, Jesus divides the world into two groups. “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
The determining factor in salvation is faith. Believe denies salvation by character and discredits salvation by works, but it declares salvation by trust.
Galatians 3:26 states “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
“BELIEVERS” is a term that describes our CONVICTIONS about Christ.
What does in mean to believe in Jesus?
I. To believe means to hear and ACCEPT the WORDS Of Jesus Christ
The words of Jesus recorded in the Bible expose our sins and exalt the Saviour.
When one believes the WORDS of Jesus, they accept the fact that they are a sinner in need of a Saviour.
When one believes the WORDS of Jesus, the accept the fact that what he says about man’s nature and need as true.
When one believes the WORDS of Jesus, they hear and accept the statement of Jesus when he said, “Ye must be born again.”
When on believes the WORDS of Jesus, they hear and accept the declaration “I am the way, the truth, and the life......”
The essence of faith lies in this, casting one-self on a promise.
When on believes the WORDS of Jesus, the hear and accept the pronouncements that He made about Hell, the eternal destination of all unbelievers.
To believe means one has heard what Jesus said about the must of salvation and the means of salvation.
See John 8:37. They were so filled with pride, and prejudice, and false notions, that they would not receive His truth; and as they had not received His truth and could not bear it, they sought to kill him. They sought to kill him because they were not a beliver.
II. To believe means to trust and APPROPRIATE the WORK of Jesus
Jesus came to do something no one else could do. He came to die for sinful man. He came to die as the sinless Son of God to pay for the penalty of our sins. He came to be the sinner’s substitute.
Matthew 20:28 “the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
He came to give His life for the sheep.
In the work of Jesus:
A. Law was magnified - Matthew 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”
Jesus kept the law in spirit and in letter. He kept the law in its injunctions and its intentions. Jesus fulfilled the demands of the moral law, and he fulfilled the details of the ceremonial law.
He even challenged the enemies, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” He challenged them to take the entire mosaic law in all its 613 commandments and test his life by its letter and spirit, by its sum and substance, by its precepts and principles. He dared them to go to his home, to question those who had lived with him, his mother and his siblings, to see if he had ever done anything less than perfect. He challenged them to go to Nazareth and talk to anyone and everyone he had ever done business with to see if they could find the slightest flaw in his conduct. Trace his footsteps and see if you can find even the slightest imperfection in him.
B. Justice was satisfied
Justice for sin demands a penalty. When Jesus die on the cross of Calvary as my substitute, justice was satisfied (2 Corinthians 5:21).
God did not overlook sin, but He forced it out into the open where He dealt with in a way that honored His righteous character. All the vileness of the sinner was transferred to the substitute, and all the virtue of the substitute is transferred to the sinner that believes. The cross of Calvary makes it possible for God to be both just and the Justifier.
