“Whoever believes in Him”

Texts: John 3:16 John 11:26 John 20:31

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave

His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him

shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 11:25-36 “I am the resurrection and the life;

he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and

whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”

John 20:31 “these things have been written so that

you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of

God; and that believing you may have life in His

name.”

Beliefs about Jesus

He was born of a virgin

He performed miracles

He led a sinless life

He was a powerful teacher

He died a sacrificial death

He rose from the dead

He bodily ascended

He has plans to return one day

(these are factual beliefs)

Working for Jesus

They may call Him “Lord”

Acts 2:21: ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

1 Cor. 12:3: “Therefore I make known to you that

no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus

is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,”

except by the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 10:13: “Whoever will call on the name of

the Lord will be saved.” (see also Joel 2:32)

They may promote, preach, and prophesy in the Name of Jesus

They may engage in victorious spiritual warfare

They may have the faith to do miracles in His name

The reality of UNCONVERTED BELIEVERS

There are MANY who fit this description (v.22)

They believe that they are saved

They believe their works should count for something

But they do not obey God’s will (v.21)

But they do not submit to God’s law (v.23)

In Matthew 7:20-23 Jesus declared,

“So then, you will know them by their fruits.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will

enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does

the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did

we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name

ast out demons, and in Your name perform many

miracles?

Did I not volunteer to work in VBS or teach

Sunday School

Did I not serve as a deacon

Did I not tithe and give to missions

Shouldn’t that count for something!

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;

depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

‘I never knew you; depart from Me, I never knew

you, depart from Me.” (v.23)

Unconverted believers also believe aboutJesus

They believe that Jesus was real and that He did

these many things. (Just like they believe that

Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address or that the holocaust of WWII led to the death

of 6 million Jews.)

Their belief is in a historical figure and is little more

than agreement to the historical events. It is

focused on THEIR PERSONAL BELIEF of what

Jesus did in the past.

They may have even learned the Christian lingo,

but their lives and hearts have not been changed.

Believing in Jesus means truly believing that …

He is the Son of God that took on flesh when He

was born of a Virgin

He is the Creator and Lord and Master over all Creation (miracles)

He is the Perfect Fulfilment of the Law through

His sinless life

He is the Embodiment of Eternal Truth

He is the Propitiation for Sin through His

substitutionary death

His is the Grantor of Life by His resurrection

and defeat of death

He is the Intercessor before the Father since His

ascension

He is the King preparing to return to establish

His Reign over all

It is all about WHO HE IS that was shown by WHAT HE DID

Merely believing what He did is NOT the same as RESPONDING TO WHO HE IS

ILLUSTRATION: Thief on the Cross - Luke 23:41-43

“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are

receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this

man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying,

“Jesus, remember me when You come in Your

kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you,

today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

ONE CANNOT BELIEVE IN JESUS AND NOT BE RADICALLY CHANGED

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said,

‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of

living water.’ John 7:38)

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Summer Sermon Series

“We are followers of Jesus

Changing the World

One Life at a Time.”

What does it look like to be

“A follower of Jesus ?”

Jesus primary call to people was NOT simply “believe in Me” but it was “Follow Me”