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    BELIEVE IN WHAT?

    (John 3:16)

    When Christ said, “Believe in me”; did he mean, in him as a person, or did he mean in him as a representative or personification of truth?  This is a crucial question.  It’s a question that disturbs honest Christians.  It’s a question that divides religious denominations.  It’s a question that affects world relationships.  It’s a question with eternal significance.
    Now, most evangelicals will immediately insist that an individual must believe in Christ as a particular historical character.  Unfortunately this requirement automatically excludes all those people who happen to live in isolated cultures without any knowledge of the Judeo-Christian heritage.  It excludes all those people who come from different backgrounds or use different expressions to describe their spiritual experiences.  This is a serious issue and regardless of what literalists say, it’s not absolutely spelled out in the Scriptures.  Some verses do seem to emphasize belief in Jesus as an individual.  “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” (John 3:36).
    “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47).
    Other verses, however, point beyond Jesus to belief in God.  “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).  “He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me” (John 12:44).
    “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 5:30).
    Many verses mention belief in the “name of Christ”:
    “In his name shall the Gentiles trust” (Matt. 12:21)
    “To them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).
    “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” (John 20:31).
    “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” (John 3:18).
    “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
    The “name of Christ” means, “the nature” of Christ or by the nature of Christ.  To Hebrews, the name of something denoted it’s essence.  Therefore “Christlikeness” is suggested.
    Then, there are numerous verses that stress belief in valid moral principles:
    “Repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).
    “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63).
    “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death” (John 8:31,51).
    “Ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3).
    “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them . . .” (John 17:8).
    Indeed, several passages show that people actually “believed” and functioned as disciples without even knowing who Jesus was:
    “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?  He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?  And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee” (John 9:35-37).
    “Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:37-40).
    Christ, himself, gave considerable leeway in regard to belief.  “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.  But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works; that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me and I in him” (John 10:37-38).
    “If any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.  He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak” (John 12:47-49).
    “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake” (John 14:10-11).
    Perhaps, understanding these deeper insights can help  resolve  Christianity’s  greatest  dilemma.  The terrible dilemma is this:  How can a just God condemn pagans who have never heard of Jesus?  How can a just God condemn devout Jews, Christlike agnostics, and productive humanists?  What about the Jeffersons, the Lincolns, the Schweitzers, the Gandhis and the Sadats?  If souls like these populate hell, then it can’t be all bad!
    Now, before we insist upon one narrow interpretation, let’s remember that Christ said over and over again, it’s not the “Lord, Lord’s” that matter.  It’s the practical fruit and the human concern.  “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21).
    He also said, “Every tree is known by his own fruit.  For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil; for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.  Why call me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:44-46).
    This is the point of his parable of the two sons.  “But what do you think?  A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’  And he answered and said, ‘I will, sir’; and he did not go.  And he came to the second and said the same thing. But he answered and said, ‘I will not’; yet he afterward regretted it and went.  Which of the two did the will of his father?  They said, ‘The latter.’  Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you’ “ (Matt 21:28-31).
    Then, let’s remember that Christ spoke of “other valid sheep” outside the traditional fold.  “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10:16).
    Finally, let’s remember that Christ constantly linked himself with truth:
    “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
    “When he the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:13).
    “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (John 17:17,19).
    “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” (John 18:37).
    So, when Christ said, “Believe in me”, did he mean in him as a person, or did he mean in him as a representative of truth?  The fact is, none of us know exactly what he meant!  Nevertheless, many Scriptures indicate that if you follow truth and love people, then you do believe in Christ, whether or not you use the accepted terminology.   
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This issue of NEW PERSPECTIVES  is an essay from "Opening a Can Of Worms" © copyrighted 1989 by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE IT IN ANY WAY YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE.  The only thing we ask is that you give credit for original material in PUBLISHED works. 

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