I’ve had many conversations with my family about the Bible, some more productive than others. During one of our conversations, my mother asked me, “Why do you believe in Christ Ahnsahnghong? Doesn’t the Bible say you should only believe in Jesus?” She mentioned Romans 10:9, which says…
Romans 10:9 – If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Here the Bible says we should declare and believe in our hearts in Jesus. Then, how could I say I believe in my heart in Christ Ahnsahnghong? I wondered exactly how I should explain this to her. I believe this verse is absolutely true. Many people use it as the foundation of their faith, or only this verse to prove their faith in Jesus. But why? Is this the whole picture? If I’m going to believe in something, I need to see more angles than just one. thinking of this, many questions came to mind…
- Does she believe it just because Apostle Paul wrote it? Then, what about the other things he wrote people don’t do?
- Believing in Jesus alone is enough? Is it that simple?
- Did Apostle Paul really teach just believe in Jesus? That’s it?
- The Bible has thousands of verses, so can the truth just be one verse?
Thinking of these questions, I addressed the first one.
Because Apostle Paul Wrote it?
First question. Why does she believe that verse is true? She said she believes in Jesus because Apostle Paul wrote that verse (Romans 10:9), believing that God directed Apostle Paul and all the writers of the Bible. No problem. I believe this is true also. So I asked her about another teaching from Apostle Paul.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 – Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch — as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival…
Here, Apostle Paul concluded his message by using the word, “therefore.” His conclusion was for us, as Christians, to keep the Festival, meaning keep the Passover. So then Apostle Paul, the one directed by God as a Christian, also said we should keep the Passover. But, she didn’t agree. Why not? I’m confused…
She believed that God guided Apostle Paul when he wrote Romans 10:9, but when he wrote 1 Corinthians 5:7, it’s not clear what he was saying. It’s actually very clear. We should do both. So, I asked her, “Why do you not want to keep the Passover?” She did not have a clear answer. This was a big problem I always had with churches I had gone to in the past. Unlike them, we should believe the whole Bible.
Believe Alone is Enough?
The second point comes from a false assumption most people make when they read Romans 10:9. Looking at it again, it says…
Romans 10:9 – If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Just believe in Jesus? That’s it? Surely, it’s not that simple…
James 2:19 – You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demos believe that — and shudder.
Even demons believe in God and believe Jesus is Lord. I seriously do not think demons would expect to enter heaven. So if they believe, surely believing is not enough. Jesus himself told us that believe alone is not enough.
Matthew 7:21 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
But wait! They declared Jesus is Lord like Apostle Paul said! How can they not enter heaven? It’s obvious that our faith must have something else. If Apostle Paul was the one who followed the example of Christ, then could he have really taught people to only believe in Jesus and do nothing else?
Just Believe and Be Saved? That’s it?
Jesus Himself never taught us to just believe in Him and do nothing else. Neither did Apostle Paul.
1 Corinthians 11:1 – Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Apostle Paul received many teachings and commands from Jesus that he put in to practice. To understand what we need to do, we can look at the life of Apostle Paul.
- Apostle Paul kept the Sabbath Day every week (Acts 18:4)
- Apostle Paul kept the Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
- Apostle Paul was compelled to preach the Gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16)
Through the example of the life of Apostle Paul, we can see that he did not teach just believe in Jesus and be saved. Among the many things he taught, believing in Jesus is simply the foundation of our faith. We should believe in Jesus first, and then keep his teachings and commands.
A while after this conversation, I found a similar article entitled, “Is it possible to receive salvation only by faith without deeds?”
Why Believe in Christ Ahnsahnghong?
So where does my believe in Christ Ahnsahnghong come from? I will explain in part 2…