(“Our Focus Must Be On Christ”)

I John 5:1-13 (NASU)

11“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” (I John 5:11-12)

Blessed Lord, speak to us from Your word this morning – help us find greater joy in what Your Scriptures say than in all our material and physical wealth – open the eyes of our minds so we can understand some of the wonderful truths found in this portion of Your inspired word (c.f. Psalm 119:12, 14, 18). In particular, help us see that the focus of our witness must always be on God the Son rather than God the Father, because the Father Himself has ordained that salvation and eternal life can be found solely and only in His Son. We ask these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ – Amen.

(A) ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL

(1) Is it true all religions lead to the same place? Is it true, for example, that Christians and Muslims, Buddhists and Jews all believe in the same God? – and that everyone who believes in God, regardless of whether they address Him as “Allah”, or “Jehovah” or “the Great Spirit”, is going to get into heaven?

(2) In the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, Illinois stands a building known simply as “the Temple”. Its architecture is a combination of synagogue, mosque and cathedral – plus, it utilizes the number nine, which is sacred to members of the Bahai faith who built it. For example, there are nine arches through which a person may enter the building – each representing one of the nine great religions of the world,¹ including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, Loaism, Krishnaism, and of course Bahaism.

(a) The driving principal behind Bahaism is the unity of all religions – the belief that all divine revelation comes from a single source – that men like Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad were all divine messengers – part of God’s progressive revelation to mankind – the last (or most recent) of which is Baha’u’llah, founder of the Bahai faith.²

(b) You may not be familiar with Bahaism or its basic beliefs. But I’ll bet you’ve heard non-Bahais say something like this: “It doesn’t matter what a person believes as long as they’re sincere” – or, “You know, when it gets right down to it, we all worship the same God” – or, maybe you’ve heard someone say they are a Christian because they believe in God. The question is, are these things true? Are there nine (or more) ways to God? Is believing in God all that’s needed to get into heaven?

(3) You won’t find the word “syncretism” in the Bible, but you will find various warnings forbidding its practice. Syncretism occurs whenever people take certain aspects of one religion and combined them with another,³ thereby altering both. Interestingly, many people who say they believe in God have little or no idea how much He hates syncretistic religion.

(a) For example, as the people of Israel prepared to take possession of the Land of Promise, God warned them not to forsake Him and/or replace Him with other gods (like the Canaanite gods, Baal and Asherah), saying in one place: “behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst … rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim – for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God – otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and … play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods” (c.f. Exodus 34:11b-15b).

(b) God also warned the people of Israel not to worship other gods in addition to worshipping Him. Hence, through the prophet Ezekiel God pronounced judgment on those who “committed (spiritual) adultery with their idols”, and then went to worship in His “sanctuary” later “the same day” (c.f. Ezekiel 23:36-39). God also rebuked King Manasseh for bringing altars used for worshipping idols into the temple (c.f. II Kings 21:1-5), in an attempt to syncretize two mutually exclusive forms of worship.

(c) Daniel was literally thrown to the lions because he took God’s warnings about syncretistic worship to heart – i.e. because he refused to obey a law that said people could only pray to the king of the Medes and Persians for thirty days, after which they could go back to praying to whatever god they chose (c.f. Daniel 6:1-18).

Numerous Christians in the first and second centuries A.D. were killed, some in horrific fashion, because they refused to become involved in syncretistic worship – i.e. because they refused to swear annual allegiance to the Roman government by saying, “Caesar is Lord!”, after which they could have gone back to worshipping the true God for the rest of the year without further interference.⁴

One wonders how many people who call themselves Christians today would take a similar stand if confronted with a similar choice!

(4) When properly understood and accurately taught, Christianity is the antithesis of religious syncretism. (a) Indeed, anyone who preaches the true Gospel is going against the grain of religious pluralism,⁵ and the notion all religions are supposed to be equally valid. In an inclusive age, the Christian faith actually makes some very exclusive claims regarding Jesus Christ.⁵

(b) No where is that plainer than in today’s Scripture lesson where the focus, so far as salvation is concerned, is clearly on Christ. For example, verse one says: “Whoever believes … Jesus is the Christ is born of God” (c.f. I John 5:1a) – verse five asks: “Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (c.f. I John 5:5) – while verse ten says: “The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself” (c.f. I John 5:10a) – finally, verse thirteen says: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (c.f. I John 5:13).

If those verses aren’t plain enough, our text cannot be any clearer when it says: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (c.f. I John 5:11-12).

(5) The question I want to answer today is this – Can a person be saved simply by believing in God?

(a) Lots of people say they believe in God – more and more politicians of various persuasions are claiming to believe in God – adherents to the different religions of the world all believe in God in one way or another – most people, except for atheists and perhaps agnostics, believe in God – but, is “believing in God” enough to get a person into heaven?

(b) Christianity says, “NO!” – because the Bible says, “NO”! Salvation from spending eternity in hell as the just punishment for our unforgiven our sins is found solely and only through faith in Jesus Christ. Hence, Scripture says in another place that, “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (c.f. Acts 4:12) – that is, “no other name” except the name of Jesus (c.f. John 20:31). To see this more clearly, let’s take a closer look at our text.

(B) ONE NAME, ONE SAVIOR, ONE WAY

(1) First of all, in verse eleven, the Apostle John said: “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life” (c.f. I John 5:11a).

(a) According to verse ten, the “testimony” to which John refers is, “the testimony (or “witness”)⁶ God has given concerning His Son” Jesus Christ (c.f. I John 5:10c).

Scripture says all legal matters are to be decided “on the evidence of two or three witnesses” (c.f. Deuteronomy 19:15b) – and again, that “every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (c.f. II Corinthians 13:1b).

(b) According to our Scripture lesson, God has given mankind a three-fold witness concerning His Son – hence, John says: “there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement” (c.f. I John 5:7-8).

It’s not within the scope of this message to give a detailed interpretation of what John meant when he spoke of “the Spirit and the water and the blood” – I will, however, attempt to give you a very brief explanation.

“The Spirit” is the Holy Spirit. His testimony includes an inner witness in the life of believers to the effect that Jesus really is their Savior (c.f. I John 5:10a; Romans 8:9, 16). Then there’s the Spirit’s inspired testimony found throughout Scripture (c.f. II Peter 1:21) concerning who Jesus is and what He came to do. And finally, there’s the fact that a major part of the Holy Spirit’s work is to “testify” to the truth concerning Jesus’ identity and work⁷ (c.f. John 15:26).

Although there are other interpretations, the testimony of “the water” is probably a reference to our Savior’s baptism.⁸ Not only did that event serve as a kind of inauguration for Jesus’ earthly ministry, a voice from heaven was heard to say: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (c.f. Matthew 3:17b).

In a similar manner, the testimony of “the blood” is most likely a reference to our Savior’s death on the cross.⁸

(c) For our purposes this morning, the point is this – we are constantly accepting “the testimony of men” (c.f. I John 5:9a) to verify whether or not something is true – indeed, we accept each other’s testimony despite the fact men and women are prone to lie and/or make mistakes.

IF we accept the testimony of men, how much more should we accept “the testimony of God … concerning His Son” (c.f. I John 5:9b) – HOW MUCH MORE should we accept His “testimony” as being absolutely true?! After all, God is the God of truth (c.f. Psalm 31:5b) – which means He always speaks the truth – that He does not and/or cannot lie (c.f. Titus 1:2b) – nor does He ever misspeak or make a mistake.

Given these facts we ought to accept anything and/or everything God says as the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – especially when it comes to His eternal Son, Jesus Christ, and our salvation. And what He has said is this: “that (He) has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has (eternal) life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have (eternal) life” (c.f. I John 5:11b-12).

(d) Note John says “God has GIVEN us eternal life” (c.f. I John 5:11b). That means salvation – redemption – the forgiveness of our sins – and/or eternal life in heaven are gifts from God! They are NOT rewards for supposedly being good – they are NOT compensation for our effort or work – they are NOT payment for a job well done, NOR are they a prize for having been better (or luckier) than others. Salvation and/or eternal life are undeserved, unmerited gifts of God’s grace! As Scripture says elsewhere, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (c.f. Romans 6:23b) – and again: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (c.f. Romans 8:32) – and once more: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God” (c.f. I Corinthians 2:12).

We see, then, that part of the testimony God has given us – part of that divine testimony which we are to receive by faith is that salvation is a free gift – that eternal life in/through Jesus Christ is something God freely gives us, as opposed to being something we have somehow earned, or something we deserve.

(2) Returning to our text, the Apostle John went on to say: “the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (c.f. I John 5:11b-12).

(a) Can a person be saved simply by believing in God? Not according to these phrases. On the contrary, salvation comes EXCLUSIVELY through believing in God’s Son, Jesus of Nazareth – hence, John said: “this life (i.e. eternal life) is in His (God’s) Son” (c.f. I John 5:11b).

This truth is stated in Scripture in so many places and/or illustrated in so many ways, it’s hard to imagine how anyone can miss it. Seeing it and not believing it is one thing – but to not even see that this is what Scripture teaches suggests a severe form of spiritual blindness.

Here are a few examples. In the first Jesus is speaking, and says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (c.f. John 14:6) – in another place Paul said: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (c.f. II Corinthians 5:19a) – and again: “there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (c.f. I Timothy 2:5) – then, a verse we quoted earlier says: “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (c.f. Acts 4:12) – and finally (Jesus speaking once again): “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers …” (c.f. John 10:7-8a), as are all who have come “after Him”!

Anyone who bases their hope of eternal life on the fact they “believe in God” (be they Muslims or Jews, Buddhists or nominal Christians) will never be saved, UNLESS they are graciously enabled to understand and believe what God meant when He said, “(eternal) life is in His Son” (c.f. I John 5:11b). As Jesus Himself once said: “you believe in God, believe also in Me” (c.f. John 14:1b, NKJV). Hence, we see that “believing in God” doesn’t save anyone – a person must also believe in the One God has appointed to be the Savior of sinners – i.e. Jesus Christ!

(b) John goes on to reinforce his point by saying: “He who has the Son has the life” (c.f. I John 5:12a) – or, if I may paraphrase him: “anyone who believes in the Son, and/or exercises faith in Jesus Christ has eternal life”.

Once again, this truth is stated so often it’s hard to imagine how anyone can miss the fact that this IS what the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments teach. Here are just a couple of examples – “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him (i.e. believes in the Son, not just God!) shall not perish, but have eternal life” (c.f. John 3:16) – and again: “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart … God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (c.f. Romans 10:9) – and once more: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (c.f. Acts 16:31) – and just for good measure (Jesus once said): “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved” (c.f. John 10:9a) – while in another place John said: “these (things) have been written … that you may believe … Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; (so) that (by) believing (in Him – i.e. Jesus, not God!) you may have (eternal) life in His (i.e. Jesus’) name” (c.f. John 20:31).

So although some say there are multiple ways to God, the Bible says only those who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved. Though some say it doesn’t matter what a person believes just so they believe something, and believe it sincerely, the Bible says it does matter – indeed, what we believe about Jesus Christ will be the difference between eternal life and eternal death! Though some say everyone believes in the same God, God says that’s not good enough – we must believe in His Son Jesus in order to get into heaven! So the question is, who are we going to believe – God, or men?

(c) Finally, if all this weren’t clear enough, John adds one more statement – this time a negative one, indicating the converse is also true,⁹ in that, “he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (c.f. I John 5:12b) – or, if I may paraphrase John one more time, “anyone who do does NOT believe in the Son of God does NOT have eternal life”!

This negative, converse statement is supported by another John, John the Baptizer, who once said: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son (and remember, obedience is always spoken of in Scripture as proof one’s faith is genuine) (he who does not obey the Son) will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (c.f. John 3:36). We find this same truth in an Old Testament passage found in Psalm 78, where we’re told that “the Lord … was full of wrath … fire was kindled against Jacob and anger also mounted against Israel, because they did not believe … God and did not trust in His salvation” (c.f. Psalm 78:21-22).

(d) If we inquire as to why not believing in Jesus for one’s salvation is so serious that it triggers God’s eternal wrath, part of the answer is found in our Scripture lesson, where John said: “the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony … God has given concerning His Son” (c.f. I John 5:10b).

In other words, to say there are many ways to God when He says there’s only one, is the equivalent of calling Him a liar! To say it doesn’t matter what a person believes, when God says it does matter is the same as calling Him a liar! To say “believing in God” is all that’s necessary to get into heaven, when God says people must believe in His Son, is equal to calling Him a liar! And furthermore, God doesn’t take being called a liar lightly – nor does He like it when people imply His testimony is anything other than absolutely truthful.

So, the bottom line is this – when it comes to salvation, no one can call God a liar and still get into heaven – in part, because those who call Him a liar have put their money where their mouth is (so to speak) by also refusing to believe in Jesus Christ – and, as John says: “he who does NOT have the Son of God does NOT have (eternal) life” (c.f. I John 5:12b).

(C) OUR WITNESS MUST AGREE WITH GOD’S

(1) In conclusion, then, it should go without saying that when Jesus commanded us to be HIS witnesses (c.f. Acts 1:8), He meant He is should be the focal point of any and every Gospel presentation we make. It’s not that we relegate God the Father to a place of secondary importance – on the contrary, the best way to honor Him, the best way to please Him is to do what He says – and what He has said is that, whenever we are evangelizing, whenever we are trying to share the Gospel with our lost friends and neighbors, whenever we are trying to obey the command to be Christ’s witnesses, our focus must be on God’s Son Jesus Christ rather than on God the Father.

(2) Just “believing in God” doesn’t save anyone. Believing what God has said about His Son does. And what God has said is this – “that (He) has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (c.f. I John 5:11-12). In order for people to be truly saved, our witness must agree with God’s!

¹Martin: Kingdom of the Cults; pgs. 252-254.

² http://www.bahai.org/dir/other_religions

⁵MacArthur: Acts 1-12; p. 135.

⁶Bible Companion Series: Strong’s Concordance; Word #3141.

⁷Kistemaker: NTC – James, Epistles of John, Peter and

⁸Boice: The Epistles of John; p. 133.

⁹Kistemaker: Ibid; p. 358.