Believing in God is Not Enough
We Must Believe in Jesus Christ
Acts 10:30-44
Acts 10:30-33 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are remembred in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.God never answers the prayer of a person who believes in a false god. Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Cornelius was a man who believed in God, but did not know the way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Cornelius did not yet know that Jesus is the way to God. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. God does not answer the prayer of unbelievers, but because Cornelius believed in God, even though he did not yet believe in Jesus Christ, God answered his prayer of faith. John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. No one who comes to Jesus in faith seeking to be saved will be rejected. If a person prays to God, seeking to know Him, God will answer that prayer.
Acts 10:34-35 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
God will not reject anyone who believes in Him. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The invitation to believe in Jesus Christ is given to the whole world, and no one is left out of that invitation. The problem is that people reject the invitation, to believe in Jesus Christ, and to receive eternal life.
Acts 10:36-38 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Cornelius knew about Jesus Christ, but he did not yet know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Cornelius was a good man, he believed in God, and he knew all about Jesus Christ, but he was not yet saved because he did not know and believe that Jesus died for him, so that he might receive forgiveness of sins.
Acts 10:39-43 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
Peter told Cornelius that Jesus was crucified and that He rose again. Peter then told Cornelius why Jesus died and rose again. “that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” The reason Jesus died was to pay the penalty, the law demanded, for our sins; that is, He took our sins upon Himself and He died in our place. Jesus rose again because He was perfect and did not deserve to die; therefore, God raised Him up after sin’s penalty was paid. Now that He has paid the penalty for all our sins, He is justified in forgiving the sins of all those who believe in Him. Also, sense He has eternal life, He is able to give eternal life to all those who believe in Him.
John 3:36 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. Eternal life is for all who believe in Jesus Christ, and his command to us is to believe in Him.
Acts 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
When they heard the message, “that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins”, they believed, and God gave the Holy Spirit to all those who believed in Jesus Christ. Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. God gave the sign of the Holy Spirit to Cornelius and all the people that were gathered in his house to listen to Peter, as a testimony to the fact that they were all accepted by God; because they all believed in Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of all their sins. They believed in God, but they did not receive the Holy Spirit until they believed in Jesus Christ; they were not saved by believing in God, but they were saved, by believing in Jesus Christ.
James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Believing in the existence of God does not save anyone. We must believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Jesus Christ is the one and the only way to God, He is the only truth, and the only source of life. No matter how good we are, we are not good enough to be saved by our own merits, we must believe in Jesus Christ to be saved.
Most people in this world claim to believe in God, but most of them do not know the one and only true God. There are many hundreds of millions of false gods in this world. When a person says he believes in God, he may very well believe in a false god.
The same may be true, when a person claims to believe in Jesus Christ. Many people claim to believe in Jesus Christ, but most of them do not know who He really is.
First of all, they do not know, that because He is the Son of God, He is God; futhermore, He created all there is, He is the God of creation, He is Lord God Almighty.
Secondly, they do not know what it means, that He died for our sins; they think that it means, that He died because of our sins. They don’t know that He took our sins upon Himself, and died in our place, as our substitute; He made full and complete atonement for all our sins, when He died for us.
They don’t know that He died for us because He loved us; furthermore, because He loves us, He now intercedes for us.
Every false religion, in this world, requires that a person do some form of work, in order to be accepted by God. True Christianity credits God with having accomplished all that needs to be done to save sinners.
The true believer is someone who rest in the finished work of Christ.
All Scripture taken from King James Bible
* Bible Studies by Max Swan
Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD. (NAS) Jer 9:23-24