February 17 – LD 7, Day 6: What is necessary for a Christian to Believe

John 20:31, “But 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.”

The catechism raises a rather rare question here. “What is then necessary for a Christian to believe?” I suggest it is rare in that it seems that in the ecclesiastical world today, WHAT you believe is of little import.  We are encountering an ecumenical spirit, that is, one which wants all Christian churches to join together, and if that can’t happen, at least to have a common expression of Christianity among all Christians. To get this, they belittle objective faith, they say that statements of belief are of little consequence. “It is not important what you believe, simply that you do believe,” is their conclusion. The Bible can be interpreted in many ways, doctrine which consists of the teachings of any given church are declared to be important for THAT church but not necessary for every Christian. In the most extreme case, one concludes that some churches would say that it is not necessary that you believe ANYTHING, simply confess that you need Jesus or some such statement.

Here we have it that there are some things NECESSARY for a Christian to believe. These are so important that unless a person believes these things, he/she is not a true Christian. That sounds both strange but also refreshing to hear.

What might it be that is necessary for a Christian to believe?

The answer is, “All things promised in the gospel”. 

The quotation above indicates the heart of the gospel is that Jesus is the Christ (the anointed Mediator of the covenant) who himself is the Son of God,( truly God), and that in Him there is salvation (life through his name).

This is necessary because without this faith there is no salvation. Belief in man himself, belief in any human that might seem outstanding, belief in any other god, whether heathen religion or western philosophy, ends in death.  There is salvation in no other name than Jesus. God has provided His Son as our Savior and in Him there IS salvation. All who confess their sins and acknowledge that the blood of Jesus covers them have the evidence of eternal life.

Once more, do you believe all that the gospel conveys? This is necessary and opens the door to everlasting life.