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FAQ # 10
QUESTION 10 : What about John
6:47; “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” Isn’t it that simple?
The
full text reads,
“The Jews then murmured
at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And
they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother
we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus
therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No
man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and
I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And
they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard,
and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath
seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”
This text wasn’t implying
that anyone who says they believe in Christ is saved or has everlasting
life. Christ knew that only someone who is born again can be saved (John
3:5).
In this text the Pharisees
were disputing about what Jesus had said concerning his purpose - to give
life to the world. His reply to them was stating that anyone who becomes
a born again Christian has everlasting life, not those who profess strict
Judaism. In other words, you professed Jews don’t have eternal life, only
those that are adherents to the faith that I preach. To identify the born
again plan of salvation, the most fundamental and universal identification
is to believe in Jesus Christ. Possessing eternal life or being born again
must be preceded by this. Without faith or believing on Christ one cannot
be born again or produce it’s most rewarding fruit – eternal life. Christ
was simply identifying those who are destined for eternal life by the
most basic and known identification - “He that believeth on me” - as against
those who profess strict Judaism. Not that he meant those who believe
are saved already (Jas 2:19-20), because he himself said to Nicodemus
that he must be born again to be saved (John 3:5).
For instance, to identify
pilots I would say, “he that wears a pilot uniform is a pilot.” Does wearing
a pilot uniform make one a pilot? No! Anyone can put on a uniform. But
only those who have an aviation degree or a pilot’s educational/training
requirements can be licensed as a pilot. Similarly, anyone can believe
in Christ, but only those who are born of the water and of the Spirit
have eternal life.
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