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Now, in debunking this myth I want to direct your attention again to the early disciples. When they first answered the call to follow Jesus, did they believe that Jesus was the Son of God? No!
They believed Jesus was the latest and greatest Rabbi on the religious scene. They believed Jesus was an amazing teacher and example. They believed He was able to perform miracles and heal people. They were highly responsive to Him, because He picked them out of a crowd and showed them some affirmation and attention. They weren’t even very strong believers in Him at first either. They believed Jesus enough to attach their hopes to Him.
When you finally accept the fact that the early disciples weren’t believers and didn’t yet believe that Jesus was the Son of God, you step across a great threshold of truth. You see, there are lots of people that you know that are just where the disciples were in the beginning. They are curious, fascinated, impressed and interested in this Jesus. When I tell an interested agnostic that he is exactly like the early disciples of Jesus, he or she is taken back.
In Matthew 16, Jesus has a fascinating encounter and interchange with the disciples: When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
The disciples have been following this attractive, irresistible and relevant Jesus for quite some time and now the question comes from Jesus: “Who do you say I am?” Peter’s answer was right on when he said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” This is the first time this has been expressed with a sense of conviction by the disciples. The thought was there, but this seems to nail it down. We believe Jesus is God’s Messiah, the Son of the living God.
Now note Jesus’ reply to Peter’s answer. He first says, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.” Jesus strokes Peter for expressing the right answer to the question. But before Peter gets too puffed up for coming up with this great answer, Jesus quickly says, “This was not revealed to you by flesh and blood.” He is saying, “Peter, you didn’t think this up on your own and no one taught you this truth.” You see, we continue to rely on teaching our people a set of doctrines or beliefs, thinking this teaching will somehow be sufficient to establish and maintain a vital relationship with God.
Jesus goes on to explain, “But by my Father in heaven” revealed this to you. “Peter, my Father gave you this great insight that I am indeed the Son of God.” This is still the plan of operation today. The Father transformed the hearts and minds of the disciples, because they have been following Jesus for a long time.
In II Timothy 2, Paul counsels Timothy: Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. Note that you don’t get a heart for change or a transformation of heart and mind by any human methodology. Genuine transformation will only come as a gift from God—“in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth and that they will come to their senses.” God will grant this transformation to all who are interested enough to have ears to hear and eyes to see. It’s a gift from God.
There seem to be three stages of following Jesus. FIRST—Jesus is followed because He is so flawless and attractive—unimpeachable. He is the one person who has truly walked the walk and the talk perfectly. No one argues with this. And the disciples believed in Him enough to follow Him. There is nothing wrong with this type of following Jesus at all.
SECOND—Then as you follow this attractive Jesus, you will begin to embrace His lifestyle, teachings and principles and find them to be very practical and meaningful for your life. Following this Jesus just makes sense.
THIRD—Finally, as you continue to follow this Jesus and find His teachings meaningful, you will at some point discover your Creator-God. You will experience transformation of your heart and your mind and see Jesus as the Son of God.
So, wherever you are in this continuum of the stages in following Jesus, ultimately you are seeking and hoping to receive this gift of transformation from God Himself. When you understand this, you then can embrace the fact of Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Agnostics, Muslims and even Christians who are followers of Jesus.
This is why I have dedicated my life to doing two things. FIRST—I am doing one of the toughest things I’ve ever set out to do in my life; I’m trying to follow Jesus and embrace His teachings as my lifestyle. SECOND—I want to do whatever I can do to introduce Jesus and His teachings to as many individuals as I possibly can. This approach to life is summed up in an old phrase: TO KNOW JESUS AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN. I encourage you to think about doing the same.
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How are you going to embrace and follow Jesus' teaching about hell, and about things such as "you will die in your sins...", such as John 8:24. Are the more rough edges of Christ allegorical, and the soft words of Christ the practical aspects of following him?
How can Jesus' teachings be understood except in the larger covenant-historical context of all the Bible? In other words, Jesus doesn't just appear in history with noe connection to what God had been doing and teaching for thousands of years before. In Matthew 28 Jesus says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." What is "all" that He commanded? Isn't it every Word of God ("every word that comes from the mouth of God.")?
If Jesus is only a man - a great man - then we can constrict His teaching to the the "red letters" of the New Testament. If He is "very God of very God" as the Nicene Creed tells us, then His teaching is all the Bible. Which teaching includes His deity, His substitutionary death on behalf if His people, His physical resurrection, His ascension, etc. There is a difference between having incomplete knowledge and rejecting the truth. The disciples believed according their limited knowledge before the death of Christ. That's different than those who reject the Christ of Scripture - the Son of God. You can't follow Him on any other terms than His own.
By the way, the disciple, Nathanael said this when Jesus "first called the disciples in John 1, "Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49). They knew early who He was.
While I found myself unnerved at the beginning of this article, by the end I realized I just didn't see where you were going with this. I'm going to have to disagree with Paul here. The gospels indicate that the disciples struggle repeatedly to identify Jesus properly and place their faith in him. John, who records Nathaniel's story, also records the last supper when the disciples declare Jesus to have come from the Father, and Jesus exclaims, 'You believe at last!"
Do we require church visitors to conform to our rules immediately upon their third visit, or do we give them time to discover Jesus, for the Holy Spirit to speak to them?
Thanks, Tim. Good article. There are a lot of people who do believe that Jesus is the son of God, but don't really follow him. The old saying is "actions speak louder than words". Reading the memoirs of the apostles leads me to believe that if we continue to follow him we eventually get to see him for who he is.
We can concede that the disciples didn't know at first, and say that for anyone on a seeking journey, sure they can start following Christ without believing He is the Son of God and the Messiah, but we know that in the NT salvation is found in faith in Christ, in Him being the Son/Messiah. It's perfectly natural for someone to be attracted to Christ's teachings, want to learn more and not be saved but seeking, and then discover the truth. I think what sums up the article, in less controversial terms, is that salvation is often a process and journey, and not always a single event isolated to a day and time, such as a church or bible camp altar call.
You have to be careful with how you word things like this article, because it stirs up controversy unnecessarily. The title makes it sound like you're suggesting you can be saved without believing that Jesus is the Son of God. All you're really saying is that for some it's a process of discovery of the truth, but that truth is still intact that Jesus is the Son of God and faith in Him is the only way to salvation.
I need to take issue with this idea that you don't have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God to be saved. Are you kidding me? Why, to support this claim do you point to the hypocrites in the church who do believe that He is and it is apparent to all that their lives have no evidence of a redeemed life? If you would just look at the Bible, dealing with the last point first, 1 John 1:6; 2:4 and 3:10, they have their condemnation. Now to the first: 1 John 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God. God abides in him and he in God. 1 John 5:13a These things I have written to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. If you are truely seeking to 'know Him', a great place to increase in knowledge of Him is by being in His word. I'm sure you know that. I don't know if this point was made in ignorance of the Scriptures, or in disbelief of them. As bad as the first is, I sincerely hope it is not the latter, for this would be foolishness of the highest order and self deception. I pray for you, Mr. Timmons, and this organization. God Bless.
Galatians 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus
Just stating the Jesus is the Son of God, joy wells up within my spirit. The disciples didn't know the whole story...we have the whole story in the Gospels. Yes, let us use any means to usher people into the Kingdom but what makes Jesus worth following is not that he was a great teacher or a prophet. He is worth following because of his death and resurection...he is God, he is our great intercessor, he is coming again. I love Jesus' ideas, I love how he cares for the poor and outcast, I love that he broke religious laws and I love that people love that about him. I like that this article makes me think but I wish it drew me nearer to Jesus, rather than making me question if I have a religious spirit because I believe a truth.
It is all very nice to note that many people of different faiths are followers of Jesus in one way or another but ultimately such faith is meaningless without a confession that he is God's son. Further as C.S Lewis points out there are three options, either he is the Son of God in which case he is Lord. If he is not he is either a lunatic and should be ignored or he is a liar of the worst kind, the most decietful man in history and definately not a great moral teacher, after all he did claim to be God himself and told everyone that he was the path to salvation. Simply taking Jesus as a great moral teacher or a prophet will not lead you into salvation only a belief in his identity and works will. Take for instance this part of John 14; 5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
Further without the ressurection Paul is clear that faith in Christ is useless. Read all of 1 Corinthians 15 to see his argument in full, but this is part of it;
12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
Not belieing in Jesus as the Son of God means that you do not have salvation. This does not mean we don't try to convince people that do not believe, we absolutely should try. We must also ensure that we don't marginalise those that don't think as we do, but there is no room for watering down the clear message of Scripture. After all either Christians are right and Jesus is who he claimed to be, or the Jews were right to kill him as the most vile blasphemer ever.
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How are you going to embrace and follow Jesus' teaching about hell, and about things such as "you will die in your sins...", such as John 8:24. Are the more rough edges of Christ allegorical, and the soft words of Christ the practical aspects of following him? Posted by wevewacko | Posted at 03/19/2009 9:40 AM
How can Jesus' teachings be understood except in the larger covenant-historical context of all the Bible? In other words, Jesus doesn't just appear in history with noe connection to what God had been doing and teaching for thousands of years before. In Matthew 28 Jesus says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." What is "all" that He commanded? Isn't it every Word of God ("every word that comes from the mouth of God.")?
If Jesus is only a man - a great man - then we can constrict His teaching to the the "red letters" of the New Testament. If He is "very God of very God" as the Nicene Creed tells us, then His teaching is all the Bible. Which teaching includes His deity, His substitutionary death on behalf if His people, His physical resurrection, His ascension, etc. There is a difference between having incomplete knowledge and rejecting the truth. The disciples believed according their limited knowledge before the death of Christ. That's different than those who reject the Christ of Scripture - the Son of God. You can't follow Him on any other terms than His own.
By the way, the disciple, Nathanael said this when Jesus "first called the disciples in John 1, "Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49). They knew early who He was.
Posted by Paul | Posted at 03/19/2009 7:35 PMWhile I found myself unnerved at the beginning of this article, by the end I realized I just didn't see where you were going with this. I'm going to have to disagree with Paul here. The gospels indicate that the disciples struggle repeatedly to identify Jesus properly and place their faith in him. John, who records Nathaniel's story, also records the last supper when the disciples declare Jesus to have come from the Father, and Jesus exclaims, 'You believe at last!"
Do we require church visitors to conform to our rules immediately upon their third visit, or do we give them time to discover Jesus, for the Holy Spirit to speak to them?
Posted by Matt@The Church of No People | Posted at 03/20/2009 9:00 PMThanks, Tim. Good article. There are a lot of people who do believe that Jesus is the son of God, but don't really follow him. The old saying is "actions speak louder than words". Reading the memoirs of the apostles leads me to believe that if we continue to follow him we eventually get to see him for who he is. Posted by Hugh | Posted at 03/21/2009 2:45 PM
We can concede that the disciples didn't know at first, and say that for anyone on a seeking journey, sure they can start following Christ without believing He is the Son of God and the Messiah, but we know that in the NT salvation is found in faith in Christ, in Him being the Son/Messiah. It's perfectly natural for someone to be attracted to Christ's teachings, want to learn more and not be saved but seeking, and then discover the truth. I think what sums up the article, in less controversial terms, is that salvation is often a process and journey, and not always a single event isolated to a day and time, such as a church or bible camp altar call.
You have to be careful with how you word things like this article, because it stirs up controversy unnecessarily. The title makes it sound like you're suggesting you can be saved without believing that Jesus is the Son of God. All you're really saying is that for some it's a process of discovery of the truth, but that truth is still intact that Jesus is the Son of God and faith in Him is the only way to salvation.
Posted by Scott | Posted at 03/27/2009 1:03 PMI need to take issue with this idea that you don't have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God to be saved. Are you kidding me? Why, to support this claim do you point to the hypocrites in the church who do believe that He is and it is apparent to all that their lives have no evidence of a redeemed life? If you would just look at the Bible, dealing with the last point first, 1 John 1:6; 2:4 and 3:10, they have their condemnation. Now to the first: 1 John 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God. God abides in him and he in God. 1 John 5:13a These things I have written to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. If you are truely seeking to 'know Him', a great place to increase in knowledge of Him is by being in His word. I'm sure you know that. I don't know if this point was made in ignorance of the Scriptures, or in disbelief of them. As bad as the first is, I sincerely hope it is not the latter, for this would be foolishness of the highest order and self deception. I pray for you, Mr. Timmons, and this organization. God Bless. Posted by Jay | Posted at 03/29/2009 8:03 PM
Galatians 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus Posted by Mark | Posted at 03/31/2009 5:04 PM
Just stating the Jesus is the Son of God, joy wells up within my spirit. The disciples didn't know the whole story...we have the whole story in the Gospels. Yes, let us use any means to usher people into the Kingdom but what makes Jesus worth following is not that he was a great teacher or a prophet. He is worth following because of his death and resurection...he is God, he is our great intercessor, he is coming again. I love Jesus' ideas, I love how he cares for the poor and outcast, I love that he broke religious laws and I love that people love that about him. I like that this article makes me think but I wish it drew me nearer to Jesus, rather than making me question if I have a religious spirit because I believe a truth. Posted by Ali | Posted at 04/01/2009 10:37 PM
It is all very nice to note that many people of different faiths are followers of Jesus in one way or another but ultimately such faith is meaningless without a confession that he is God's son. Further as C.S Lewis points out there are three options, either he is the Son of God in which case he is Lord. If he is not he is either a lunatic and should be ignored or he is a liar of the worst kind, the most decietful man in history and definately not a great moral teacher, after all he did claim to be God himself and told everyone that he was the path to salvation. Simply taking Jesus as a great moral teacher or a prophet will not lead you into salvation only a belief in his identity and works will. Take for instance this part of John 14; 5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
Further without the ressurection Paul is clear that faith in Christ is useless. Read all of 1 Corinthians 15 to see his argument in full, but this is part of it;
12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
Not belieing in Jesus as the Son of God means that you do not have salvation. This does not mean we don't try to convince people that do not believe, we absolutely should try. We must also ensure that we don't marginalise those that don't think as we do, but there is no room for watering down the clear message of Scripture. After all either Christians are right and Jesus is who he claimed to be, or the Jews were right to kill him as the most vile blasphemer ever.
Posted by David | Posted at 04/05/2009 4:01 PM