Expert: LEBoyd - 8/12/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello, my name is James. Is it correct to interpret John 20:31 as saying that belief in Jesus as the Son of God (= deity) is necessary to have life in his name? Thanks for your help.

ANSWER: James,

Yes.  There are several Scriptures that state that Jesus is the Son of God (= deity).  Therefore, if Jesus is not the Son of God, then in whom are you placing your faith?  There would be errors in the New Testatment and therefore the New Testatment would have errors and be false.  That would mean the Old Testatment would be the true part of the Bible.

Hope this helps.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your reply. I am in agreement with you concerning what the NT states about Jesus' identity. He is, indeed, our great God and Savior. But now my question to you is this: Is it correct to interpret John 20:31 as saying that we must believe in Jesus as God in order to be saved? Or is it enough to simply believe that he is the Christ? Thank you for your help.


ANSWER: James,

I guess I'm not understanding your question.  I thought you were asking if we needed to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ.  But apparently you are asking specifically about John 20:31.

I'm not sure whether it makes a difference, so I'm having trouble understanding the reason for the question which defines the context of the question.

1 John 3:23 says "And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ,...".

Why do you want to know whether John 20:31 says the same thing only in different terms.  If I understand why, I might be able to better answer the question.

Hope this helps.




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your prompt reply. Let me clarify. I want to know who is saved and who is not. Are Arians saved? What if a person believes Jesus died for him but does not believe that Jesus is God. Is this fellow saved? Does John 20:31 support the conclusion that a person cannot be saved unless he believes that Jesus is BOTH the Christ and the Son of God? Thank you for your help.

Answer
James,

I'm still having difficulty understanding the question and issue.

There's a whole lot more to being saved than believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  Many Scriptures layout the different parts of salvation (e.g., confession, repentance, baptism, hope, obedience, etc.).  If you're missing one part, then you're not saved.  Seems pretty simple to me.

So, how can I believe Jesus died for me and that he is not the Son of God and Deity?  There's too many verses in the New Testament that attest to the fact that others and Jesus himself claimed to be Deity.  If those claims are false, then the New Testament is false, Jesus isn't the Son of God and Deity, and Jesus didn't die for me.  He may have died, but it did me no good.

In fact, even if I believe that Jesus died for me and is the only Son of God and Deity, then I still need more.  I'm still not saved.

But, yes you must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ.

let me also caution that whether someone else is saved or not is not as important as to whether I am saved.  My measuring stick on salvation is the New Testament, without comment from others who may try to explain away what the Scriptures say.

Hope this helps.