What It Means to Believe in Jesus

Straight AheadAs part of my daily devotions, I am currently reading through a book called "Daily Walk with God," by Herman W. Gockel, copyright 1982, by Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, the publishing arm of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. It's a good, basic devotional book. I have the privilege of reading it in Braille because it was given to me about a year ago by a wonderful Christian woman who works in rehabilitation of the blind for the state of Alabama. I have enjoyed the book and found it helpful. In the devotional for today, November 7, however, I found some statements that troubled me. I mention them here because they reflect an attitude that is very prevalent among evangelical Protestants. Gockel says that Each of us must ask himself: "Am I putting my primary trust in a system or in a Savior--in a long catalog of doctrines or in the Christ who is the heart and center of those doctrines?" Gockel, of course, is emphasizing the fact that Paul said to Timothy, "I know whom I have believed." (2 Timothy 1:12.) Gockel is right to insist that our primary faith must be in Jesus, and not in doctrine or denomination; but as soon as you say that you believe in Christ, you are moving into the realm of doctrine. What do you believe about Christ? What does it mean to believe in Christ? Is He the God-Man, fully human and fully divine? Is He the only way to salvation? Is faith in Christ necessary for your salvation from eternal condemnation? Are you justified by faith in Christ alone by God's grace, or must you also accomplish certain good works to earn your way to Heaven? These and other matters are all questions that must be considered if anyone truly is to know what it means to believe in Christ and what it means to be a Christian. I once was riding back to Davidson College with another student after a weekend with my girl friend at Mars Hill College in North Carolina. This other student from Davidson held to a very different kind of Christianity than I did. In fact, we hardly agreed on anything. Finally, in desperation to find some common ground, he said to me, "Well, at least we both believe in Jesus." I had to say, "I don't know about that. Your Jesus is so different from mine that I can hardly say that we even believe in the same Jesus." I am beginning a series tomorrow night at my church regarding what it means to be a Presbyterian. One of my sources is the video series by R. C. Sproul called, "What is Reformed Theology?" In this series, Sproul makes a compelling case for theology. Theology is simply the knowledge or study of God. In our day, many seem to think that theology is dead, irrelevant, or simply too difficult for most people to understand. With this kind of thinking, it is no wonder that our churches are losing their influence, their biblical center, and their appeal to the masses. It is true that our primary confidence and faith must be in a Savior and not in a system; but we'd better stop to ask ourselves what it means that we put faith in a Savior named Jesus!