Faith is so easy that most people stumble right over it, looking for something more complicated. It just means believing. We all believe something. But the faith that God wants isn't based on what you believe. It's based on who you believe.

Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me." (John 14:6) Jesus is the One you must believe to be saved. That's it. That's the whole plan of salvation in a nutshell. Believe Jesus, and you will have eternal life. We're not talking theological faith, i.e. faith about Jesus (e.g. that he existed, that he is God, or that his mother was a virgin) even though that may all be true. We are talking about believing Him. Believe what he said, and you will be saved. Disbelieve what he said, and you are lost.

If all the arguments from the different churches confuse you, why not get away from them all and just listen to Jesus. If you can't do that, then your chances of salvation are pretty slim. God is a jealous God, and he doesn't want you believing anyone more than you believe him (or, in this case, his Son).

It's not that there isn't some truth in the churches, but believing your church will not save you. Only believing Jesus will save you. Just keep listening to Jesus, and don't let anyone talk you out of it.

2 Corinthians 11:14 says the Devil will come to us disguised as an "angel of light". Jesus said that people would come in his name, and they would even claim to do miracles and cast out devils, but they would still be trying to steer us away from him. (Matthew 7:22) Obviously they are going to sound convincing... but the bottom line is that they will tell you that you do not need to believe Jesus to be saved. They will tell you to believe them to be saved, to believe a whole lot of church leaders to be saved, or even to believe the Bible to be saved, all of which sounds good. But, as we just said, the end result is that they will teach you that you do not need to believe Jesus to be saved. And that is very wrong!

Now here are some things that Jesus said. Ask yourself if you believe him when he says these things to you today. If you don't, then you are lost -- condemned to hell -- because your faith is in someone else... someone who told you that you don't need to believe Jesus to be saved.

JESUS SAID: "Anyone who does not forsake all that they own cannot be a Christian." (Luke 14:25-33) Look it up. Read it yourself.

JESUS SAID: "Anyone who hears my teachings and does not obey them is building his faith on sand. When the 'storm' comes, that 'house' will collapse." (Matthew 7:13-27) The storm is God's judgment, and the collapse is your eternal damnation... all because you did not obey the teachings of Jesus. Is that what your church leaders are teaching?

JESUS SAID: "Depart from me" to those who did not visit prisoners, feed the hungry, visit the sick, clothe the naked, etc. He said that they would "Go away into everlasting punishment because they did not help the needy," but those who did do those things would "go into eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46) We're talking about eternal salvation here, and we are talking about Jesus' plan of salvation, not some bargain basement discount offered by your church leaders.

JESUS SAID: "Anyone who is ashamed of me and of my teachings... I will also be ashamed of them when I come in the glory of my Father." (Mark 8:34-38) Read it. There's more than what I wrote here, and it's all challenging stuff.

When asked by a man how he could have eternal life, JESUS TOLD the man to "Sell all that you have, and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Luke 18:18-25) Remember, this is in answer to the question of how to have eternal life. Is that what you want? Then perhaps you should listen more seriously to how JESUS answered that question.

JESUS SAID: that God wants to give us the kingdom, but that we should "take no thought" for material things; we should sell all that we have and give to the poor if we want to receive it. (Luke 12:22-33) Do you want to be a part of the kingdom (of heaven)? Have you done what Jesus said you must do to inherit it?

The list goes on and on. Over and over Jesus said that people needed to discipline themselves according to his teachings if they wanted to be considered Christians (i.e. disciples). His teachings, his words, his commands, were always the key factor, and not theological statements. (See Luke 6:46)

So, in conclusion, the only "faith" that will save you must be faith in Jesus, and that means believing everything that he said. Do you believe it? Are you acting like you believe it? If so, we would love to hear from you today.

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