REFUSING TO CONFESS CHRIST (Part 5)

Bible Reading: 1 John 2:22

Have you ever noticed how the Bible teaches us that we must “call upon” and “believe on” the “name of the Lord” to be “saved” (Romans 10:13; John 1:12)? Why are we not instructed to just believe in or call upon the Lord? The name of the Lord is “Jesus,” which means “the salvation of Jehovah.” The salvation of Jehovah is found in Jesus alone. Jesus is mankind’s only hope of salvation. Apart from Him “there is no [other] Savior” (Isaiah 43:11). As Acts 4:12 teaches, “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” No other name can save us. Allah won’t do, neither will Mohammed, Buddha, Brahma, or Krishna. Only Jesus can save us from our sins!

The Bible teaches us that to become a Christian we must trust Christ and Christ alone for salvation. Consequently, all true Christians believe that all other religions are spiritual dead-ends, leading only to destruction (Proverbs 14:12). No matter how sincere their adherents, false religions can no more save us from our sins than a sincere belief that strychnine is milk can save us if we drink it. There is simply no way that a false faith can lead anybody to the one and only true God.

Anyone who believes that salvation is available apart from faith in Christ alone cannot possibly be a Christian, since such a belief belies one’s believing in and calling upon the name of the Lord. To profess to be a Christian while suggesting the possibility of other ways to God apart from faith in Christ alone is to prove oneself not only a hypocrite, but a “liar” and an “antichrist.”