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Is It Possible To Believe In Jesus ...
And NOT Be Saved?
by Sandy Simpson, 5/8/02

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I'm sure some of you are reading this thinking: "Has Sandy finally gone heretical?"  But before you drop the gavel on this one, let's step through this subject carefully.  This will not be an exhaustive paper (as if there is such a thing) and we all have a lot to learn on this subject.  But I have been doing some thinking about these things because of all the heretics and false prophets that have gone out ... so many of them claiming to "believe in Jesus" or to "love Jesus".  But claiming to love Jesus Christ without obeying His commands is a lie:

THE ANSWER

The answer to the title of this essay is "yes".

Okay, I did pose a bit of a trick question.  Those of you who are astute will have noticed that I purposely didn't say "Lord Jesus Christ" in the title.

Many cults claim to believe in Jesus, and this brings up my first point.  Is there any condition on salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone?  There must be if you believe that there are cults, because by definition cults teach against one or more of the core doctrines of the Faith.  You cannot be saved unless you believe in the TRUTH about Jesus Christ.

You cannot be saved and believe in another "Jesus" (2 Cor. 11:4, Gal. 1:6) as do the cults.  Virtually every cult denies the doctrine that Jesus Christ is 100% man and 100% God for all eternity.  They teach He is a man only, or Spirit only, or that he was an anointed man and is now Spirit, or some other nonsense.  Why do orthodox biblical Christian believers consider cult members to be unsaved and in need of having the Gospel preached to them?  Because to be saved it matters what you believe ABOUT Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation, and not just that you believe that Jesus existed (eg. Bahai), was a prophet (eg. Muslims), was only Spirit (eg. Gnostics), was only an anointed man (eg. Word-Faith), or anything else.  This is one key to this whole topic I will be coming back to.

One more important point we need to consider before we get into biblical examples.  I know you are probably saying: "But doesn't the Bible simply say 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved - you and your household?' (Acts 16:31) Isn't belief the only criteria there is for salvation?"  You are absolutely right.  But look at this verse closely, one among many that talk about the terms of salvation, and you will begin to get a better picture about what "belief" in Christ is really all about.

"BELIEVE"

The word "believe" in this and many verses, is the verb pisteuo derived from the noun pistis meaning "faith, assurance, belief".  But a verb is an action word.  The usage of the word pisteou means "commit unto, commit to (one's) trust, be committed unto, be put in trust with, be committed to one's trust."  It's defined by Strong as being in the "aorist tense, active voice, imperative mood".  This word is used 375 times in the KJV.  So "believe" not only means to believe once but to commit to believing, to continue to believe.  The word is translated "believing" in one of the most literal English translations from the Greek, namely Young's Literal Translation, which is more literal than the KJV, NASB, RSV, etc.  Compare this translation with your favorite one and you will begin to see that belief is more than a one time event in a person's lifetime. Look at the verses listed below briefly to see that to "believe" is to continuously believe and keep believing.

You can see by the examples that many verses regarding salvation use the phrases "is believing", "those believing", "are believing".  A person must not only believe once but continue to believe on through to the end.  Belief is a commitment to believe.  In fact the one who overcomes the world is one who "is believing" that Jesus is the Son of God.

"LORD JESUS CHRIST"

Acts 16:31 says that we must believe in the "Lord Jesus Christ".  This is a very telling statement.

We must first believe and continue believing that Jesus Christ is LORD.  He is God.  He is the Only Son of God, yet is also the One Almighty God.  He is not the Father but is the exact image of the Father.  He is part of the one "What" and three "Whos" with each "Who" possessing all the attributes of Deity and personality that make up the Trinity.

The Lord Jesus Christ is also sovereign.  When we believe on the "Lord" Jesus Christ we lay down our rights and our very life, nailing them to the cross of Christ, and He becomes the complete King, President, Boss, Director of our lives.

He is also "Jesus" "Christ".  He is the Redeemer and He is the Messiah, the Anointed One of God.  He is the only one Who can deliver us from our sins.  In this one statement we can see the 100% humanity and 100% Deity of Christ.  And we must keep believing that!

"WILL BE SAVED"

The last important aspect of this verse is to notice that Paul did not say "you are saved" but "you will be saved".  Salvation is not only the moment when the Holy Spirit seals and baptizes the believer but, more importantly, it is the end.  The same word pisteuo is used in Acts 16:31. We must continue to believe, keep believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for our ultimate salvation.  We must overcome by faith, which means that we continue to believe in the true Jesus, the true Gospel, the true Spirit till the end.

Why would Paul not proclaim that the jailer and his household were immediately saved like we often hear preached today?  It is because Paul was teaching truth.  Paul knew he was not omniscient.  He didn't know the ultimate condition of any person.  God does.  God knows whom He has justified.  But we must continue to believe!  A person has free will and, as such, they are fully capable and fully free to either submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in their life, or they can be "not believing" or "unbelieving".  If a person is unbelieving, notice how John warns the Church, to whom Revelation was written: Unbelief is obviously the state of a person before they first believe.  But unbelief can also become the state of a person who shipwrecks their faith (1 Tim. 1:19) or falls away (Luke 8:13) into unbelief after they initially "believe".  That's the way I read the Scripture, and Scripture is what I base my doctrines upon, not Calvinism or Arminianism.  We'll look at some prime examples from the Bible on this issue later.

Let's look at one more verse for a few more necessities for belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Father raised the Son from the dead.  God Himself died physically to pay the penalty of death for your sins.  We must believe that Jesus Christ died as a substitutional sacrifice for our sins, and that He rose again as a guarantee of our resurrection to everlasting life.

There are many more verses regarding salvation, but suffice it to say that we must believe in the real Jesus, the real Gospel, the real Spirit to have the assurance of salvation.

Now let's look at some biblical examples of people who "believed" but were not saved.  I could go back to the Old Testament and look at the lives of those who believed in God but ended up in unbelief like Saul, Solomon, and many in Israel but because of the New Covenant I will use New Testament examples.

BIBLICAL EXAMPLES

SIMON MAGUS

Probably one of the prime examples for our purposes is Simon Magus, or Simon the Sorcerer.

Simon was called "The Great Power".  He was a sorcerer who used many tricks to convince people he was someone of authority.  But when he saw the miracles being done through Philip and heard the Good News, the Bible states that he believed and was baptized. Notice that this is still during the Pentecostal period when the Holy Spirit was first being given to the Jews then the Gentiles.  This is not normative for our age because now EVERYONE who believes is immediately sealed (Eph.1:13-14, 2 Cor. 1:21-22) and baptized (1 Cor. 12:13-13, Gal. 3:26-28) in the Holy Spirit.  Notice also that the apostles prayed that they might receive the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit baptized the believers AT the laying on of hands, not BY them.  So Simon, being a magician and used to buying his magic tricks as magicians have for millennia, tried to buy this ability.  This was a wrong view of the laying on of hands just as it continues to be today.  The baptism of the Spirit is not based on an anointing or ability, but based on belief, submission and a relationship to the will of the Father. Peter judged Simon Magus rightly and saw that his heart was no longer right with God.  This is AFTER HE HAD BELIEVED!  He tells him to repent.  But what does Simon do?  He doesn't repent himself but asks the apostles to pray for him.

The end of the story of unrepentant Simon Magus can be found in the historical records of the early church fathers.  Irenaeus, about 180 AD, wrote one of the earliest Christian refutations of Gnosis, entitled ADVERSUS HAERESES. His view of the history of Gnosticism begins with Simon Magus. Simon is said to have been one of the primary founders of Christian Gnosticism!

JUDAS ISCARIOT

Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve original disciples.  We don't know for sure if he believed in Jesus Christ, but he certainly followed him and was one of the twelve.  I personally believe that Judas started out on the road to belief and then, through consistent disobedience, greed and disbelief, fell away.

How could Judas have "shared in this ministry" and not been a follower of Christ?  Isn't that the definition of a "Christian"? Judas was called out and he followed Christ. So apparently Judas, mentioned as one of the twelve in Matt. 26:14, 47 and Mark 14:10, BECAME a traitor.  Is it possible he was not a traitor to begin with? Somewhere in the middle of Jesus' ministry Judas started taking money that he was entrusted with. By this time he obviously no longer loved the Lord with a pure heart: So we see the pattern of disobedience and sin taking over Judas' life.  This is the road he continued down all the way to betrayal of Christ. Satan entered Judas and he fell away, never to be redeemed. Judas then followed through on his bargain for money.  The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil! With this act of betrayal Judas sealed his judgment. Judas did recognize his sin before he hung himself, but notice in the preceding verses that he called Jesus "Rabbi" or Teacher. Amazingly, after all the time he had spent with Christ, Judas still did not recognize that Jesus Christ was God or that He could save him, thus he perished unsaved. Yes, Judas did "believe" in Jesus enough to be his disciple and follow Him, but not enough to acknowledge that He is the Lord and Messiah.  This is a lesson for us.  We can recognize our sin, but without recognizing that Jesus Christ is God and that He can save us, that recognition of sin is not enough to save us.  Recognition of sin must be accompanied by repentance and turning from sin, belief in the LORD Jesus Christ, and a continued obedience to walk in His commands.

MANY DISCIPLES

Many disciples turned back from Jesus Christ because they did not believe that He was the Son of God.

After Jesus gave the hard teaching about drinking His blood and eating His flesh, many disciples turned their back on Him. Jesus knew who would turn back, but did they know?  No, they didn't know until they were confronted with truth they were unwilling to accept, the cost of discipleship.  These disciples who turned back believed for awhile and followed Jesus Christ, perhaps as a great teacher or prophet, but they did not have enough faith in Christ to accept His words as truth, which they would have if they had believed that He was God. Notice that the Twelve did believe. Nonetheless, these "many disciples" who turned back did so because they did not ultimately recognize Jesus Christ as Lord.  If they had they would have entrusted themselves into His care like the Twelve did.

MODERN EXAMPLES

Though I have my serious doubts whether or not the following people have ever truly believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, the fact is that they claim to be shining examples of belief that "Jesus Is Lord" and claim they are the "anointed ones" and "holy men of God".  These are examples of people who may never have been true believers, and though they claim to believe in Jesus, they teach false doctrines, make false prophecies and do not exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.  The most important point, however, is that they have proven by what they say and do, that they do not believe in the TRUTH about the Lord Jesus Christ.

KENNETH COPELAND

The big logo on Kenneth Copeland's television program reads "Jesus Is Lord".  Many would infer from this statement that since Copeland is confessing that "Jesus Is Lord" that he is saved.  But the problem is that the "Lord" of Copeland is ultimately himself.  He has said that Jesus Christ is the "high priest of his (Copeland's) words" (Kenneth Copeland, TBN). This means that though he regards Jesus Christ as his high priest, he is a "high priest" who must do what Copeland proclaims and immediately grant him his every wish when he declares something "into existence".  How can Jesus Christ be the Lord of Copeland when Copeland is the one doing the bossing around?  Kenneth has also claimed many times to be "God":

Who has the Lordship over whom?  The "Lord" of Word-Faith is a "lord" who is at their beck and call for anything they want, especially money, who can be thrown around a room at will, and who loves to put people into trances and make them act like animals.  This is clearly not the Lord Jesus Christ we are talking about. The "Jesus" of Kenneth Copeland and ALL Word-Faith teachers including Kenneth Hagin, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, and many more is a "Jesus" whose physical death on the cross did not pay for our sins, who accepted the nature of Satan on the cross, and who had to be born again spiritually.  This is not the Lord Jesus Christ we are talking about.  So when Kenneth Copeland displays his logo "Jesus Is Lord" he is talking about another "Jesus", a "Jesus" who is not 100% God and 100% human for all eternity, was not sinless, and therefore cannot save.

BENNY HINN

As mentioned above, Benny Hinn also claims he believes in Jesus Christ, but his "Jesus" is not the Jesus of the Bible, nor is He the Son of God.  Hinn also asserts that he is a "little messiah", a "god", the "I AM":

Let's look at what Hinn has taught about the Lord Jesus Christ: What more needs to be said?  Benny Hinn claims he is a Christian and believes in Jesus Christ, but his "Jesus" became one in nature with Satan.  Hinn says that he and other Christians are "little gods".  I have one video where he gets the audience to chant that they are the "I AM".  This is blasphemy and it proves that Benny Hinn cannot be saved unless he repents of these beliefs.

WARNING

Be careful of those who claim to believe in Jesus Christ yet teach against His dual nature.  Be sure to check what is being taught both explicitly and implicitly regardless of doctrinal statements and position papers.  When the Godhead is denied, there is no salvation.  When the dual nature of Christ is denied, there is no salvation.  When salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is denied, there is no salvation.  When the Word of Truth is denied, there is no salvation.  When Jesus' second coming bodily to rule and judge the earth is denied, there is no salvation.

The point is that it matters what a person believes!

We are not saved on the basis of simply saying we believe Jesus existed, was a great guy, was a prophet, was a wonderful teacher ... but on the basis of our continued belief that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He will ultimately save us and give us eternal life.

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VERSES ON "BELIEVING"
Note: All the following verses are from the Young's Literal Translation (YLT).

Mark 9:23  And Jesus said to him, ‘If thou art able to believe! all things are possible to the one that is believing;’
John 1:12  but as many as did receive him to them he gave authority to become sons of God—to those believing in his name,
John 3:15  that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during,
John 3:16  for God did so love the world, that His Son—the only begotten—He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during.
John 3:18  he who is believing in him is not judged, but he who is not believing hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:36  he who is believing in the Son, hath life age-during; and he who is not believing the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God doth remain upon him.’
John 5:24  ‘Verily, verily, I say to you—He who is hearing my word, and is believing Him who sent me, hath life age-during, and to judgment he doth not come, but hath passed out of the death to the life.
John 5:46  for if ye were believing Moses, ye wouldhave been believing me, for he wrote concerning me;
John 6:35  And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of the life; he who is coming unto me may not hunger, and he who is believing in me may not thirst—at any time;
John 6:40  and this is the will of Him who sent me, that every one who is beholding the Son, and is believing in him, may have life age-during, and I will raise him up in the last day.’
John 6:47  ‘Verily, verily, I say to you, He who is believing in me, hath life age-during;
John 6:64  but there are certain of you who do not believe;’ for Jesus had known from the beginning who they are who are not believing, and who is he who will deliver him up,
John 7:38  he who is believing in me, according as the Writing said, Rivers out of his belly shall flow of living water;’
John 7:39  and this he said of the Spirit, which those believing in him were about to receive; for not yet was the Holy Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
John 11:25  Jesus said to her, ‘I am the rising again, and the life; he who is believing in me, even if he may die, shall live;
John 11:26  and every one who is living and believing in me shall not die—to the age;
John 12:11  because on account of him many of the Jews were going away, and were believing in Jesus.
John 12:37  yet he having done so many signs before them, they were not believing in him,
John 12:44  And Jesus cried and said, ‘He who is believing in me, doth not believe in me, but in Him who sent me;
John 12:46  I a light to the world have come, that every one who is believing in me—in the darkness may not remain;
John 14:12  ‘Verily, verily, I say to you, he who is believing in me, the works that I do—that one also shall do, and greater than these he shall do, because I go on to my Father;
John 17:20  ‘And not in regard to these alone do I ask, but also in regard to those who shall be believing, through their word, in me;
John 20:27  then he saith to Thomas, ‘Bring thy finger hither, and see my hands, and bring thy hand, and put it to my side, and become not unbelieving, but believing.’
John 20:31  and these have been written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye may have life in his name.’
Acts 2:44  and all those believing were at the same place, and had all things common,
Acts 10:43  to this one do all the prophets testify, that through his name every one that is believing in him doth receive remission of sins.’
Acts 13:39  and from all things from which ye were not able in the law of Moses to be declared righteous, in this one every one whois believing is declared righteous;
Acts 18:8  and Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue did believe in the Lord with all his house, and many of the Corinthians hearing were believing, and they were being baptized.
Acts 22:19  and I said, Lord, they—they know that I was imprisoning and was scourging in every synagogue those believing on thee;
Acts 28:24  and, some, indeed, were believing the things spoken, and some were not believing.
Romans 1:16  for I am not ashamed of the good news of the Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to every one who is believing, both to Jew first, and to Greek.
Romans 3:22  and the righteousness of God is through the faith of Jesus Christ to all, and upon all those believing, —for there is no difference,
Romans 4:5  and to him who is not working, and is believing upon Him who is declaring righteous the impious, his faith is reckoned—to righteousness:
Romans 4:11  and a sign he did receive of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith in the uncircumcision, for his being father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for the righteousness also being reckoned to them,
Romans 4:24  but also on ours, to whom it is about to be reckoned—to us believing on Him who did raise up Jesus our Lord out of the dead,
Romans 9:33  according as it hath been written, ‘Lo, I place in Sion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence; and every one whois believing thereon shall not be ashamed.’
Romans 10:4  For Christ is an end of law for righteousness to every one who is believing,
Romans 10:11  for the Writing saith, ‘Every one who is believing on him shall not be ashamed,’
Romans 15:13  and the God of the hope shall fill you with all joy and peace in the believing, for your abounding in the hope in power of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 1:21  for, seeing in the wisdom of God the world through the wisdom knew not God, it did please God through the foolishness of the preaching to save those believing.
Galatians 3:22  but the Writing did shut up the whole under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ may be given to those believing.
Ephesians 1:19  and what the exceeding greatness of His power to us who are believing, according to the working of the power of His might,
1 Thessalonians 1:7  so that ye became patterns to all those believing in Macedonia and Achaia,
2 Thessalonians 1:10  when He may come to be glorified in his saints, and to be wondered at in all those believing—because our testimony was believed among you—in that day;
2 Thessalonians 2:11  and because of this shall God send to them a working of delusion, for their believing the lie,
1 Timothy 4:3  forbidding to marry—to abstain from meats that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those believing and acknowledging the truth,
1 Timothy 4:10  for for this we both labour and are reproached, because we hope on the living God, who is Saviour of all men—especially of those believing.
1 Timothy 4:12  let no one despise thy youth, but a pattern become thou of those believing in word, in behaviour, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity;
1 Timothy 5:16  If any believing man or believing woman have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the assembly be burdened, that those really widows it may relieve.
1 Timothy 6:2  and those having believing masters, let them not slight them, because they are brethren, but rather let them serve, because they are stedfast and beloved, who of the benefit are partaking. These things be teaching and exhorting;
Hebrews 10:39  and we are not of those drawing back to destruction, but of those believing to a preserving of soul.
1 Peter 1:8  whom, not having seen, ye love, in whom, now not seeing and believing, ye are glad with joy unspeakable and glorified,
1 Peter 2:6  Wherefore, also, it is contained in the Writing: ‘Lo, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, choice, precious, and he who is believing on him may not be put to shame;’
1 Peter 2:7  to you, then, who are believing is the preciousness; and to the unbelieving, a stone that the builders disapproved of, this one did become for the head of a corner,
1 John 5:1  Every one who is believing that Jesus is the Christ, of God he hath been begotten, and every one who is loving Him who did beget, doth love also him who is begotten of Him:
1 John 5:5  who is he who is overcoming the world, if not he who is believing that Jesus is the Son of God?
1 John 5:10  He who is believing in the Son of God, hath the testimony in himself; he who is not believing God, a liar hath made Him, because he hath not believed in the testimony that God hath testified concerning His Son;
1 John 5:13  These things I did write to you who are believing in the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that life ye have age-during, and that ye may believe in the name of the Son of God.
 
 

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