John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
If you were to ignore all of the other 65 books of the inspired Word of
God, you could get saved just from the Gospel of John. That is what our
text verse from John 20:31 teaches. The apostle John said (wiring under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) that “THESE
ARE WRITTEN” that ye might believe that Jesus is THE CHRIST, the SON OF
GOD! Everything that we need to know to get saved is contained within
the beloved Gospel of John.
I have web visitors ask me a lot of hypothetical
questions. For example: Do you have to believe in eternal punishment to
be saved? There
is no mention of “Hell” in
the Gospel of John. Jesus warned the unsaved Pharisees in John
8:24, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if
ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” So we see
that punishment for sins is implied. The fact of the matter is that Hell
is not mentioned in John, but condemnation is in John
3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
The apostle said in John 20:31, “THESE
ARE WRITTEN,” to
convince us that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, so
that by believing we will be immediately and forever saved. This is a
very simple message. We see mention of all men being sinners in John
1:29, “The
next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” The
Gospel of John is very simple and limited in the information we need to
know to be saved. If you come to God as a needy sinner, receiving
Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, believing that
He is risen from the dead, you are saved. It is that simple!
“More people will die and burn in Hell, because they're trusting too much!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, a precious quote from the MP3 sermon, “Yea, Yea, And Nay, Nay!”
No where in the Gospel of John are we taught to pray a prayer to be saved, yet all across the world churches and religious tracts require lost sinners to pray a prayer to be saved. There is nothing in the Gospel of John about having to walk down a church isle at invitation time, to respond to a call to come down to the altar. Most pastors will give an invitation at the end of a sermon, asking people to come down to the front of the church so someone can show them how to be saved. That is very wrong to do, unless you also tell people how to be saved right in their pew. A person can BELIEVE the 'Good News' (Gospel) just as easily from their pew, as they can at the altar.
There is no mention of water baptism, speaking in tongues, nor church
membership in the Gospel of John. None of these things are necessary to
go to Heaven. Many pseudo-Christian cults teach that water baptism is
required for salvation. Martin Luther and John Calvin were false
prophets, who required water baptism to be saved. They falsely claim
that a person is saved through the act of baptism, claiming that one's
faith is demonstrated by getting baptized. The Bible doesn't teach that
garbage. Baptism is not a sacrament. There is no such thing as “sacraments” in
the Scriptures! Sacraments are rooted in demonic Roman Catholicism.
Catholics observe Seven Sacraments to get to Heaven, which is a
counterfeit plan of salvation. Luther and his protege Calvin, taught Two
Sacraments. Salvation is NOT found in any religion, but in a
person—the Lord Jesus Christ!!!
And also, the word “repent” is
not mentioned in the Gospel of John. Yes, a person does need to repent
to be saved, but it is automatic, which is why John didn't mention it.
Some preachers try to mandate repentance as
turning from sins, which is a wrong meaning. Bible repentance is the
Greek noun metanoia, which mean “a change of mind.” The verb form
is metanoeo, meaning, “to
think differently.”
Repentance is simply a change of mind from WRONG THINKING to
believe the Gospel.
Calvinism perverts the Gospel, redefining repentance using the
English meaning, which is “to
turn away from sin.” That
is reformation, not repentance. Salvation is not reformation, education,
nor rehabilitation; it is regeneration. Penitence is sorrow over one's
sins. Penance is making a mend for one's sins. Reformation is turning
away from one's sins. Bible repentance is seeing one's self as a needy
sinner in the sight of a holy God. Acts 20:21b, “repentance
toward God.” Notice
the Bible does not say repentance from sin.
One Baptist pastor said to me that in order to turn TO God, you must
also turn FROM something. He was attempting to justify his heretical
teaching that people must turn from their sins to be saved. He is only
half correct! Although it is true that we must turn FROM something in
order to turn TO something, it is passive not active. The man who by
faith turns TO Christ for salvation has turned his back against sin,
even though he may not be ready to forsake those particular bad habits
in his or her life. In order for eternal life to truly be a free gift,
it CANNOT have any strings attached. There can be no obligations.
Salvation is a TAKE proposition, not a GIVE proposition. Salvation is
RECEIVED, not ACHIEVED.
The first book of the Bible that any person should read is the Gospel of
John. The reason why is because the Gospel of John is God's Gospel
tract! That is exactly what we are told in John 20:31, “But these are
written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Everything
that you need to know to be saved is written within the pages of the
Gospel John wrote. This evidences the simplicity that is in Christ, and
silences the naysayers who pervert the Gospel by adding all sorts of
unbiblical extras (e.g., following Jesus, making a commitment, public
confession, turning from sins, surrendering all to Christ,
receiving Jesus as “Lord,” et
cetera). Although all proper in their place, none of those things
comprise the Gospel. You may do all of those things, and yet still never
have been born-again at all.
