Do you really have to believe that Jesus is God in order to be saved? I Q&A I BBB 59.1

Join us for the edition of stump the theologian as Joel answers the question: Do you really have to believe that Jesus is God in order to be saved? www.brainsandbibles.orgwww.thinklikechrist.org

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Our first segment, as always, isStump the Theologian, and we are
so glad you joined us for Stump the Theologian.
And then this, just to remind you all of the rules.
Basically, we ask a question, the audience comes with a
question, I come with a question, random people come
with a question. We find questions, we ask our
theologian the question, and if we can stump him, then we win.

(00:22):
If we don't stump him, well, he doesn't lose.
So I kind of lose. All right, so all right.
So today's question is, do you actually have to believe that
Jesus is God in order to be saved?
Yeah, I'd say so. OK.

(00:45):
Is that OK? Because if he's not, if he's not
God. So the the where the.
OK, just so you know where the question comes from.
Now you know the correct answer to this already, but where this
question comes from is we just have to believe that Jesus died
for your sins to be saved. You don't have to know all

(01:07):
theological truths and everything.
That's that's that's the spirit behind the question.
All right, all right, That's yeah, that makes.
A lot of sense, it's not a oh, Ideny that Jesus, God or anything
like that. It's just coming from you might
need to know all these truths inorder to be.
Sure, sure, sure. I think there is extra doctrines
sometimes that people throw intothe gospel, like you have to

(01:28):
believe this. You know, there are, there are a
number of things that you have to believe be in agreement with.
One of those is Jesus. God, Yeah.
I mean, there's, I think there'sa specific verse that actually
says that. Yeah, there there's, I mean, if
you don't, you know, there is. He couldn't raise himself.
You know, that's kind of that's not really a thing.

(01:48):
He would, he would not be perfect if he was not God.
He would he'd be born a Sinner and things, which means he can't
redeem anybody. So there's lots of actual
problems with that. You have to see him as more than
just a man. He is the one that saves you,
who can save you. Only God can save you.
You know, there's a few things there, even with the the rich

(02:09):
young ruler that came to Jesus, the you know, he says, you know,
oh, you know, good Rabbi, you know, something like that good
teacher. And he says, you know, why do
you call me good? Because his question was how do
I inherit eternal life? And he says the first questions
you used to ask is why do you call me good?
Because the first thing you wantto establish was I am God.
You know, only God is good. That was his statement there.

(02:30):
It's off the top of my head. So it's not, you know,
systematically in order here. But if you went, I think like
Mark 10 is probably one of the passages has rich young ruler.
You can see that there is yourself.
But that was the one of the first things you want to
establish. He is God.
OK. And.
Even even the thief on the cross, he doesn't know anything,
right? Today he'll be with me in
paradise. But he even says, you know, I, I
want to be, you know, he talks about your Kingdom.

(02:52):
So he recognized him as the King.
Well, how can that be unless he is God, you know?
So I think he even understood that.
Yeah. OK.
So you'd say yes, absolutely. Yeah.
He's gotta be good, OK, The the background of the question made
it make a lot more sense. It's very.
Very legit that that's a comment.
It was a it was a legitimate question that they had been

(03:12):
asked. Actually, this summer was the.
First question, thinking to myself like, well that's a very
short answer. Yeah, yeah.
No, no. But I think we're in agreement
on the answer too, as far as yes, yes, you do have to believe
in Jesus, God. That's part of what is.
In Jesus. That there's one of the parts of
believing in Jesus, but the background, the question that
makes it make more sense not. Just it is interesting to think

(03:34):
like how much can you subtract without compromising, you know?
Because this is a conversation we've had actually even earlier
today, we add things to the gospel.
We need to believe this, or we need to believe that as well,
and that aren't part of the Gospel, right?
Sometimes it creates endless arguments that are never solved.
Yeah. And, and there's, there's a
difference between answering, answering a question like if

(03:58):
there's a, if there's something that you don't believe and
that's keeping you from receiving the gospel or, or
accepting the gospel because, you know, someone needs to work
you through. And then and then there's a,
then there is you need to also believe this in order to be
saved. You know, on this two different
things, you know, So I'm sure that's the, that's the way I

(04:19):
have apologetics, right? Yeah, we were talking about that
earlier. Apologetics in in the Gospel
Sharing the Gospel and apologetics and evangelism
answering answering questions toeliminate the barriers that one
may put up in believing.