Is believing in Jesus enough for salvation?

One of the most commonly tossed around phrases when discussing religion, and especially Christianity, is 'I believe in Jesus.' You might be sharing your Christian convictions with a coworker, and they're like, "Oh yeah, I believe in Jesus!"

Or, you might be talking with a Muslim, and they'll say, "Well, we believe in Jesus." Or, the same thing with a Jehovah's Witness, or a Mormon. I've had all of these sorts of conversations. I remember being in college, and going to a culture night, and hearing an imam talk about Islam, and how Judaism, Islam, Christianity, we're all just forks off the same tree. “We believe in Jesus, too.” Now, I wasn't buying it, but many people were quite intrigued because that didn't sound like the Islam they had heard about growing up.

I remember a conversation with a friend who said "Well, I'm a Jehovah's Witness, and we believe in Jesus." The list goes on, but the real question is, how should we respond to this type of statement?

Is simply saying "I believe in Jesus" and believing that Jesus was a real person, or a real figure in history, is that enough for salvation? Well, no. The problem is is there are many different things one can believe about Jesus or mean by "I believe in Jesus."

We need to use our first question from Greg Koukl's book, 'Tactics,' and say, "What do you mean by that? What do you mean by 'believe in Jesus?'" Because when the Muslim says it and the Mormon says it, and the Jehovah's Witness says it, and the Christian says it, we all mean different things. We all can't be right. We all could be wrong, but we all can't be right.

It really matters what you mean by, "I believe in Jesus."

For instance, when the Muslim says "I believe in Jesus." He probably believes Jesus was a real figure in history was born of a virgin, who did wonderful acts and miracles. He probably believes he ascended to heaven, and is coming back one day to usher in judgement. That's a lot of similar stuff to Christianity.

Where he's going to diverge is he doesn't believe Jesus is God. He doesn't believe he's the second person in the Trinity. He doesn't believe he even died on the cross. Muslims think Jesus didn't die on the cross, that it was only, "made to appear that he did." Not dying on the cross means not paying for sin, which means we're not saved by believing in that Jesus. Additionally, a Jesus who is not God cannot save us, either. Believing in Jesus, that phrase, or believing things about Jesus, that's not enough. It matters what you believe about Jesus.

What about the Jehovah's Witnesses? Okay, so "We believe in Jesus," they say, and they do! But, they believe different things than Christianity teaches about Jesus. A Jesus who is a created being, who is not the same God as the God of the Old Testament is not a Jesus who can save. It's not the same Jesus Christians are talking about. A Jesus who is not fully God, and a Jesus who is not fully man-both of those in the one person of Christ-that is a Jesus that cannot save. That is why Christians reject the idea of the Jehovah's Witness Jesus, because he is a Jesus that cannot save. He is a Jesus who is not supported by scripture.

Now yes, they believe in Jesus. Yes, the Muslim believes in Jesus, but they don't believe the right things about Jesus. The Jesus they're actually believing in is not the Jesus of the Bible. It's the same with Mormonism. Mormonism teaches that Jesus is a created being, he's the literal son of God and his Goddess wife, who was created. The Jesus in Mormonism is actually one of three gods in the god head. Not one god, in three persons, but three gods. That's a different God. That's a different Jesus.

Mormons also believe that Jesus atoned for sin on the cross and in the …