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Subject 6 : Heretics
[6-19] Let Us Lead to the Truth The Heretics Who Do Not Believe That Jesus Is the Christ! (1 John 5:1-12)
“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth:] the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Today, based on 1 John chapter five, I would like to bear witness of the God-given Truth of salvation, as well as testify about the heretics among Christian leaders in this age. The heretics that abide in today’s Christianity do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has given to us. So they do not know the reason why the Lord said that one is able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and see God the Father only if he is born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:5). Even though the Lord has saved us from the sins of the world through the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, today’s Christian heretics do not believe in this God-given gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. It’s because they believe in God according to their own thoughts, in contrast to the Truth that God has saved us once and for all through the gospel of the water and the Spirit that they have turned into heretics. The Bible makes clear that whoever does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is a heretic. That is the topic that I would like to address today.
You Must Believe that Jesus Is the Christ
1 John 5:1 says, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” What does this passage really mean? As you know well, the word “Christ” here means “the anointed one.” Who was anointed in the age of the Old Testament? In the days of the Old Testament, it was kings, prophets, and priests who were each anointed on their heads when they were consecrated to their offices. In other words, when God appointed the high priests, kings, or prophets, He did so by anointing their heads. Usually, the one commanded by God to appoint someone to one of these offices put oil in a horn and poured it on the head of the appointee.
Jesus is the One who was anointed as the King of kings, the Prophet who brought the Truth, and the High Priest who made atonement for all the sins of mankind. He came to this earth anointed by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38), and He saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That is why it was said that whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. This means that Jesus Christ came to this earth with the three offices of King, Priest, and Prophet, and worked to save us from the sins of the world. In other words, the Lord is saying that He has blotted out our sins once and for all with the gospel of the water and the Spirit and become our Savior.
In short, Jesus is our true Prophet, true King, and true High Priest. He is our God who made this universe and created all its hosts. There is nothing in this universe that was not made by Jesus our Savior. Jesus Christ is our Prophet who knows everything that will come to pass, and He has saved us from the sins of the world as the King of kings and the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why we have now been saved from all our sins once and for all by believing that Jesus is our Christ. The gospel of the water and the Spirit clearly explains the Truth of salvation. As Jesus Christ is our true King and High Priest, He has spoken the real Truth of salvation revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone who is yearning to be saved.
Since Jesus created the heavens and the earth, made man, and rules over everything He made, the Lord is our true King. As Jesus is our King and everyone’s King, He rules this world as the King of kings. It’s because Jesus is King that He runs the universe, commands everything to obey His will, and reigns over the history of mankind as well. Jesus is also the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven. According to the will of God His Father, Jesus Christ came to this earth with the office of the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven, and He bore all our sins once and for all on His body by being baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus has already completed the work of saving mankind from all sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
We must believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior who humbled Himself and came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man in order to save us from all the sins of the world. To blot out the sins of mankind, Jesus Christ became the High Priest of Heaven, and by taking these sins of the human race upon His body and offering His body to God the Father as our propitiation, He has saved us from all the sins of the world once and for all. That is why the Bible says, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” This means that as Jesus is indeed our Christ, those who believe in Him as the Christ are born of God, but those who do not believe in Jesus as the Christ are not born of God. Jesus Christ took the offices of King, Prophet, and High Priest, and by fulfilling these three offices to perfection He has saved you and me from all the sins of the world once and for all and become our true Savior. He shouldered your sins and mine, bore the condemnation of our sins, and has saved us perfectly from the sins of the world. Whether we can receive true salvation or not depends on whether or not we believe in this gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit with our hearts.
Those who now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit like this are God’s children born again of God. Right now God wants you to believe in how His Son Jesus Christ has saved you from the sins of mankind. Whoever wants to be born again must believe that Jesus is the Christ. All those who believe that Jesus is the Christ are born of God. But all those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are not born of God. Therefore, for us to be born again through God, we must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with our hearts. Born as the descendants of Adam, whether we still remain as sinners placed under the curse of the Law or become righteous, born-again people through God by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is determined by this faith. In other words, whether our faith is correct or not is determined by whether or not we believe that Jesus is the Christ. Those who believe that Jesus is the Christ are born of God, and therefore they are God’s people. In contrast, those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are heretics, not God’s people. Even though every Christian today professes to believe in Jesus as the Savior, all those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are heretics.
That is why 1 John 5:1 says, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” So whether you believe in Jesus correctly or not depends on whether or not you believe that Jesus is the Christ. This can be summed into the following question: Do you really believe that Jesus has saved you from the sins of the world and the condemnation of all sins by fulfilling all these three offices? Those who believe in this Truth are God’s people, for they are born of God, but those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are not God’s people, but heretics instead. Many Christians have turned into heretics instead of God’s people precisely because they do not believe that Jesus is the Christ, even though they say that they believe in Jesus. That these Christians do not believe Jesus to be the Christ means that they do not believe in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit—that is, they do not believe that Jesus has saved us from all our sins by coming this earth incarnated in the flesh of man and being born through the body of the Virgin Mary; taking upon Himself our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist at the age of 30; carrying the sins of the world to the Cross and shedding His blood on it unto death; and rising from the dead again. Therefore, those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are those who do not know that He has saved us from sin by fulfilling these three offices to perfection. Such people are heretics in God’s sight.
Do you think that heretics are peculiar in their outside appearance? No, they don’t have any horns on their heads or three eyes. How can we then discern heretics? They can be discerned by looking at Christians to see whether they believe that Jesus is the Christ or not. In other words, whoever does not believe that Jesus is the Christ is a heretic before God. That’s why the Apostle John said that all those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ are heretics. To believe that Jesus is the Christ is to believe that Jesus, God Himself, came to this earth incarnated in the flesh as the Savior, bore all the sins of mankind by His being baptized by John the Baptist, was crucified and shed His blood on the Cross, rose from the dead again, and has thereby fulfilled all the righteousness of God and saved us from all our sins, our curses, and the condemnation of our sin. Those who believe that Jesus is the Christ are born of God, and therefore they have become God’s people, but those who do not believe so are accursed heretics in God’s sight.
That is why we must realize and believe that Jesus is the Christ. I believe that Jesus is the Christ. What about you then? Do you also believe so? Even though you believe in Jesus, you must believe that He is the Christ. Jesus Christ is our Savior who came to us with the three offices of King, Prophet, and High Priest, and fulfilled everything according to these offices. Today’s Scripture passage is teaching us that whoever believes in this Truth, is a genuine Christian.
Even now, Jesus teaches us everything through the written Word of God. Jesus is our true Prophet, don’t you agree? He is teaching us everything about the gospel of the water and the Spirit. By Him being baptized by John the Baptist as the High Priest and our King, Jesus took upon Himself all our sins of the world once and for all, and by being crucified, He bore the condemnation of sin with His bloodshed. He is the Savior who has thus saved us from the sins of this world once and for all. The question here is whether or not you really believe that Jesus is the Christ. Do you realize that Jesus is the Christ? And do you believe that Jesus is indeed the Christ? If someone does not believe that Jesus is the Christ even as he believes in Him as his Savior, he is a sinner who has not been born again yet. If such people continue to hold on to their mistaken faith, then they will be condemned by God for their sins and be dishonored as heretics.
That is right. That is why we must realize that our Lord fulfilled the three offices of Christ, and why we must be saved from all sins by believing according to this knowledge exactly as it is. Yet despite this, people believe in Jesus, who is this Christ, merely as the Savior. But we should not believe like them. Instead, we must truthfully believe that Jesus is the Savior who has blotted out all our sins. But before we believe, we must realize properly how Jesus has saved us from sin, and by what method He has delivered us from the sins of the world. We must properly understand the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Truth of salvation, and then believe that Jesus is the Christ based on such knowledge. We all must realize and believe that the Lord was born on this earth incarnated in the flesh for us, was baptized by John the Baptist at the age of 30 to take upon Himself our sins, was crucified to death, rose from the dead, and has thereby saved us once and for all and given us eternal life. If we understand this and believe in this, then we are of those who believe in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit of which the Bible speaks.
We Keep God’s Commandments by Believing in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit
So the Apostle John said, “Everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.” Because Jesus is the Son of God, everyone who loves Him who begot—that is, everyone who loves God the Father—loves the other born-again saints. We love God the Father, don’t we all? Then the fact that we love God the Father means that we love His Son—that is, Jesus our Savior who has saved us from the sins of the world. That is why we obey the Word of Jesus Christ, believe in it, and follow it. And the Lord said to His disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). This is only a matter of course, but I say this again because there are so many heretics.
So the Apostle John said, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” John spoke of God’s commandments here, and these commandments essentially boil down to the requirement that we love each other. For us to love one another just as the Lord loved us, to have compassion for the souls that have not received the remission of sin and love them, to love the Lord in the light, to love and cherish each other as the righteousness, to sincerely care for one another, to never hate each other out of the heart nor stand against one another—these are what is meant by keeping God’s commandments. God said here that it is when we keep His commandments that we know that we love His children. This means that if we really love God, then we should also love His children and keep His commandments. All God’s commandments boil down to love.
Today’s Scripture passage said here that for us to love God is to keep His commandments. It also said that God’s commandments are not burdensome. The reason why God’s commandments are not burdensome for us is because He loved us first and saved us perfectly from all sins, and because He gave this love of salvation into our hearts. God has commanded us to love one another, but if we look at this commandment only legalistically, then it can actually be extremely burdensome. That is because we are incapable of loving one another as we love our own bodies. That is how we are in our carnal nature. And that’s why God’s commandments are too burdensome for those who still have not been born again.
However, for those who have received the remission of sin into their hearts by realizing and believing in Jesus Christ as the Savior who came by the water, the blood, and the Spirit, it is not so burdensome to love one another. Why? Because the Holy Spirit now dwells in their hearts! For the righteous, it’s actually more difficult not to love each other. It’s actually far easier for them to love one another than not to love each other. When the righteous love one another and cherish each other, they are truly joyful, peaceful, and in the fullness of the Spirit.
That’s right. It’s only a matter of course for the righteous to love each other. Indeed, it’s only natural for the righteous to love one another in their lives. It’s harder for the righteous to hate than to love, and it’s very easy for them to cherish one another. This is true for both you and me who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The reason for this is because the Holy Spirit abides in your heart and mine alike. The righteous are enabled to love one another owing to the Holy Spirit indwelling in their hearts. Without the Holy Spirit, even the righteous cannot love anyone either. Our Lord told us to love one another and love even our enemies, and He said this because He blotted out all our sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, bore the condemnation of our sins in our place, saved us from the sins of the world, made us God’s children, and gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. It’s because the Spirit of God, the fountain of love, now dwells in our hearts that we are able to keep His commandments. If we had not become God’s children by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you and I would have never been able to keep God’s commandments.
Had the Lord told us to love one another in carnal terms and to cherish our neighbors as we cherish our own bodies, then we would not have been able to achieve this. How should you and I love each other? How can we cherish one another? We are such that without the Holy Spirit, we can never love each other nor cherish one another. Do you all understand this Word? It’s because the Holy Spirit is in our hearts that we are able to understand everything. My fellow believers, from today’s Scripture passage, we can see that the Apostle John also had the same heart as ours, that he was also saved from all sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit just like us, and that he also preached the same gospel and gave the same sermons. We can understand the Apostle John’s heart and faith precisely because we also have the gospel of the water and the Spirit in our hearts.
Those Who Believe in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Can Overcome the Current of the World
Implying that God has saved us from sin, the Apostle John said the following in verse 4: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” This means that those who are born of God can overcome the world, but those who are not born of God cannot overcome the world. What does it means when it says here, “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world”? How can we know if we are born of God or not? Those who are born of God refer to those who are born again of water and the Spirit. This then means that the born-again can overcome the world, and the fact that we the born-again can overcome the world means that we can overcome the conventions and customs of this world by faith.
Not too long ago, the South Korean government submitted a legislation to move the administrative capital to Gong-ju, a city in South Chungcheong Province located in the central region. Even though this piece of legislation was passed by the National Assembly, it was challenged at the Constitutional Court as being unconstitutional. Based on the notion that it was customary law for the capital of South Korea to be Seoul, the justices at the Constitutional Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the administrative capital to be moved to another city. The basis of this judgment was the following: “There are traditions and customs in every nation; the capital city of South Korea is Seoul and everyone in the world also recognizes this. Relocating the capital to another city will be very costly to the nation as well. Furthermore, since the relocation falls under the customary constitution of Korea, the Capital Relocation Law should have been submitted to a national referendum to abide by the requisite procedure required to amend the Constitution, but the legislature failed to do so, and therefore it is unconstitutional.” So the Constitutional Court ruled against the government and declared the legislation unconstitutional.
As a result, the government in the end could not relocate the capital to its proposed site in South Chungcheong Province. So Seoul is still called the capital of South Korea. In Israel, Jerusalem is its capital. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel. The capital of the United States is Washington, DC. Although there are many other famous cities in the US other than Washington, DC, it is still its capital. So as each nation has such traditional customs, it is very hard to change them.
In family settings also, there are customs that should be kept. Children should obey their parents and honor them. Human society is sustained based on such customs. From customs governing human relationships to cultural and religious customs, there are many social norms in this world formed by conventions. One cannot stand against such customs and expect to live harmoniously with the other members of society.
However, the Bible says, “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” This means that by faith, the born-again can change, fix, and overcome such traditions, social trends, and customs. In other words, those who are born of God triumph over such customs of the world. Even though historically the capital of Korea has been Seoul for a long time, and so people say that this capital can never be changed. But, if God is not pleased, the born-again people of faith do not obey such a custom no matter what they may lose. That’s why God said that those who are born of Him overcome the world.
We overcome the world and its customs by our faith in the righteousness of God. To follow the will of God, we sometimes engage in a righteous struggle against others. But this does not mean that we the born-again fight with our fists. The righteous believers are obedient to God according to His desire. Here in the previous passage it was said that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ keep the commandments and love one another. True love is for God. If we just follow worldly customs, we can’t keep God’s commandment to love one another. If the people of the world stand against God, the righteous cannot love them infinitely. Moreover, even though the righteous pray for them out of compassion and love them with their hearts, if they continue to reject and stand against the righteousness of God, the righteous can no longer love them.
John said then in today’s Scripture passage, “What is the faith that overcomes the world? It is our faith.” It is our faith that overcomes even the conventions of the world. The people of the world cannot overcome its customs. How could they? Those who belong to this world cannot break the norms that must be kept between family members. Nowadays the family norm has weakened considerably, but when I was young, it had a powerful hold. In Korea, it was customary for a son to do whatever his parents told him to do; if they told him to become a doctor, he had to become a doctor; if they told him to become a teacher, he had to become a teacher; and if they told him to marry some girl, then he had to marry her. However, once one is born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, he is able to go against even the will of his parents of the flesh. For the born-again children, if their parents stand against God or obstruct His work, then they cannot agree with their parents’ will, and therefore they have to refuse to obey their parents and say to them, “I am sorry, but I cannot submit to you.” While they may not be able to stop what their parents are doing, they cannot agree with their parents’ will because they believe in the righteousness of God.
Here is another example of overcoming the world: In Korea, there is a traditional custom for people to perform religious rituals for their deceased ancestors several times a year. When one rejects this custom and says, “I can’t perform this ritual anymore as it is against the will of God,” he is also overcoming the world. Some friends are so close to us that we can never imagine being estranged from them, but if they stand against God after we are born again, then we can break off our friendship with them. A long time ago, when I preached the gospel of the water and the Spirit to a friend of mine, this friend hated me for it, even though he was also a Christian. So I admonished him time after time and continued to teach him the gospel of the water and the Spirit so that he would understand, but later on, he spoke ill of me to others and stood against me.
So I said to him, “Alright then. Let’s not be friends anymore. There is nothing I can do. I don’t hate you in my heart, nor do I hate you overtly. Why then do you hate me for no reason? If the gospel of the water and the Spirit that I speak of and believe in is biblically wrong, then you should say so clearly to me. If not, then you should also repent and return to God. How can anyone who believes in God believe in Jesus as his Savior while ignoring the written Word of God? I believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit exactly according to how it is written in the Bible; I can’t believe differently from the written Word. Yet since you say that you don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, I can no longer approve your faith from now on. But I still hope that you would return to God.”
All that I could do was only hope and pray that he would believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. I preached the gospel of the water and the Spirit to my nephew, but far from believing in it, he hated me, his uncle, for preaching it to him. He argued against me vehemently, saying to me, “The gospel you speak of is right if I were to believe according to the Bible, but since Christianity in this world does not believe like you do, I can’t believe so either.” At that time even though my nephew was being assisted by his church, he was unable to overcome the customs of the world. However, as I have overcome the customs of the world by my faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, I have been able to clearly expose the mistaken beliefs of false Christians in this world.
The Apostle John went on to say, “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one” (1 John 5:5-8).
How did the Son of God come to this earth? The Bible says, “This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ.” In other words, Jesus came to this earth by water and blood. This means that Jesus came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, took upon Himself our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist, and having thus shouldered the sins of the world, He was condemned for our sins by being crucified and shedding His blood, thereby saving us from sin. That is what it means when the Bible says that Jesus came to this world by water and the blood. For God the Father, Jesus is His Son, but this Son came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, bore our sins upon Himself by being baptized, shed His blood, and arose from the dead again. The Lord came to this earth by water and the blood. That we believe in Jesus as our Savior, and that we believe He is the Son of God, means that we have received the remission of sin by believing in Jesus Christ who came by water and blood.
To believe that the Son of God has saved us by coming to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, being baptized, shedding His blood on the Cross and rising from the dead, is none other than to believe in Jesus as the Christ. In other words, someone who knows this and accepts this belief as Truth, that Jesus has saved us perfectly by coming by water and blood, is someone who believes that “Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior.” Anyone who otherwise does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is not someone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Such people who do not believe that Jesus who came by water and blood is their Savior are heretics. If anyone neither believes nor recognizes that Jesus is the Savior who has saved us from sin by coming to this earth by water and blood, then he is not someone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. And if one does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, then he does not believe that Jesus is God Himself either. Among the Christian leaders of this world, countless people do not know that Jesus is God Himself, and yet these people also profess to be witness of Jesus. None other than these people are the heretics like Jeroboam.
Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God are those who believe in Jesus Christ who came by the water and the Spirit. In contrast, those who do not believe in Jesus Christ who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit are those who do not believe that Jesus is God Himself. Just as an offspring of a human being is another human being, the Son of God the Father is divine for us. That’s how it is when I speak of it in the logic of man.
Here the Apostle John is now declaring that Jesus is God, but many Christians in this world do not believe in this fact. Some pastors even preach, “Salvation is not found in Christianity alone, but it can also be found in other religions.” Such a claim may seem very open-minded and tolerant, but whoever preaches like this is someone who does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God! The Lord said, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This means that God has never given us any other name than Jesus Christ by which we can be saved. Put differently, only the Son of God the Father came to this earth with the name Jesus, and while anyone can be saved from sin and destruction, this is possible only by believing in Jesus Christ the Son of God. God has never given salvation to mankind by any other name. In short, God sent His Son named Jesus Christ to this earth, and this Jesus, coming by the water and the blood, has saved us from all sins.
It is the Lord who has saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. God has saved us by sending His Son to this earth, and providing for Him to receive His baptism, die on the Cross, and arise from the dead again. Anyone who does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, nor believes that He created the entire universe and everything in it, is someone who does not believe that Jesus is God. There are so many such people even in Christian communities. They are widespread. Such people are nothing more than heretics who worship idols before God just like King Jeroboam. What about you? Do you really believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
To believe that Jesus is the Son of God is to believe that Jesus is the very God that created the heavens and the earth. Jesus is God the Creator. Genesis chapter one says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” This very God is none other than Jesus. Do you believe in this? That is what God is saying here in Genesis 1:1-2, and this is true. The Bible says that there is nothing in this world that was not made by the true God Jesus (John 1:3). All things came out of Him, and all things shall return to Him (Romans 11:36). Everything in the world began because of Him, exists because of Him, and is to return to Him. He is the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8). All things created by Jesus Christ in the beginning will return to Him.
I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, God Himself, and my Savior, and that He came to this earth by the gospel of the water and the Spirit and saved us from the sins of the world. Faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is not based on our own, self-righteous arguments, but it is a genuine faith based on the Word of the Bible. Therefore, those who do not believe like this—that is, those who do no believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He came to this earth by water and blood—are heretics. It’s not so difficult to turn into a heretic. Whoever does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is God Himself, is a heretic in God’s sight.
Many people throughout the whole world are now sending us their testimonies of salvation, having received the remission of their sins from reading our books that contain the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They all say invariably that they had misunderstood Jesus and misbelieved in Him all this time. Now, the gospel of the water and the Spirit has been preached to a certain extent, and its foundation seems to have been laid. So from now on, I plan to speak out about heresy in detail. If I had preached about the wrong faith of heresy before laying the foundation of the gospel like this, then people would not have understood me, and even worse, they would have been fearful or stood against me blindly. So I could not address this issue before, as Christians all over the world did not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, nor understood the Word of God in any depth. The reason why I am now addressing this subject is because there are too many people in Christian communities who are preaching doctrines rather than the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and as a result, the newly born-again lambs who have only recently been saved by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are perishing away spiritually.
We Must Believe That the Lord Has Saved Us by Coming to This Earth by Water and Blood
Among Christian believers right now, those who do not believe in Jesus who came by water and blood have all fallen into heresy, and those who do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God and God Himself are also all heretics. So the Lord said in 1 John 5:6-8, “This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” It is the Holy Spirit who bears witness that Jesus is the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit is truth. He is God. It was said here that there are three that bear witness: The Holy Spirit, the water, and the blood. These three witnesses testify that Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior.
The first witness is the Holy Spirit. Jesus was conceived within the virgin Mary’s body by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). Having come to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, Jesus was then baptized by John the Baptist. On this baptism that Jesus received, 1 Peter 3:21 says, “There is also an antitype [of water] which now saves us—baptism.” Why was Jesus baptized? He was baptized in order to accept all the sins of mankind, yours and mine alike. It was to accept the sins of the world that Jesus was baptized, and this was done in order to fulfill the righteousness of God (Matthew 3:13-15).
Why did Jesus have to die on the Cross then? That’s because He had accepted the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist. This is why He had to die on the Cross and rise from the dead again. Why is Jesus the Savior of sinners? Even though Jesus is God Himself, He was conceived in the body of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, came to this earth incarnated in the flesh like this, and completely eradicated mankind’s sins by His being baptized and shedding His blood unto His death. Our salvation was, therefore, fulfilled by the Holy Spirit, the water, and the blood. That is why the Bible says, “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one” (1 John 5:7-8). So when the Bible says that God is Triune, it is saying that the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God the Father are the same one God to us.
Although theologians also argue that God is Triune, this is actually an attempt to understand the concept by fitting it to their own thoughts. For them to really understand the Triune God, they must also believe that the Lord came to this earth by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and only then can they understand the Triune God properly. The Triune God is God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. These three are the same God to us. Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Father, but at the same time, He is God Himself to us. Jesus Christ is equal to God the Father in His Godhood. And the Holy Spirit is also equal to God the Father. The Father, Jesus the Word, and the Holy Spirit are one God, and the Spirit, the water, and the blood agree as one. The fact that Jesus is God implies that He came to this earth conceived by the Holy Spirit and that Jesus is God Himself. But He came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man. This means that He is our Savior who has both divine and human attributes. And to believe so is to believe that Jesus Christ became the Savior who took upon Himself the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.
Jesus is the Savior who bore our sins by being baptized. Because Jesus Christ had shouldered the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist, He had to shed His blood on the Cross. Those who believe in the Spirit, the water, and the blood are God’s children, but those who do not believe in this gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and therefore they have not been born again yet. If they keep insisting on their own way stubbornly, then as heretics before God, they cannot avoid eternal death. As many Christians still do not realize that Jesus came to this earth by water and blood, they don’t really know and believe in the Truth of salvation properly, even though they profess to believe in Jesus. If one understands and believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, he will be saved from sin, but if he believes only in Jesus’ blood on the Cross then he will remain a sinner before God. Some people cannot cast aside their flawed gospel over their interests or carnal relationships, despite realizing that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is right. Such people cannot overcome the world, and therefore they belong to heresy in God’s sight.
As such, all those who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must turn around from their mistaken faith even now. They, too, must thus be saved from all their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And they must also be truly freed from heretics by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We should realize that many Christians actually belong to heresy. The Bible says that those who belong to heresy are “warped and sinning, being self-condemned” (Titus 3:11). Their hearts are corrupted, and they commit sin by themselves. They say that Jesus failed to blot out all their sins, especially their personal sins. This is their sin. They confess like this: “Jesus is my Savior. But He failed to blot out all my sins. Therefore I am a sinner.” With this confession, they are actually nullifying the entire ministry of Jesus’ salvation. Being self-corrupted like this, they are sinning against God.
They sin against God out of their self-corruption. They say that Jesus failed to blot out all their sins, deliberately ignoring the fact that the Lord eradicated all our sins with the water and the blood. But Jesus has blotted out all our sins by His being baptized and shedding His blood on the Cross. Yet despite realizing this, they have no faith in it, and that is why they are corrupting their conscience to rot away. So as they do not believe in the Truth, they keep committing sin by themselves without even realizing what sin is. Such people are so sinful that their hearts are corrupted. They not only commit sin against God, but they also drive themselves into sin. That is how such people turn into heretics. The Lord told us to stay away from people like them.
What Enables Us to Become God’s People?
Whether we become God’s people or not depends on whether or not we believe in Jesus Christ, who came by water, blood, and the Spirit, as our Savior. The evidence of our faith is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And we must possess this evidence of our salvation from the Word of God. We must show the evidence of salvation to others. And we must also receive the witness given by God. We must obtain the God-given witness of salvation through His Word.
Does this then mean that everyone needs the witness of his salvation? Yes, everyone needs this proof. The evidence that we have been saved from the sins of the world must be established with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The proof that you and I have received the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must be secured from the Word of God. We shouldn’t just talk loudly among ourselves and boast ourselves without even having the evidence that we have been born again through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must present the evidence of our salvation to others with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. What is this evidence of our salvation then? It is to wholeheartedly believe in Jesus Christ who came by water and blood. And it is to also believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Those who believe in the Son of God have this evidence in them. The biblical witness is that Jesus is the Son of God, and He has saved us by coming to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, taking upon Himself our sins by being baptized, being crucified to His death, and rising from the dead again.
Those who believe in Jesus Christ who came by the Spirit, the water, and the blood have the witness of salvation in their hearts. I have the evidence of my salvation from the sins of the world as the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As you now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, your heart also has the evidence of your salvation from sin. Don’t you also have it? Do you have the testimony of salvation, proving that the Lord who came by the Spirit, the water, and the blood has saved you from all your sins? We each have the evidence of our salvation from sin in our hearts as the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, you and I have been saved. To us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God has thus given us this gospel as the evidence of our salvation. So we can show to people the proof that we have been saved from sin.
When asked, “How were you saved?” we can give the following answer without any hesitation: “The Lord was born on this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, took upon Himself all our sins by being baptized at the age of 30, shouldering all the sins of the world at that time including my sins. He then shed His blood on the Cross, bore all the condemnation of sin with His death, rose from the dead again, bore witness to His resurrection for 40 days, and ascended to Heaven. This Lord is my Savior. He bore my sins by being baptized, He was condemned for my sins by shedding His blood on the Cross and He resurrected me from death by rising from the dead again. I believe in this Jesus as my Savior.” We can all testify to this.
You now also can testify to your salvation as follows: “God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to this earth, made Him take upon Himself my sins by His being baptized, bear the condemnation of these sins by being crucified, reached death, rose from the dead again, and has thereby solved all the problems of my sins, the condemnation of my sins, and my death, saved me from sin, and given me new life. He has given me resurrection. That’s what I believe. That’s what God has done for me. So since this is what God has done for me, I believe in it.” You are able to testify like this.
That’s why the Bible says, “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son” (1 John 5:10). To believe in Jesus is to believe that He is the Son of God, and that He has saved us by coming to this earth, being baptized, dying on the Cross, and arising from the dead again.
Those Who Now Believe That Jesus Christ Is the Son of God
It is true that Jesus Christ the Son of God took upon Himself our sins of the world once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist when He came to this earth. This is an undeniable fact. It’s true that Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River and shed His blood unto His own death on the Cross, thereby, saving us from all the sins of the world and being condemned Himself in our place. It’s also true that Jesus was baptized, died on the Cross crucified, and rose from the dead again. So those who believe in the Son of God have in them the conviction of salvation that they have been saved from sin. Salvation is in the hearts of those who believe in the Word of God. It is in your heart and mine.
“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son” (1 John 5:10). This means that anyone who does not believe that Jesus has saved us through the water, the blood, and the Spirit is someone who fundamentally does not believe that Jesus is God. Such people do not believe that Jesus is God Himself, and they essentially do not believe in God the Father. It’s because they don’t believe in God that their sins remain intact in their hearts, and that’s why they say, “God is a liar. He hasn’t saved us like this.” In other words, because such people do not believe in God, they cannot believe each and every truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Father, that He is God Himself, that He took upon Himself our sins by His being baptized that He died on the Cross, that He rose from the dead again, and that He has saved us. Because they deny God and do not believe in Him fundamentally, they do not believe that the Son of God came to this earth and has saved them either.
That is why even now so many people do not believe that Jesus is God. Such people say, “Is there really a God? Human beings made religion out of their fear of death, and society out of their fear of life. There is no God.” These people fundamentally do not believe in God, and so no matter how much we preach to them the gospel of the water and the Spirit, that Jesus has saved us humans from sin by coming to this earth, they don’t believe in it. Since they don’t believe in God, they don’t believe that the Son of God has saved us from sin either. In other words, since they don’t believe in the existence of God itself, they can’t believe in the gospel Word of Truth either.
We must realize that God does exist. And we must believe in Him. Even though many people say that they are not sure if God exists or not, He does exist clearly, for the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Everything exists because God created it. All things came into being by Him, are controlled by Him, and by Him they will return to Him.
I believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Do you believe? Our faith begins from believing that Jesus is God. God sent His Son to this earth, made Him take upon Himself our sins by being baptized, bear the condemnation of sin by being crucified unto His own death, and reach death, and resurrected Him again, thus resurrecting us. None other than this is what God has done for you and me. Those who believe in what God has done, those who believe that God exists and is alive, and those who acknowledge that He has saved us through the water, the blood, and the Spirit by sending His Son to this earth—these people have become God’s children. It is by faith that we are made God’s children.
However, those who do not believe in this truth are heretics in God’s sight. Do you grasp this? - Do you think there is something peculiar to heretics? Those who believe that God exists, that Jesus Christ is God Himself, that Jesus is the Son of God, that He bore all our sins upon Himself by being baptized, that He washed them all away and was condemned for them all by being crucified and shedding His blood, that He suffered our death in our place, that He rose from the dead again, and that He has brought us back to life are God’s children; but those who do not believe in this are heretics. Anyone who does not believe in these facts is a heretic. Such people are heretics in God’s sight, not His children, because they do not believe in what God has done for them. The children of God believe in what He has done. Those who do not believe in what God has done are not His children, and therefore they are heretics. They are mere sinners doomed to hell. That’s why they are called heretics.
There are so many people in this world who have turned into heretics despite believing in Jesus. The world is filled with such people. The Bible says that life is like grass (Psalm 103:15). It says that life is like grass and its glory is like the flower of the field. Grass and flowers flourish in no time and wither away in no time. Our lives, which last only about 70-80 years, are like mists and passing winds. They are like a flowing river. Our lives pass by us so quickly.
There clearly exists God who created everything and mankind, and yet despite this, will you deny this God and go to hell? Or will you go to Heaven by recognizing this God; by admitting that this God had so much compassion for us that when we fell into sin and were destined to hell, He sent His Son to this earth, passed all our sins onto the head of His Son by making Him be baptized, and saved us from sin; by acknowledging that Jesus Christ bore all the condemnation of sin by being crucified; and by recognizing and believing that He has brought us back to life and saved us? We must believe that Jesus Christ is God Himself. And we must believe that as the Son of God, Jesus has become our Savior through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We shouldn’t be ignorant of Jesus Christ who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but we must know Him and believe in Him. We must all know Jesus Christ.
The Lord said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). If we do not know this Truth, then being born in this world is nothing but misery itself. If we do not know this Truth, then our lives are worthless. When you visit a college campus, you often see banners extolling students to seek the truth. People often say that knowledge is power. What they must really know, however, is the Truth of the Word of the Bible. They must realize that Jesus Christ came by water, blood, and the Spirit; they must realize that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and they must realize that Jesus is God Himself, our Messiah and our Savior. And they must believe in Him according to this Truth. Do you grasp this? Do you really believe like this?
This is the knowledge that leads you to eternal life, one that enables you to reach your salvation. Unless your knowledge is exact and correct, you cannot bear any correct, good fruit. Everyone who believes in Jesus must have faith in Him based on the exact knowledge of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Not only you and I but also everyone else all over the world must also know this truth. Anyone who does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God is someone who fundamentally does not believe in God, nor believes in His existence. Therefore all such people must repent and believe that God does indeed exist. They must believe in the fact that because God the Father loved us, He sent His Son to this earth, and made Him be baptized for us and He took upon Himself our sins. And they must believe that by His being crucified, Jesus bore all the condemnation of our sins. They must believe that it’s precisely because Jesus had taken upon Himself our sins that He was condemned to death in our place. As the wages of sin is death, it was we who had to die for our sins, but Jesus died in our place. Everyone must believe in this. You must believe that Jesus arose from the dead to resurrect us back to life. Do you really believe in this fact? Everyone must believe in it. Everyone must escape from heresy. All those who still belong to heresy out of their ignorance of this Truth must realize it and escape from there. And all those who have not understood this Truth clearly and therefore have not been able to believe in it must reach a clear understanding and be set free from the sin of heresy by Jesus Christ the Son of God who is God.
We must be orthodox believers. We must follow what is true. Our salvation and faith in Jesus Christ must be true. There are too many liars all over the world. I can’t even sleep when I think about this. I really can’t sleep when I think about just how many heresies exist throughout the whole world. When I think about how imperative it is to preach this gospel all over the world, I can’t fall asleep easily. My mind is so often filled with various plans for the propagation of the gospel whenever I lie in bed at night. We are now spreading the gospel all over the world step by step, just as a baby is fed with milk at first, soft food after he grows up a bit and is weaned, and then hard food when he grows up a bit more. That’s because people cannot understand when they are told everything all at once. The same goes for you as well.
I thank God for making us His children and His orthodox believers. Let us never allow ourselves to turn into misbelievers like heretics.
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