(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

That's number one. Go to 1 John 5 and we'll see number two. So point one, when we say believe in, it doesn't mean just the existence of, but it's a trust in, reliance upon, that's what we're talking about. It's sort of like if I were to show up to a sporting event where you were playing, let's say basketball and it's the big basketball game and I said to you, hey man, I believe in you. What do I mean by that? I'm saying, look, I trust that you can get out there and execute, that you can get out there and perform what you're here to do. That's what we're talking about here when it says believe in Jesus, it's saying you're trusting in Jesus, okay, and we've seen that in a couple places. Point number two, salvation by faith includes believing a specific record. There's a specific record that God gave of his son that you have to believe. You know, what is it that you have to trust in Jesus for or believe in Jesus on? Well, you know, here's one example of 1 John 5, there's a specific record. Look at verse 5 of 1 John 5. Who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the son of God? So obviously we know you have to believe that Jesus is the son of God to be saved. That's one thing that you have to believe to be saved and this is why none of the Muslims are saved and if you go out and preach the gospel to Muslims, here's what they'll tell you when you teach them that salvation is by believing in Jesus Christ, here's what they'll say. Of course I believe in Jesus, I'm a Muslim. Who's ever had a Muslim tell you that? Look, this is what Muslims have said to me. They say, well, of course I believe in Jesus, I can't be a Muslim unless I believe in Jesus. I am required as a Muslim to believe in Jesus. But wait a minute, are they trusting in Jesus as their savior? Nope. Number two, do they believe that he's the son of God? No, because Muslims only believe that Jesus is a prophet. So they'll say, oh yeah, I believe in Jesus but it's another Jesus. It's not the Jesus of the Bible, it's not the son of God. It is just a prophet in a series of prophets and they think Mohammed's better than Jesus because they have a series of prophets that gets better and better. You know, as they go down the list of Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, Mohammed, they think it keeps getting better. When the anti-Christ shows up, they're going to think he's the ultimate. You know, he's even better than Mohammed. That's going to be their climax right there with the anti-Christ. So we need to understand that not only is believing in Christ, trusting in Christ, but there are specific things that you have to believe about Christ, there's a certain record that you have to believe and of course it all starts with believing he's the son of God. That's required. Look at verse number six, this is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ. Not by water only but by water and blood and is the spirit that beareth witness because the spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the father, the word, and the Holy Ghost and these three are one. We see here that we are relying upon the testimony of three witnesses, okay? When it comes to the story about Jesus physically coming to this earth, Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and he died on the cross and was buried and rose again. We're relying upon three witnesses for that. Now here's the thing, if an event happened and there's only one witness, we'll often be skeptical of that. We want two witnesses. We want three witnesses. Well there are three witnesses, the father, the son, and the Holy Ghost. These are three witnesses and by the way, this is why oneness Pentecostalism makes no sense because they're claiming that the father, the son, and the Holy Ghost are all one person. They reject the Trinity. The Trinity teaches three persons, one God. Oneness Pentecostalism teaches that it's just one person that wears a different hat. He puts on the father hat, puts on the son hat, puts on the Holy Ghost hat. That's not three witnesses. If it's just three different roles that he plays, that's not three witnesses. Imagine me going to court and saying, your honor, I have three witnesses. You know, and I'm going to call to the stand, first of all, Corbin Russell, the father. And Corbin Russell comes and gives testimony, all right, for my second witness I'm going to call Corbin Russell, the son. Because I mean, is Corbin Russell both a father and a son? Yeah. He's a father, he's a son, right? And then I said, okay, now I've got a third witness, your honor. At this time I'd like to call Corbin Russell, the deacon, to the stand. That would be ridiculous because it's the same witness three times. Okay, but the father, the son, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct witnesses. Now they're all equally God. Jesus is God, the father is God, the Holy Spirit is God, but Jesus is not the father, the father's not the son, the son's not the Holy Ghost. Three persons, one God. These three were always co-eternally existing as God, father, son, and Holy Ghost in all eternity. So these three witnesses are bearing witness to the truth of Jesus Christ in order for us to be saved, we have to believe that record. And so the Bible tells us here, let's keep reading in verse eight, there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree in one. Verse nine, if we receive the witness of men, meaning that if a bunch of witnesses told us the same thing, we'd believe them. The witness of God is greater, for this is the witness of God which he had testified of his son. He that believeth on the son of God hath the witness in himself. That's talking about the Holy Spirit, that's one of the three witnesses. He that believeth not God hath made him a liar because he believeth not the record that God gave of his son. So let's talk about another definition of believe here, another aspect of believing. The first point was that believing in Christ is trusting in Jesus Christ. We all understand that. But number two, it also has to do with believing the record that God gave of his son. Now that record is found in scripture. This is the record right here. The word of God, the Bible is the record that God gave of his son. And here's the thing, the Bible says if we don't believe that record, we make God a liar. So this helps us understand. Another aspect of believing is acknowledging the truth of something. So for example, if I got up here and said, you know, I own a black van, do you believe me? And if someone said yes, I believe you, they're basically saying that I'm telling the truth. And if they said no, I don't believe you, they're calling me a liar. And so the Bible says here that he that believeth not God hath made him a liar because he believeth not the record that God gave of his son. So if you don't believe the record in God's word, you're calling God a liar, which makes perfect sense because we know what the word believe means. So yes, the word believe means trust, but trust what? We have to trust the truth of what we're being told in scripture about Jesus as well. You know, we have to believe the record that God gave the son. What is that record? Well, the Bible tells us in the next verse, in verse 11, it says, and this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life and this life is in his son. Now what are the key components of this record? First of all, we see that God has given to us eternal life. Does that say that God has sold us eternal life or that we have to work for eternal life? We have to pay for eternal life? You know, I think of the billboard for the Marines, you know, earned, not given. Does everybody know what I'm talking about? Who's seen that ad campaign? Earned, never given. Okay, well guess what? There's earned and then there's given. Did we earn our salvation? Do we work our way to heaven by being a good person, following the commandments, doing good deeds? No, no, no. By Jesus, God has given to us and then let's get the next component. What did God give us? Eternal life. Eternal life means that it never ends. This means that once you're saved, you have eternal life. You're sealed with the Holy Spirit under the day of redemption and that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He will never leave us or forsake us. We have eternal life. God has given to us past tense eternal life and this life is in his Son and of course salvation is through Jesus alone. So we understand salvation is a gift, it's eternal, and it's through Jesus. That's the specific record here. If somebody doesn't believe that record, they're not saved. If somebody says, well, I believe God gave it to us and I believe it's through his Son, but I don't think it's eternal. I think you could lose it, you could screw it up, you know, if you sin too much or whatever. You're not believing the record. And by the way, you're not even trusting Christ because you're trusting yourself not to screw it up. Or if somebody says, well, you know, I believe it's eternal and I believe it's in his Son, but you know, I don't really think it's a gift. I think, you know, you got to work for it. You got to do the work. Nope, wrong. He that hath the Son, verse 12, hath life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have present tense right now. You have eternal life and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. And what does it mean to have eternal life? It means you're never going to do what? So if I say today, January, whatever it is today, what's the date today? Today January 17th, I have eternal life. If I lost it sometime in February, was it eternal on January 17th? In order to be eternal on January 17th, it has to last forever. Not like until I mess up. And that's why the Bible doesn't say you have to be born again and again and again and again and again. It's just born again. It's not like now I'm saved, now I'm not, now I'm saved, now I'm not. You get saved one time and it's eternal life. So point number one was that believing in Christ is trusting in Christ. Number two, salvation by faith includes believing a specific record. You know, there are certain things that if people don't believe this, they're not trusting in Christ. They do believe. If you went to any saved person, they would acknowledge that record we just saw. They'd say, yeah, God gave us eternal life and it's through his son. You know, that's easy. That's not hard for anybody who's saved to believe that it's a gift, that it's eternal and that it's through Jesus.