“He did not need any testimony about mankind, for He knew what was in each person” (John 2:25 NIV). Of course, Almighty God knows everything about us. He is our Creator. “And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17 KJV). This is what makes this matter of trusting in His name so vital. He knows when we sincerely believe Him and when we are trusting Him for selfish, self-serving reasons, such as the Jews who wanted to make Him a king because He had performed miracles for them. “23 Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs He was performing and believed [Greek, pisteuō] in His name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust [Greek, pisteuō] Himself to them, for He knew all people” (John 2:23-24 NIV).
Here’s the problem.
Believing in Jesus is absolutely necessary to get to Heaven, i.e., “Believe [Greek, pisteuō] in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household” (Acts 16:31).
However, insincere, selfish believing is unacceptable to Jesus, and He will refuse to commit Himself to us, as His children. “But Jesus would not entrust [Greek, pisteuō] Himself to them, for He knew all people” (John 2:24).
How do we know they had insincere, selfish believing?
“Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs He was performing and believed [Greek, pisteuō] in His name” (2:23). These were the same people “Jesus would not entrust [Greek, pisteuō] Himself to them, for He knew all people” (2:24).
All of this sounds plausible, but is that what it is really saying? Yes.
“23 Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs He was performing and believed [Greek, pisteuō] in His name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust [Greek, pisteuō] Himself to them, for He knew all people” (John 2:23-24 NIV).
Even, Paul insisted, believing was essential to salvation. Notice that Paul qualified the believing as the sincere, “I-really-mean-it” kind of faith, when he wrote, “If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe [Greek, pisteuō, commit] in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Translators chose to render pisteuō as “believe” in John 3:16, but they could have just as easily chosen “commit” to function as the equivalent. Commit gives us the sense of commitment. This is exactly what some have complained is missing from the recitation of the “Say-It-And-Forget-It” Sinner’s Prayer. But, is that fair to say? After all, it is supposed to be “praying-Jesus-into-your-heart.” That is where the “it-is-necessary-to-be-baptized-to-be-saved” insist upon the one being baptized proclaim “Jesus-is-Lord” at their baptism. “If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe [Greek, pisteuō] in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 NIV).
As you can see, both are in agreement on the necessity of heart commitment, but disagree on the mechanics of the commitment.
Both praying the Sinner’s Prayer approach to salvation and the “it-is-necessary-to-be-baptized-to-be-saved” approach to salvation can be circumvented by the insincerity of the faith of the one believing, as we have seen by John’s inspired statement: “But Jesus would not entrust [Greek, pisteuō] Himself to them, for He knew all people” (John 2:24 NIV). Jesus knew what? He knew the sincerity of their heart, when they said, “I believe.” A sincere heart is what God accepts. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).
Father, we know that this discussion will not solve everyone’s questions about the nature of salvation, but we pray it will take down barriers in our understanding preventing us from presenting salvation to those around us for whom Christ died. Cause Your Spirit to work in us and those around to give us a willing heart to repent, believe, and obey the Gospel. Grant us confidence in You as the One who knows us, loves us, and deserves us to submit to You for now and for Eternity. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Your name, we pray. Amen and amen.
We Need A Miracle 