Belief on the name of Christ


jms.mills
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I grew up in an evangelical church. Now a member of the church (LDS). I often heard sermons and lessons urging people to believe on the name of Christ (i.e. believe on the name of Jesus Christ and be saved).

What does it mean to believe on the name of Christ?

What is the significance of this phrase?

James

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I grew up in an evangelical church. Now a member of the church (LDS). I often heard sermons and lessons urging people to believe on the name of Christ (i.e. believe on the name of Jesus Christ and be saved).

What does it mean to believe on the name of Christ?

What is the significance of this phrase?

James

Excellent question James. This principle speaks to the heart of the Gospel.

It is the first priciple of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to have faith in Jesus Christ, and in his Atonement. The scriptures teach that there is no other name that leads to Salvation.

And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. (Mosiah 3:17)

Belief in his name is referring to the way to Salvation. Faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement leads to repentance, which leads to a desire to baptized. At baptism, we enter into a covenant with God where we take upon us His name. In other words, we become the disciples of Jesus Christ. King Benjamin from the Book of Mormon, is awesome. Here is some food for thought:

8 And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.

9 And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ. (Mosiah 5:8-9)

Sincerely,

Vanhin

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Fundamentally, it's about experiencing a sense of "family" as it relates to the Lord.

Do we "feel" like the Lord really is "family"? Or do we see Him as an Ogre?

Do we behave in a manner that reflects this belief?

That is what I think it means to believe ON the name of Jesus Christ.

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I grew up in an evangelical church. Now a member of the church (LDS). I often heard sermons and lessons urging people to believe on the name of Christ (i.e. believe on the name of Jesus Christ and be saved).

What does it mean to believe on the name of Christ?

What is the significance of this phrase?

James

The “name” or believing on a name has specific reference to covenant. In a marriage covenant a woman will take upon her the name of her husband and they have power to act for one another. Believing on the name of Christ is to covenant to become a saint in Christ and act in his behalf. One of the 10 commandments is to not use G-d’s name in vein – which means to make claim to believe on his name but not to act accordingly.

If someone is having difficulty living up to their covenants it would be better for them to not make claim to Christ rather than heap upon themselves condemnation. At the same time it is important to progress toward Christ line upon line upon line – precept upon precept upon precept. Jesus made it very clear that those that use his name improperly will not be blessed when he indicated that some that did works in his name would be told that they were not know of Christ and to “depart”.

It is my belief that as long as one seeks to follow Christ and treat others as they believe Christ would treat them that they are worthy of the name of Christ. It is also my belief that if you have to tell others that you believe in Christ because it is difficult for them to determine that from your behavior that you might be better off not making public such a claim.

The Traveler

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The scriptural references that I am using are 2 Nephi 25:12-13, John 3:16, Acts 10:43 and other scriptures which indicate that salvation comes through/on/in a belief of Christ's name.

While studying the scriptures a few nights ago, I was struck with the following thoughts:

A name is the idenity by which a person is known both in this life and the next. With the mention of one's name, in this case Christ's name, the listener automatically up conjurs mental images of who that person. In Christ's case, images of love, peace, selflishness, and other godly attributes might come to memory, as well as His teachings.

If one is not aquainted with the background of an individual, in this case Christ's teachings, the name is just a name. For example, when a little child goes over to a friend's house and gets in a fight with his friend, and says something to the effect, "I'm going to tell my mom!" Often times the friend to whom the statement is directed is not threatened by the statement because he has no relationship with his friend's mother. In other words, he does not believe in/on the name of his friends mother. I am not trying to say that Christ is somehow limited by human knowledge, but that a human can only believe in something of which they have knowledge.

Lastly, anyone can say that they know me. A hacker can find out all of my personal information, to the minute detail. Even with this information, the hacker still does not "know" me. Only those who have spent time with me, talked with me, knows how I treat my family, etc. truly know me. Only a person who truly knows me would be able to sit in a witness stand as a character witness, whereas the hacker could not. The person who has spent time with me believes in me. They will be able to testify of my true character only because they have spent the time and energy to get to know me.

It is similar, at least in my mind, to believe in/on the name of Christ. A simple acknowledgement of Christ's existance as the Savior of the world is not the same a truly "knowing" the Savior. A person may start out with that simple knowledge, but if that is all he/she strives to know of the Savior, then I submit that it is not a true belief. Such a state of stagnation is, in my mind, is represented in Revelation 3:15-16.

I know that God is the only being capable and/or qualified to judge the human heart. In my mortal mind, I cannot comprehend how a person can truly believe in/on the name of Christ without developing and strengthening both their relationship with Him and/or testimony of Him.

Just some humble thoughts on the matter,

James

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Hi there James. I think my post is going to be a little bit different from those on this board. I hope you get a lot from it.

Believing on the outside meaning of Name.....Jesus Christ does not save anyone. Because the word "Name".....Means = NATURE. Therefore it should be whomsoever believes on my NAme [Nature] Shall be saved. Also with belief comes works.

The Name Jesus Christ means in part...."HE Who SAVES" is "THE ANNOINTED ONE with LIGHT."

Jesus said Both of these Sayings...."I AM LIGHT" and "I AM LOVE". What shall save men is their walk in LIGHT and LOVE.

Here is the bible verse and now it can easily be understood when the Lord shall cleanse us of our sins.

1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

This now also explain clearly the meaning....of Jesus and Isaiah when they said....

Matthew 15:8 - This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

We cannot honor the Son with our heart if we only give Lip service. And Lip service is not walking in the Light As Christ is in the Light. We must walk the talk. Also there is another sin attached to this. Which I will not go into at this time.

To honor the Lord we must learn to Walk in Light and Love as He did in His life. And none can do this without first learning Repentance.

Peace be unto you

Bert10

I grew up in an evangelical church. Now a member of the church (LDS). I often heard sermons and lessons urging people to believe on the name of Christ (i.e. believe on the name of Jesus Christ and be saved).

What does it mean to believe on the name of Christ?

What is the significance of this phrase?

James

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