What Precisely Must One Believe About Jesus?
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message of what we must do to have eternal life is the farmhouse in the middle.
The surrounding material explains why the house is there. It all represents the
gospel. But only part of it represents the part of the gospel that must be believed
for eternal life. So too, what we must do to have eternal life is part of the gospel.
But the gospel is much broader than that.
Let`s carry this argument regarding 1 Cor 15:1-11 to its logical conclusion.
If what Paul says there is the minimum one must believe to have eternal life, then a
person could not be born again unless he knows about Jesus` post-resurrection
appearances. And it would not be enough to merely know He appeared. One would
need to understand and believe that He appeared specifically to Cephas/Peter
(1 Cor 15:5), James (15:7a), to all of the apostles (15:7b), and to Paul himself
(15:9).
I don`t ever recall even one evangelist proclaiming everything Paul mentions
in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 in an evangelistic message. Yet many people say that one
must preach that to evangelize people.
One Can't Believe in Jesus without Believing
the Full NT Revelation about Him
This is a corollary to the first objection stated above. Many theologians and
exegetes argue that one cannot believe in Jesus for eternal life without being well
People Saved Before Jesus Came, Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society (Spring 2003): 63-70.