Jesus would have us believe him,not just things about
him! This ancient and subtle switch from hearing & believing what he
teaches to believing things said about him is deceiving all of Christendom. If
one believes Jesus, the correct belief's about him will follow.
Here is the Truth:
Truly,
truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not
come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
(John 5:24)
My teaching is not mine, but
his who sent me; (John 7:16)
The
words of Jesus are the words of God, and Jesus is the teacher. The only valid
recipe for eternal life is to listen to what Jesus teaches and then believe him,
which is to believe God. Eternal life comes only through the words He has
spoken:
It is the spirit that
gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you
are spirit and life.
(John 6:63)
Eternal life comes
only through hearing Jesus. His words are the precepts of God; all else are the
precepts of men. Jesus gave the implication of this when he quoted
Isaiah:
...in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts
of men.
(Mark 7:7)