342. The previous section (336-339) showed that saving faith is in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. But the question may be raised, what is the leading point of faith in Him? The answer is that it is acknowledgment that He is the Son of God. This was the leading point of faith which the Lord revealed and announced, when He came into the world. For if people had not first acknowledged that He was the Son of God, thus God proceeding from God, He Himself, and afterwards the Apostles, would in vain have preached faith in Him. Now because the situation at the present day is similar, but in the case of those who think from the self, that is, only from the external or natural man, saying to themselves, 'How can Jehovah God beget a son, and how can a man be God?', this leading point of faith must be proved and established from the Word. I shall quote therefore the following passages:

The angel said to Mary, You will conceive in your womb and give birth [to a son], and you are to give him the name of Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. And Mary said to the angel, How shall this be, seeing I have no knowledge of a man? The angel replied, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so that the holy thing that is born of you will be called the Son of God, Luke 1:31-32, 34-35.

When Jesus was being baptised, a voice came from heaven, saying, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, Matthew 3:16-17; Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:21-22.

Then when Jesus was transfigured, again a voice came from heaven which said, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, listen to him, Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35.

[2] Jesus asked his disciples, Who do men say I am? Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. I tell you, on this rock I shall build my church, Matthew 16:13, 16-18.

The Lord said that He would build His church on this rock, that is to say, on this truth and admission, that He was the Son of God. For rock means truth, and also the Lord in His capacity as Divine truth. Therefore where anyone fails to admit this truth, that He is the Son of God, the church is not present. That is why it was stated above that this is the leading point of faith in Jesus Christ, and so the true source of faith.

John the Baptist saw and bore witness that He is John 1:34.

Nathanael the disciple said to Jesus, You are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel, John 1:49.

The twelve disciples said, We believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, John 6:69.

He is called the only-begotten Son of God, the only-begotten of the Father, who is in the Father's bosom, John 1:14, 18; 3:16.

Jesus Himself admitted before the High Priest that He was the Son of God, Matthew 26:63-64; 27:43; Mark 14:61-62; Luke 22:70.

Those who were in the boat came and worshipped Jesus, saying, Truly, you are the Son of God, Matthew 14:33.

The eunuch who wished to be baptised said to Philip, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Acts of the Apostles 8:37.

Paul after his conversion preached Christ ¹ as being the Son of God, Acts of the Apostles 9:20.

Jesus said, The hour will come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live, John 5:25.

He who does not believe has already been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God, John 3:18.

These things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, so that by believing you may have life in His name, John 20:31.

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have everlasting life and you may believe in the name of the Son of God. 1 John 5:13.

We know that the Son of God came and gave [us understanding,] so that we might know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and everlasting life. 1 John 5:20.

If anyone shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. 1 John 4:15.

Also elsewhere, as Matthew 8:29; 27:40, 43, 54; Mark 1:1; 3:11; 15:39; Luke 8:28; John 9:35; 10:36; 11:4, 27; 19:7; Romans 1:4; 2 Corinthians 1:19; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 4:13; Hebrews 4:14; 6:6; 7:3; 10:29; 1 John 3:8; 5:10; Revelation 2:18.

There are also many passages where Jesus is called Son by Jehovah, and He calls Jehovah God His Father, as in this:

Whatever the Father does, this the Son does; as the Father raises up the dead and gives them life, so does the Son; so that all may honour the Son, as they honour the Father. As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself.' John 5:19-27.

There are very many examples elsewhere; and it is the same in the Psalms of David:

I will bring news of a decree. Jehovah said to me, You are my son, today have I begotten you. Kiss the son, so that he may not be angry and so that you do not perish on the way. For in a short while his wrath will blaze up; blessed are all who trust in him, Psalms 2:7, 12.

[3] These passages now permit the conclusion that everyone who wishes to be a true Christian and to be saved by Christ should believe that Jesus is the Son of the living God. Anyone who does not believe this, but only that He is the son of Mary, is implanting in his mind various ideas about Him which are damning and destructive of his salvation; see above on this (92, 94, 102). Much the same might be said of these people as of the Jews, that in place of a King's crown they put on His head a crown of thorns; and also that they give Him vinegar to drink and cry, 'If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross' [Matthew 27:29, 34, 40]. Or as the devil said tempting Him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread' or 'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down' (Matthew 4:3, 6). These people profane His church and temple, and make it a robbers' cave. These are those who make His worship like the cult of Mohammed, and do not distinguish between true Christianity, which is the worship of the Lord, and nature-worship. They can be likened to people riding in a carriage or a trap over thin ice, when the ice breaks beneath them and they are drowned, as freezing water closes over them, the horses and the carriage. They can also be likened to those who fashion a boat out of rushes and reeds, and glue it with pitch to make it hold together, and entrust themselves to it on the open sea; but the pitch that holds it together comes unstuck, and they are drowned and swallowed up in sea-water, and find their grave in its depths.

Footnotes:

512. II. Contrition, which is said at the present time to precede faith and to be followed by the consolation of the Gospel, is not repentance.

The Reformed Christian church has a tradition of a kind of anxiety, grief and dread which they call contrition; in those undergoing regeneration it precedes their acquisition of faith and is followed by the consolation of the Gospel. This contrition, they say, arises in them as a result of fearing the just wrath of God, leading to the everlasting damnation which is inherent in everyone as the result of Adam's sin and the consequent tendency to evils. Without this contrition, faith which imputes the merit and righteousness of the Lord the Saviour is not bestowed. Those who have acquired this faith receive the consolation of the Gospel, which is that they are justified, that is, made new, regenerated and sanctified without any cooperation on their part. They are thus rescued from damnation and given everlasting blessing, which is everlasting life. But there are three questions about contrition to be discussed: whether it is the same as repentance; whether it is of any importance; and whether there is such a thing.