Shayla: Can’t a man be a Christian without believing that Christ was the Son of God?

Meforshim:

You can’t be a Christian (a Christ One) without understanding this most basic tenet of the Christian faith. If you don’t believe this, you are calling God a liar and you do not have eternal life.

• 1 John 5:9-13 Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. ¹⁰All who believe in the Son of God know that this is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son. ¹¹And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹²So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have his Son does not have life. ¹³I write this to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
• 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we are in God because we are in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.

The church’s existence is based upon this foundational “rock” – that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

• Matthew 16:16-18 Then he asked them, “Who do you say I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. ¹⁸Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

In fact, this point is used to determine whether a person is a false teacher or a wolf in sheep’s clothing. If a cult or denomination comes to you telling you that Jesus is not the Son of God or telling you that Jesus is merely a son of God, you know that they are not really following the Bible and they are not truly Christians regardless of what they say.

• 1 Corinthians 12:3 So I want you to know how to discern what is truly from God: No one speaking by the Spirit of God can curse Jesus, and no one is able to say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.