Sermons on important subjects by Rev. Paul C. Jong

< 1 John 5:1-11 >

“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

The Apostle John says in today’s Scripture passage that our Savior Jesus Christ has saved all sinners and brought salvation to them through coming by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit. There is not a single disciple of Jesus that mentions the shedding of His blood on the Cross without also mentioning His baptism. Our faith is made also firmer by ruminating the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

On the other hand, there are many Christians who insist only on Jesus’ bloodshed on the Cross and ignore the gospel of the water and the Spirit. How could they distort the true gospel so much? Since the time of the Apostles, the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit has been covered and replaced by many doctrines that were made by people ignorant of the true gospel. As a result, most Christians today believe in Jesus in the wrong way, failing to know the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. We can see that the faiths of those who only believe in Jesus’ bloodshed on the Cross are dwindling away into nothing as time passes by.

There was a time, after the Reformation, when the churches in Europe grew increasingly superstitious. In other words, the expansion of Christianity brought the superstitious faith and vice versa. People under the rule of the Devil are inherently shamanistic in their faith. Hence, it was foreseeable that they would distort the truth of Christianity. Their superstitious faith was based on their idolization of the Cross of Jesus. They groundlessly believed that the Cross had the power to overcome Satan, and that, if they have faith in the shedding of the blood on the Cross by Jesus Christ, they would receive salvation and the power of the blood to overcome Satan.

The dominion of Satan the Devil grew more widespread in a time of such prevalent superstitious beliefs. Satan the Devil deceived people to believe only in the blood of Jesus Christ, by whispering into the ears of people, “Didn’t the Lord shed His blood for you?” As a result, people were convinced that their belief in only the blood Jesus shed on the Cross would be enough to attain their salvation.

However, this was not the original gospel that the Apostles and disciples of Jesus had preached from the beginning. The Apostles believed in not only the blood Jesus shed on the Cross but also in the gospel of the water and the Spirit as the true and original gospel (1 John 5:5-7). The Apostles believed and witnessed that both the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood Jesus shed on the Cross constituted the true gospel (1 John 5:3-8).

How do today’s Christians know about the true gospel? Do they believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit as the true one? Or do they witness the blood of Jesus as the sole true gospel?

They do not know the true gospel manifested in the Bible. They did not know the true gospel of salvation of all sinners from their sins that was accomplished when Jesus came by the baptism He received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross. Do you by any chance believe only in the blood Jesus shed on the Cross as the true gospel, instead of the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit?

If so, you must know and believe that the true gospel consists of Jesus’ baptism and His bloodshed on the Cross. Because Jesus has taken all the sins of the world through the baptism He received from John the Baptist, He could atone all of them by shedding His blood on the Cross. Therefore, you have to realize that the water in the Bible implies Jesus’ baptism, which is the antitype of salvation of all sinners from their sins through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:21).

As the Bible says, “There are three that bear witness on earth” (1 John 5:8), there are three witnesses to the fact that God delivered us, who were once sinners. The witnesses to our salvation from our sins are that Jesus took the sins of this world by receiving the baptism from John the Baptist, that He paid off all the sins by shedding His precious blood on the Cross, and that Jesus resurrected from the dead. Our true salvation is based on the three facts that Jesus came to this world by receiving the baptism and by shedding His blood on the Cross and by the Holy Spirit in order to deliver the sinners. If anyone lacks belief in one of these three facts, that person’s salvation is incomplete.

The Lord is the Son of God and God Himself, who came to this world in the flesh of man. Jesus the Son of God came to this world in the flesh of man by the Holy Spirit to deliver all sinners from all of their sins through receiving the baptism of the water from John the Baptist and shedding His blood on the Cross. Jesus took onto Himself all the sins of the world and paid for the wages of all sins without any remnant. This salvation was accomplished by Jesus’ receiving of the baptism of the water and by His bloodshed on the Cross.

If a person omits any one of the three, —the water of Jesus’ baptism, His bloodshed on the Cross, and the Holy Spirit, —that amounts to denying God’s Truth of salvation for that person. If we follow the opinion of the masses, we should believe in Jesus’ bloodshed on the Cross as our only witness to our salvation. However, the Apostles John and Peter said that the witnesses to the salvation of sinners are the baptism of Jesus and His bloodshed on the Cross. Jesus’ baptism and His bloodshed on the Cross become the sources of our salvation from all our sins.

It is written in the Bible that the Lord was born through the Holy Spirit. The Apostle John details the witnesses to the salvation of the remission of sin as the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit. In other words, the faith that delivers a sinner from his sins is the faith in Jesus Christ, who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit. These three are the utmost concrete witnesses to our salvation.

Dear fellow believers, how do we overcome the world? Don’t we overcome the world with our faith in Jesus who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit? Because we believe in the Savior, who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit, we can overcome the world and receive the remission of all our sins (1 John 5:4-5). In order for us all to overcome the world, we have to possess the faith that brings us full remission of our sins. You have to receive the remission of sin, the power to overcome the world, and the eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit.

Before I was born again, I lived my religious life in Christianity, believing only in the blood Jesus shed on the Cross. At that time, I believed that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that He came to this world to die on the Cross vicariously shedding His blood, where I should have rightly been judged instead. I thought that was how I was delivered from all my sins. I put all my efforts to witnessing the faith in Jesus’ blood on the Cross. I thought that I would become a missionary. I was even determined to sacrifice my own life as Jesus Christ did for all of humanity.

Although I believed that Jesus was God and that Jesus had shed His blood on the Cross to atone all my sins, I still had sin in my heart. Furthermore, I couldn’t overcome the sinful world with that faith I had then. I wanted to overcome and escape from the sting of sin.

I came to realize that I could not wipe out the sins in my heart merely with my faith in the salvation by the blood that Jesus shed. However, thanks to the Lord, I came to meet the Truth. God had blessed me with the true gospel of the water and the Spirit. Once, I was unable to recover from falling into sin. Yet, after I realized the secrets of the baptism Jesus received, my soul was recovered immediately and made clean.

As I struggled in the past, many people today are struggling with their sins and are trying to recover their first love because they only know and believe in Jesus’ blood on the Cross. Still, they are unable to recover their first love and fall into condemnation instead because they do not know correctly about Jesus Christ, who came by the water and the blood.

This is what they need to know. When Jesus Christ received the baptism from John the Baptist, all of our sins were taken onto the body of Jesus. People fall into despair and vanity in their hearts, because they have sin for not knowing the Truth.

We have to stand fast on this Truth. And in the Holy Spirit and Jesus, who received the baptism from John the Baptist and shed His blood on the Cross. Although we may be lacking, we must believe that our Savior took onto His own body all of our sins through the baptism He received at the River Jordan and washed away all of our sins once for all. If we are to attain salvation at once, we have to come to realization in faith that the Lord is our Savior, who has blotted out all the sins of the world by His baptism and blood. By our faith in Jesus’ baptism and His blood, we are delivered from all of our sins and their consequent judgment. By believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we have been washed from all of our sins and can lead victorious lives that overcome the world. Our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the very power of faith.

Again I am saying to you that you do not possess salvation unless your faith is based on the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If you are insisting on Jesus’ bloodshed on the Cross alone, you surely still have sins in your heart. As such, we must believe in the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross. We have to know that Jesus made us whole by coming by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit.

Some people, even though they don’t know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, might think that the Lord won’t fail to approve them, since they have lived their entire lives for the Lord, holding Jesus as their Savior. They must be sinners, since they still have sins even after they have accepted Jesus as their Savior.

Still others may say, “There is no more sin, since Jesus Christ came to the world by the Holy Spirit in order to take all the sins of the world onto Himself.” However, unless their faith is that of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they can never receive the real remission of their sins with their faiths. Many evangelicals still insist such faith. But, the whole faith is to believe in Jesus who received the baptism from John the Baptist to take all the sins of the world onto His own body and shed his blood on the Cross.

Faith that is approved by God believes in Jesus Christ who came by the water and the Spirit. If you do not have this kind of faith, you won’t be able to receive the remission of your sins wholly. Jesus Christ received the baptism from John the Baptist, died on the Cross shedding His blood, and resurrected from the dead. Put differently, Jesus the true God came to the world in the flesh of man and washed away all the sins of the world by the water and His blood. The Lord came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit and saved us wholly from our sins. By doing so, the Lord has fought against Satan the Devil and has overcome Satan completely. Jesus now sits on the right hand of God the Father’s Throne in Heaven.

God the Father has fulfilled His will by sending His Son as the Lord and Savior to those who believe in Jesus’ baptism and blood. Now, God the Father sends the Holy Spirit into the hearts of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

The Lord tells us, who believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, “You are saved. You no longer have any sin. Yes, I have delivered you from all of your sins by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit. Now, your salvation is whole in your faith in the water and the blood. You, who have this faith, will overcome this world just as I did. You are no longer sinners before Me. Now, you are the righteous. You are now My people and My children. Be of good cheer! I have overcome the world.”

God also witnesses to the salvation of the born again who have faith both in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and in the baptism and the blood of Jesus. The concrete evidence of salvation in the hearts of the righteous also lies in the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit. The gospel of the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit testifies that Jesus has taken all our sins with His baptism, and that He atones all of them by shedding His blood on the Cross. The Truth is that all the sins of the world were transferred onto Jesus, when Jesus received the baptism at the River Jordan (Matthew 3:15). We have to ruminate this perfect and powerful gospel from time to time.

A person who has received the remission of sin overcomes Satan the Devil, the false prophets, and the all persecutions of this world. This is possible through the faith in the baptism Jesus received and the blood Jesus shed on the Cross. The Word of Truth, which is the gospel of the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit, is in their hearts. By believing in Jesus Christ, who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit, we can overcome Satan the Devil and the world. Believers in the baptism Jesus received and the blood Jesus shed on the Cross also have the power to overcome numerous false prophets.

Our true “overcoming” depends on our faith in the gospel of the water, the blood, and the Spirit. We have neither true remission of sin nor the power to overcome the world, if we do not believe Jesus as the Son of God and our Savior according to the Word of God’s witness.

Do you have the faith to overcome the world in your heart? You can overcome the world, if you have in your hearts faith in the witnesses of the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit. Do you believe that all the sins of the world have already been transferred onto Jesus when He was baptized? Do you also believe that Jesus received judgments for all of our sins by dying on the Cross instead of us? Those who believe in the three witnesses, which are of the water, of the blood, and of the Holy Spirit, have received the remission of their sins wholly and have the power to overcome the world.

The Apostle John believed in Jesus as his Lord and Savior, who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit. The disciples of Jesus could overcome the world by believing in the same gospel Word of the water and the Spirit. Hence, the Apostle John said to his brothers, who had been persecuted while spreading the true gospel, “Be of good cheer! You can overcome the world with your faith in Jesus Christ, who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit in order to save you.” The power to overcome the world that is given to all believers lies in the faith in Jesus Christ, who came by the water, the blood, and the Spirit.

1 John 5:8 reads as follows: “And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.”

These days, Christians rarely talk about the Truth of the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist. Excluding in their beliefs the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist becomes an obstacle for them in receiving the remission of sin. Those who believe in Jesus without also believing in the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist are deceived by Satan the Devil.

Then, what happens to those who do not believe correctly? They will forever fail to receive the remission of their sins. God’s Word is the Sword of Truth and the Light of Life. We cannot ignore even the shortest passage of His Word. That’s why we have to live in our faith in the gospel of the water and the blood, which is from God. No one can overcome the world, unless a person believes in the baptism Jesus received and the blood He shed on the Cross.

However, there are still too many people who do not believe in the gospel of Jesus’ baptism and His blood of the Cross, which has washed away all our sins. Some such people have not received full remission of their sins because they only believed in the blood Jesus shed on the Cross. Those people unfortunately remain sinners despite their beliefs in Jesus because they have sins in their hearts.

We have to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit in every possible opportunity. If we fail to witness to people the gospel of the water and the blood correctly, every Christian all around the world would merely be a hypocritical religionist.

What kind of faith does Christianity today possess? We can see that Christianity is not based on the foundational Truth of the remission of sins, which comes from the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That’s why today’s Christianity has to urgently believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. All the religions of the world were created by humans. Yet, Christianity is of God-given faith, and is distinctively based on God’s Truth of the remission of sin through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Religion is far different from true faith.

Therefore, those who think that Christianity is no different from any other religion in the world have false knowledge. They teach Christian ethics and morals as if that was the gist of God’s will. They must come to first know the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Jesus Christ did not come to this world to establish a new ethical order but to save the sinners through the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. These days, many Christians are seeking to satisfy their own ambitions by abusing Christianity.

If you believe in Christianity without first knowing the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, Christianity loses its distinctiveness from all other religions. Those who believe in Christianity as one of the worldly religions teach people ethics and morality in order to satisfy their own lusts of the flesh. They may say, “What does it matter whether I believe in this or that so long as I go to Heaven?” Such people have to turn around and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, knowing that Christianity has been distorted into a worldly religion.

The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the central Truth of Christianity. Thus, we have to receive the blessing of the remission of all our sins and eternal life by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Beliefs that are based on one’s own thoughts and not on the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit are all forms of religiosity, which are practiced in vain.

Let’s rethink what the faith in the real Truth is all about. Suppose people survived a sinking cruise vessel in the Pacific Ocean, by hanging onto a rubber boat. The captain of the vessel has already sent SOS emergency messages. Once the rescue helicopter arrived, those who held onto the rope attached to the chopper and wrapped the rope around themselves were likely to be rescued successfully. However, if anyone was so confident in one’s arm strength that he only held onto the rope, he could possibly fall back into the Pacific Ocean once his strength gives out.

Likewise, if a person believes in God without also believing in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, that person would be in an unrequited love with God. They would say that they somehow believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but they neither know nor believe in the baptism and the blood of Jesus Christ, which compose the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Among them, there are many who still ask to be delivered from the sins of this world.

These people may have thought that they could hold onto their religious faith. Yet, in reality, they fall down because of their sins. Although they knew that the Lord would save them from their sins, they fall back into sins of this world and die in sin because they relied on their own strength. Dear fellow believers, Christians with incorrect faith cannot but live in this unrequited love.

They should first pray to Jesus, “Jesus, I believe in You as my Lord and Savior. Yet, I still have sins even after believing in You. What shall I do now? I should believe that I am saved from sins since I believed in You Jesus, but despite my beliefs I still have sins and I worry I might not go to Heaven. Oh Lord, I cannot be one of Your people yet. Lord Jesus, please deliver me from all my sins.” Until they encounter the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they must pray like this.

Dear fellow believers, you have to be washed from all your sins by believing in the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood Jesus shed on the Cross. If you do so, the power of this true gospel will save you from all the sins of the world. The baptism Jesus received in this world and the blood Jesus shed on the Cross has ample power to wash away all the sins of those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

From now on, those who have believed only in the blood Jesus shed on the Cross must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They are people who deceive their own conscience that they have no sin in them, although they believe only in the blood Jesus shed on the Cross. These people think that they can be washed from their sins through prayers of repentance.

Some other people struggle emotionally because their sins are not wholly taken care of by their faith in the doctrines of their denominations. Such people have to recognize first that they are lacking to be saved from all of their sins on their own merits alone. God requests them to have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, since this kind of faith is of the Truth that God approves.

True Christians are those who believe that Jesus took onto Himself all the sins of the world, and received judgments for those sins by the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. They know and believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, who received the baptism from John the Baptist, died on the Cross instead of us shedding His blood, and resurrected from the dead. The Lord has witnessed to us that He came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit to save us by washing our sins away. The Lord is saying to us, “Yes, I am your Lord and Savior. I saved you by the water and the blood. I am your Savior God.” Hence, we receive His approval when we wholeheartedly believe in our Savior, who came by the water and the blood.

Jesus is telling us that our beliefs are in vain if we believe in Him while omitting any of the essential witnesses of the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit. We have to first believe in the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross. Every one of the Apostles believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Jesus presented the baptism He received from John the Baptist as a sign of salvation of all humanity (1 peter 3:21). It is only because Jesus first received the baptism that He consequently died on the Cross by shedding His blood and resurrected from the dead so that whoever believes in Him may receive salvation.

Did the Apostle Paul also mention the baptism Jesus received? Let’s have a look at how seriously the Apostle Paul believed in the baptism Jesus received.

Romans 6:3 says, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” Here, the phrase “as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus” signifies that we believers could die with Christ and resurrect with Christ because Jesus took onto His own body the sins of this world once for all by the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist. If we believe in Jesus’ baptism as the union between us and Jesus Christ, and if we believe that He had completed His righteous act on the Cross, His free gift of the remission of sin is given to every one of us who believe in Him as such. Hence, Romans 6:3 reads, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?”

Romans 6:5 also says, “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.” Those who believe in the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist died together with Jesus Christ on the Cross and resurrected with Him from the dead as a result.

Another Bible verse that Paul mentioned the gospel of the water and the Spirit is Galatians 3:27. Galatians 3:27 says, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” This means that he who believes in Jesus’ baptism has put on the perfect righteousness of Christ. The Apostle Peter also says, “There is also an antitype which now saves us-baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). As such, all the Apostles believed and witnessed the water and the blood of Jesus and His resurrection.

Dear Christians, you have to realize that your sins cannot be washed away unless you believe in your hearts that Jesus received the baptism from John the Baptist to take all the sins in your hearts onto Himself. You also have to believe with your hearts that the blood Jesus shed on the Cross was the vicarious judgment for your sins. The only way to escape from your sins is to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. You cannot become righteous, free from all your sins, unless you believe in the Truth that Jesus Christ, who is fundamentally God, came to this world and saved us by the water and the blood.

This is why God does not approve the faith based on so-called “the Doctrine of Justification.” Those who advocate this doctrine claim that even though they have sin in their hearts, God treats them as sinless just because they believe in Jesus somehow.

Jesus does not call a sinner sinless. There are still many people in this world who believe in the Doctrine of Justification without knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Although God is Almighty, there is one thing He cannot do. It is lying. Jesus does not call those who have sins sinless just because they believe in Him. God calls those who have no sin the righteous. Similarly, God calls those who have sins in their hearts sinners and judges them accordingly.

People are pressing for the Doctrine of Justification because they cannot believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit. The Omniscient God cannot acknowledge a sinner as sinless. They must recognize the truth that the only way for them to be made sinless is to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Unless they believe in the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist, there is no way for them to be cleansed from all their sins. Our God is not such a God, who calls a sinner sinless.

God approves the faith of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, if you have insisted on the Doctrine of Justification until now, you have seriously misunderstood the judgment of God despite your faith in Jesus because you failed to realize the Truth of the water and the Spirit. Now is the time for you to throw it away and to hold onto the true gospel of the water and the Spirit. This is the only way for you to avoid your folly of standing against God.

What you have to know is that the Christian doctrine of justification is not the real Truth. Most Christians are now comforted by this doctrine, because they all have sin in their hearts. And this is why they are holding fast onto this foolish, man-made teaching. As I said before, the Doctrine of Justification deceives people by saying that God deems a sinner as sinless as long as he professes Jesus as his Savior one way or another.

But, you must recognize that when you still have sins in your hearts, God tells you that you are still sinners and not His own people. If you are still sinners, you are merely calling yourselves God’s own people, although God Himself does not think that way. How foolish it is if we think on our own that we will be deemed sinless despite the sins that are intact in our hearts!

God is the just God who determines whether you are His own people or not by whether you have sins in your heart or not. God is not unjust to call a sinner sinless. God is incapable of a lie. Since God is Himself righteous, He hates lies. Therefore, we have to realize that it is deadly wrong to think that God would call a sinner sinless just because that person believes in Jesus somehow. You must believe that God calls you righteous because you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, who came by the water, the blood, and the Spirit.

There is only one kind of faith that Jesus acknowledges as sinless. God acknowledges only those who possess this kind of faith. Where can we get this kind of faith? We gain that kind of faith when we believe that Jesus came to this world in the flesh of man, receiving the baptism from John the Baptist at the River Jordan and shedding His blood on the Cross. Through His baptism and bloodshed, Jesus took onto Himself all the sins of all sinners and delivered them from their sins.

We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, if we believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, which Jesus presented us. The real faith that is acknowledged by God is like this. The real faith believes that Jesus Christ came to this world, received the baptism from John the Baptist in order to take onto Himself all the sins of this world and bore the judgment of the sins of the world on the Cross, where He shed His blood and died. God surely acknowledges the faith of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Jesus would not have died crucified on the Cross shedding all His blood, if He had not received the baptism from John the Baptist, which transferred all of our sins onto Him at once. Neither would Jesus have said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Jesus cannot call those people, who believe only in His blood, God’s people because of the sins intact in their hearts. Such people have to believe urgently in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, since their sins are not completely washed away. Whoever still has sins in his heart should admit that he is not yet saved, and the sins in his heart are the proof that he himself is doomed to Hell.

Jesus Christ can acknowledge the sinlessness of those who have received full remission of their sins because they believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The gospel of the water and the Spirit tells us that Jesus came to this world to save us from all our sins by the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist to take onto Himself all the sins of this world and by the blood He shed on the Cross, which fully paid for the wages of the sins of the world. Jesus acknowledges the faith of those who believe in the baptism He received and the blood He shed on the Cross. Jesus says to them, “You’re right. You now have My salvation. Now, you are the righteous. You are My children.”

Those who believe in the baptism Jesus received and the blood He shed on the Cross have received their salvation from all the sins of this world and have no sin in their hearts in actuality. Those among Christians who still believe only in the blood Jesus shed on the Cross have sins in their hearts because they have not acknowledged the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist.

There are only Truth, Justice, Honesty, Love, and Gentleness in the Kingdom of God. Nothing false exists in the Kingdom of God, not even 0.1%. There is no favoritism or partial judgment, calling a sinner sinless.

Matthew 7:22-23 says, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

Jesus never have indicated that our good deeds of flesh or our human will would add to our chance of receiving our salvation from our sins. They would still reply back to Jesus, “Lord, I have offered two of my houses so that the gospel may be spread. I have even offered my life for You. Lord, haven’t You seen me living for Your sake? Haven’t You seen me offer my own body and life so that I may not deny You?”

Then, the Lord would ask them, “do you still have sins in your heart despite all that you have done?”

“Yes, I still have a little bit of sin in my heart.”

“Then, you have to depart from me. There is no place in the Kingdom of God for a sinner like you.”

“But I was martyred for You.”

Jesus would reply back, “What martyrdom are you talking about? You died to show off your own stubborn will. Did you accept in your heart the gospel Truth that I have received the baptism from John the Baptist to take onto Myself all your sins as well as the sins of the rest of the world and that I have shed My blood on the Cross? Can your heart, full of sins, testify that you are God’s own people? You have no witness that testifies on your behalf that you are God’s people, while the sins in your heart still remain. You still have your sins because you have not believed in Me Jesus Christ, who received the baptism from John the Baptist at the River Jordan to take the sins of the world onto Myself.”

As a small spark begins a huge fire, Jesus tells us that people, who have received the remission of their sins through their faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, will shine the light of salvation brightly into the world since they have no sin in their hearts. Believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have received their salvation from sins through the Love of God and are truly able to practice the Love of God.

1 John 5:8 says, “And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” What the Lord did in this world is presenting us with salvation by the water, the blood, and the Spirit.

1 John 5:9-12 says, “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

We the born again receive the witness of men sometimes. We receive the witness of the others in this world to the fact that we are the righteous. But the Bible states that the witness of God is even greater than this, and that the witness of God is about His own Son.

Do you have in your heart the evidence of your salvation from all your sins? In my heart, there is a witness that I have been delivered from all my sins. That witness is that I believe that Jesus came by the Holy Spirit to this world for me and everyone else; that by receiving the baptism from John the Baptist at age 30, which fulfilled God’s righteousness entirely, Jesus took onto Himself all the sins of this world; and that Jesus Christ bore all my sins to the Cross and received judgment for my sins. To revive all the believers from death, Jesus resurrected from the dead on the third day.

The Lord has saved us from the sins of this world by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. What would have happened to our salvation, if Jesus did not resurrect from the dead but instead stayed in the tomb? If so, “then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (1 Corinthians 15:14). But, our Lord has risen from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of the throne of God. The Lord still is testifying to us that He is our Savior through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

I believe that Jesus saved us form all our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Jesus has saved the entire humanity from their sins through the salvation by the baptism He received and the blood He shed on the Cross. Because Jesus saved us from all of our sins by the way of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we have received our salvation by believing in the Truth of that gospel. This is my testimony.

I wish that all of you would have the same testimony as mine. Those who have been washed from their sins completely never ignore the Truth of the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross. Because the baptism Jesus received is one of the essential components of our salvation, they do not ignore the baptism. They do not exclude any essential of the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. The essentials of the true gospel are the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:15 says, “For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus received the baptism from John the Baptist at the River Jordan in order to take onto Himself all of our sins once for all. Then, He bore the sins of this world onto the Cross. We should not become disbelievers of this gospel of the water and the Spirit.

If the Apostle John were alive today, what would he say to today’s Christians? He would testify that the sins of this world were transferred onto Jesus, when Jesus received the baptism from John the Baptist.

Yet, most Christians still believe that they have to say the prayers of repentance daily so that God can wash their sins whenever they pray in repentance. Dear fellow Christians, have you ever read in the Bible that your sins are washed by your prayers of repentance? Those who deny that our sins were washed by the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist, make Jesus into a liar.

Jesus washed away all the sins of this world once for all by receiving the baptism. Dear Christians, fellow believers, you have to receive the salvation from all your sins by believing in the gospel of salvation that consists of the baptism Jesus received and the blood He shed on the Cross. People, who do not believe in the essentials of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, that is, the baptism Jesus received and the blood Jesus shed on the Cross, are neglecting their souls to fall into Hell.

The gospel of salvation that Jesus has given us applies to everyone. Jesus has received the baptism and shed His blood on the Cross to wash away the sins of this world. He has fulfilled all righteousness on His won. Therefore, now, the salvation is absolutely up to you. People who believe in this Truth receive salvation from their sins. People who do not believe in the works of God make Jesus into a liar, and, consequently, are sent to Hell according to the just Law that states the wages of sin is death.

People do not go to Hell because they commit a lot of sins in this world, but because they do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which was given to us by Jesus. They are abandoned and sent to Hell because they have made Jesus into a liar.

Dear fellow Christians, I ask you not to make Jesus into God who lies. People, who do not believe that Jesus bore on Himself all of our sins by receiving the baptism from John the Baptist, have sins intact in their hearts. How can we say we are sinless without first believing in the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross?

I have once asked an elder of a nearby church whether he had received the remission of his sins. He said that he had believed in Jesus over half a century.

“Elder, you probably don’t have sins in your heart since you believe in Jesus, do you?”

“Surely, I do not. My sins are all vanished.”

“The Bible tells us that Jesus achieved salvation for all by bearing all the sins of this world. If that’s true, you must have received salvation from all your sins?”

“Of course, I have received salvation from all my sins.”

“Then, are you without sin?”

“I have no sin.”

“Then, how would you take care of sins that you might commit in the future?”

“I will pray in repentance. I was taught that my sins would be washed as I give prayers of repentance for my daily sins.”

“Would all your sins disappear from your heart then, elder?”

“Sins in my heart are not expunged easily.”

People who do not know and, hence, believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot be washed from their sins. This kind of people who do not believe in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit makes Jesus into a liar. They desecrate the love of Jesus. It is heartbreaking to see their struggle against their sins.

Is Jesus really not able to wash away the sins of the world? How can Jesus be our Savior, if He weren’t able to wash away the sins of this world by the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Will you make Jesus into a liar by not believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit? You and I should not make Jesus into a liar. The Bible tells us, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7). This passage implies not to make Jesus into a liar. We should not mock at Jesus, treat Him lightly, or treat Him as a human just like one of us.

The Apostle John informs us of the gospel of the water and the Spirit in great detail. But, still many people fail to receive salvation from their sins because they do not believe in Jesus Christ, who came by the water and the blood. They are sinners who do not believe in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit exactly as it is written. People who believe in every thing Jesus did can profess themselves to be “the righteous.”

What kind of people are liars in front of God? A liar does not believe that Jesus gave His whole salvation to sinners. Such a person is doomed to Hell. He is mocking at Jesus by making Him a liar.

Dear fellow believers, you should not make Jesus into a liar. Jesus bore the sins of this world once for all by coming to this world and receiving the baptism from John the Baptist at the Jordan River (Matthew 3:15). By means of the laying on of hands, Jesus received the baptism from John the Baptist, and thus, He has fulfilled all righteousness.

1 John 5:10 says, “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself.” I believe that Jesus has granted us the remission of our sins once for all by the water and the blood. Jesus was born into this world through the body of the Virgin Mary. I believe that Jesus received the baptism of the remission of sin from John the Baptist at the Jordan River, taking the sins of the world and bearing the sins on the Cross, where He was crucified and died shedding His blood, and that Jesus resurrected from the dead.

People, who have received salvation through their faith in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, have the witness of the Word in their hearts. The witness of salvation to the righteous is the Word of faith in Jesus, who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit.

Do you have the witness of Jesus’ salvation, which came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit? The Bible says that we have the witness in ourselves (1 John 5:10). People who have the Word of witness to their salvation in themselves believe that their sins have been transferred onto Jesus by the baptism and the blood.

Dear fellow believers, do you have the faith that bears witness to your salvation? You cannot receive full salvation with your faith in the bloodshed of Jesus on the Cross, if you do not also believe in the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist. It is this Truth that deserves special emphasis in any circumstance.

The Apostle John says, “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself” (1 John 5:10). Some people say that they believe in the bloodshed of Jesus on the Cross, although they do not believe in the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist. But, such a faith is nothing but a half faith that can never be approved by God. Jesus acknowledges the faith that believes in all three essentials of the authentic gospel: the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit.

People, who do not believe both in the water and the blood as the remission of their sins, believe in the blood alone as their salvation. They live in their religiosity, believing in the blood Jesus shed on the Cross alone as their salvation. Such Christians believe in only half of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. I do not know how the people who call themselves “evangelicals” are not ashamed of their lack of acknowledgment of “the water,” which is the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist.

I want to tell you, every Christian in the world, that you cannot be born again from all of your sins unless you believe in Jesus Christ, who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible testifies that only those people, who have accepted Jesus Christ, who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit, as their Savior, are saved from all of their sins. We cannot receive the witness to our salvation from all of our sins without first believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

The gospel of the water and the Spirit has the power to cleanse all the sins of the world all at once. The gospel gives its believers much assurance that they are saved wholly in God’s love of Truth. That’s why the Apostle Paul said in          1 Thessalonians 1:5, “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance.”

However, many Christian leaders still deny the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They insist on the blood Jesus Christ shed on the Cross alone as the salvation, and mock the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Does Jesus testify on our behalf that we have received salvation, even if we believe only in the blood Jesus shed on the Cross? Not at all. Faith only in the blood Jesus shed on the Cross is an arbitrary faith that is from Satan the liar. Jesus acknowledges our faith, when we believe in both the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross.

What Satan the Devil and false prophets are most afraid of is the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, which states that Jesus has washed away all our sins once for all by receiving the baptism from John the Baptist. People who belong to Satan do all they can to disbelieve in the salvation of sinners by the baptism Jesus received and the blood Jesus shed on the Cross. But, we can see that their faith is false by the presence of sins in their hearts.

There is a scene in the movie “the Omen,” where some people are trying to perform an exorcism with a crucifix. However, you cannot defeat Satan the Devil just because you press forward a cross. Satan is not repelled by a mere cross. People who are born again by the water and the blood have a witness in front of God of their remission of sins. And Satan the Devil also knows that they have the Word of witness that he can’t overcome by any means.

We have to overcome Satan the Devil through our faith in Jesus Christ, who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When the Devil says this and that to accuse you of your personal sins, you have to repel the Devil by asking, “Don’t you know that Jesus has taken all my sins away?” Satan and his followers cannot bear to hear the Word of the water and the blood. Thus, Satan departs from the righteous after trying to deceive them once or twice.

People who belong to the Devil hate to sit alongside the righteous who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Bible says, “He who does not believe God has made Him a liar” (1 John 5:10). They do not believe in the witnesses of the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit, which are about God’s Son.

What is the concrete evidence that God’s Son has delivered us from our sins? The evidence is that Jesus Christ came to this world conceived of the Holy Spirit, took onto Himself all the sins of the world once for all by receiving the baptism from John, atoned all our sins by shedding His blood on the Cross, and resurrected from the dead to fulfill all righteousness. The evidence of our remission of sin lies in our faith in Jesus Christ, who came by the water and the blood and the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, if a person fails to believe in Jesus Christ, who came by the water and the blood and the Holy Spirit, he cannot but remain a sinner. Christian leaders who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot but become the false prophets who believe falsely and teach falsely.

1 John 5:11 says, “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” This Bible verse tells us that Jesus has presented us with the eternal life and that the eternal life is in Jesus Christ. Again, that life is in the Son of God.

People who believe and teach the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit are teachers of the real Truth. People who have gained eternal life in front of God are those who are born again by their faith in the baptism and the blood. They receive the eternal life and live forever in front of God, since they have received the remission of their sins by believing in the true gospel.

1 John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Put differently, people who believe in what the Son of God has done have life. On the other hand, those who exclude even one of the things that the Son of God has done are devoid of life. Jesus Christ the Son of God has come to this world for the remission of sins of sinners by the baptism He received from John the Baptist, by the blood He shed on the Cross to His death, and by the resurrection from the dead.

The Apostle John has distinguished between the people of God who have received the remission of their sins and those who are not God’s own people. He has discerned between the righteous and the sinners by whether they believe in the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit or not. The servants of God know the difference between the sheep and the goats. Not only the Apostle John but also Paul and Peter were able to distinguish between the righteous and the sinners. People who are not born again by the water and the Spirit cannot distinguish the sheep from the goats.

How can the servants of God know who God’s people are? It is because they have received the power of discernment along with their remission of sin that they can discern who are saved and who are not saved.

Many Christian leaders cannot distinguish between a saint and a mere churchgoer. Although they have been assigned positions at their churches, these people must be without salvation nor life in themselves. However, people, who have received the remission of their sins by their faith in the water and the blood of Jesus, can discern whether another person is a sheep or a goat. This is possible because the gospel of the water and the Spirit is in them as well as the Holy Spirit. People who are in the Lord can discern the spirits of others. In contrast, people who don’t have the life from God cannot distinguish others.

It is as if a color-blind person is unable to discern red from green. Green is green, and red is red. People who are not colorblind can distinguish between colors by the slightest differences of their hues. “This is green and that one is red.” Yet, there are people who cannot see colors clearly because they are color-blind. We know that red is different from green because we have seen the difference. But it is absolutely difficult to explain color to a color-blind person.

The ability to discern between people who are received the salvation of the remission of their sins and those who have not received is one of the authorities God has given to those who have received true remission of their sins.

We must believe and spread the gospel of the remission of sin, which makes people born again through the Truth the Son has fulfilled with the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit. We have to rise and shine the light of Truth.

When we spread the gospel of the remission of sin, we sometimes encounter the opponents of the gospel, who say, “Is that the only truth?” At these incidents, we should not speak from our own wisdom but share our interpretation of the Scripture passage in 1 John 5. We should expound this Scripture passage about one theme and then take the other passage for another theme so that they may not be confused. Then, they will come to accept the Truth.

The Word of the remission of sin, which we are preaching all over the world, is the Light. God has led us out of darkness so that we can live with clear spiritual sight to discern Truth from false. Since we have the power to discern, we should live our lives after the Truth. Spreading the gospel of the water and the blood is the life of Light to us. We have to teach this Truth to everyone so that there is not a single person who in unaware of this Truth.

God might judge us if many people die because we, who have received the remission of sin, have not shone the gospel Light of the water and the blood and the Spirit. God surely will rebuke those who do not work for the gospel, calling them wicked and lazy servants. To receive God’s approval that we have been good and faithful servants, we have to spread the righteous act of Jesus, who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit.

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I am emphasizing the importance of spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit repetitively, because unless people have chance to hear the Truth, they cannot be delivered from their sins. It is written, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)

We live truly blessed lives when our hearts are soaked with the passion to spread the gospel. To live spiritually, we need to have spiritual wisdom. We gain wisdom by realizing the real Truth through our faith in God.

We need to explain the true gospel repetitively to those who lack the fundamentals of true faith. By doing so, a person comes to understand the gospel. Jesus came to this world by the water of the baptism and the blood of the Cross and the Holy Spirit.

Dear fellow Christians, I pray that you may be born again and receive full remission of your sins through believing in Jesus Christ, who came by the water, the blood, and the Holy Spirit.

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