“WHOSOEVER” AND “BELIEVE”

 Elder Gorgonio D.U. Intong

“Whosoever and “Believe” is the good news for everybody, everywhere, every age, that Yahshua is our Savior. Some words may be bigger and some deeper, but none broader than “Whosoever”. It makes Almighty Father Yahweh’s plan for man’s salvation a very personal matter. It declares that every individual on the face of the earth is included. Nobody is left out. Not a single man or woman. Not the smallest boy or the tiniest girl. Most definitely it takes in you.

Wherever you read “WHOSOEVER” in your Scriptures you can substitute your own name, for in its all-inclusive offer of salvation it takes in the whole human race. The poor and the well-to-do, the sick and the well, the educated and uneducated, laborers, businessmen, miners, goldsmiths, carpenters, clerks, sailors, shipbuilders, actors, authors, professors, doctors, preachers, everybody!

Whatever you are, wherever you live, whoever you may be, Yahweh’s offer of salvation is for you. It doesn’t matter how big a sinner you may have been. Father Yahweh welcomes you just the same. If you feel that your life has been too unholy for Him to receive you, open your Scriptures to Romans 5:6 and read the blessed assurance, …“In due time Yahshua died for the unholy [wicked].”

He …“delivered Him up for us all,” (Romans 8:32), supplanted by great declaration that, “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Father Yahweh over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of Yahweh shall be saved.” (Romans 10:12-13).

When Yahshua died on Calvary He reconciled the world unto Yahweh (2 Cor. 5:19). He paid the price of sin. He bridged the gulf that sin had made. After that there was no excuse for anyone to be separated from Father Yahweh anymore. He made it possible for a sinful race to come back into full fellowship with its Maker. As Son of the Heavenly Father Yahweh and son of man, He became … “the way, the truth and the life:” (John 14:6); the way to the Father, back to the Almighty for all men, for all time.

The glorious transaction is summed up and crystallized in the most exquisite of all scripture passage, “For Yahweh so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). There it is again, that wonderful WHOSOEVER.

How it must have touched the hearts of the first disciples! For “WHOSOEVER” meant fishermen as well as rabbis, tax gatherers as well as priests, little people up in Galilee as well as the l-o-r-d-s of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. It took in the lame, the blind, the crippled, the lepers. It left out nobody who wished to be included.

When on the day of Pentecost Peter saw around him a crowd of strangers from “every nation under heaven” the same lovely word was cried aloud, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Yahweh shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21). Again, when he visited the home of Cornelius, the Roman centurion, he recalled the blessed word. As he talked about Yahshua he said, “To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.” (Acts 10:43).

Almost the last message from Yahshua in your Scriptures is a reminder of the same gracious, unlimited invitation, “I Yahshua have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the assemblies. … And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:16-17)

If you think that your life has been too deeply steeped in sin, remember that, “But Yahweh commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Yahshua died for us.” (Rom. 5:8). If you feel that you have been so unjust, unkind and cruel that Almighty Yahweh couldn’t possibly take you into His kingdom, do not worry, for “Yahshua also hath once offered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to Yahweh.”… (1 Peter 3:18).

If you think that you have sunk so low that even the love of Yahshua could not possibly reach you, you are mistaken, “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto Yahweh by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25). Whosoever will may come.

Says Shaul again in Ephesians 2:4-8, “But Yahweh, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Yahshua, … That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through the Messiah Yahshua. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of Yahweh.”

Those who think they must do something to win Almighty Yahweh’s favor and bring His power into their lives are sadly mistaken. No amount of money, no lengthy pilgrimage, no painful penance, no sacrificial service, not even meticulous observance of His commandments, can buy His wonderful salvation. It must be accepted as a gift of Father Yahweh’s grace. The story is told of a wealthy man who, for a wager, walked down the main street of his city offering bills of high denomination to passersby. Nobody took one, for all assumed they must be counterfeit, because they were free! Surely, they thought, no one would give away good money like this. But it was good money, and the people to whom it was offered lost the opportunity to gain instant riches.

Likewise Almighty Yahweh’s offer is good, the best ever made, and we need to be careful that we do not value it lightly because it is free. You may be wondering just what you should do about it. You may be asking, like the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:30, … “what must I do to be saved?” There is but one answer. It is the same as Shaul and Silas gave to that poor,

distraught man (in verse 31), as the prison still trembled from the earthquake, “And they said, Believe on the Master Yahshua the Messiah, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

BELIEVE is the strongest word; to trust Him, trust in our illustrious Redeemer, and accept what He offers. Peter says in Acts 15:11, “But we believe that through the grace of the Master Yahshua the Messiah we shall be saved, even as they.” To the Ethiopian official who requested baptism, “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Yahshua the Messiah is the Son of Yahweh.” (Acts 8:37).

“He who believes on the Son has everlasting life; but he who does not believe the Son will never see life, for the wrath of Yahweh rests upon him.” (John 3:36). Here a most important fact should be noticed. It is not sufficient to say, “I believe that Yahshua the Messiah was a real person,” or “I believe that Yahshua the Messiah was a good man,” or even, “I believe that Yahshua the Messiah lived, died, and rose again.” Something more is necessary. It is, “I believe that Yahshua the Messiah is the Son of Yahweh.” He who believes on the Son has everlasting life!

“He, who believes in the Son of Yahweh, has that testimony in himself. He, who does not believe Yahweh, has called Him a liar; because he has not believed the testimony that Yahweh has given about His Son.” (1 John 5:10). Faith and feelings should not be confounded. Faith is ours to exercise in the word of Almighty Yahweh, regardless of our feelings, and often in opposition even to our feelings. Many fail to accept the pardon, an assurance of the acceptance of the Heavenly Father, because they do not take Yahweh at His word, but instead turn their attention to their changeable moods and feelings. Faith always precedes the joyful feelings which naturally result from the assurance of forgiveness and acceptance.