What's the difference in knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus?

Question

I am a Christian who has been wrestling with this question. With faith in my heart, I constantly seek answers to questions about salvation (was I really saved?), Heaven (if I've been saved, why will I be judged?) and my lifestyle (I forget to read the Bible daily). Our small group at church only really deals with the lessons we read that week so it's hard to talk with anyone face-to-face about this.

Any real help is appreciated. I don't want sugar-coated answers either, give me the truth! :)

Answer 1

Anytime you want to talk you are welcome to email me or call me. What I can't answer I will seek answers from those who are more knowledgable such as my pastor.
You are not alone in questioning whether you are saved or not, a lot of people feel that same way. In fact, my website has a discussion on that subject matter. . A lot of people sometimes wonder , "How can I be saved," or "How can I be forgiven" or "How could Jesus forgive me". Some feel that they were too bad to be forgiven. Some feel that there love is not deep enough to be saved. The fact of the matter is that whosoever believes in Jesus is saved, period. That's from the bible itself. Perhaps you doubt if you believe or truly believe, that feeling is normal. Some of that maybe Satan himself trying t coax you back to his side and way of thinking. Hope I've answered your question. If you want to chat online we can do so. My yahoo messenger Id is morganjlandry.

Answer 2

Knowing about Jesus means that you know some things that the Bible teaches about Him. "Knowing" Jesus has the idea of knowing Him as your personal Saviour who died on a cross to pay for your sins to save you from the eternal penalty and the power of sin in your life.

Believers will be judged for what they did with their lives after believing on Jesus for their salvation. It will be a judment of rewards. While reading your Bible every day is a good practice to incorporate in your life, what is more important is how you are applying what you have already read to the decisions that you make each day.

If you want to read more about this subject then check out The Judgment Seat of Christ at the top of the Free Stuff page @ http://www.express56.com/~bromar/

It is very common for believers to wonder if they have really been saved or not. There are two things that I know of that can help when you have those questions. The first is to examine your life and see if there has been a change since you became a Christian. No one can truly be saved if there is not some evidence of a life that is slowly changing in attitudes and actions from what it was like before becoming a Christian. If after a couple of years as a Christian a person just shows up for church and reads their Bible but doesn't seem any different than their peers who have not come to faith then it is possible that they have not truly been saved.

If there is a noticeable change then you are just having the normal doubts that usually come from things like wondering if God really loves you even though you are not worthy of his love, or from spiritual forces of wickedness that try to discourage God's children, or from relying upon your feelings instead of trusting that what the Bible says is absolutely true.

Romans 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Answer 3

"was I really saved?"...Don't worry about this, if you've accepted Christ, and you keep following Him in your life, you know Jesus. That is alot more than knowing about Jesus.

"Heaven (if I've been saved, why will I be judged?" We will all be judged someday; but if you know Jesus, which it seems that you do, you have nothing to fear. It is better to know Him, than to know about Him.

"I forget to read the Bible daily"..I'm sure that we all don't read the Bible daily. Does God expect us to? You can read and study when you have a chance, or try to make time to study. Pick a topic, and research it. You'll find it fascinating. Daily prayer helps bring us closer to knowing Jesus.
God Bless you.
Good question, too.

Answer 4

Most people know about Jesus, but knowing Jesus is what you have when you put your trust in Him for salvation from sin (to use religious terms). Knowing Jesus in not about how often you read the Bible, although reading the Bible helps, or about any other form or rule... it's about a relationship with a real person.

Answer 5

When we know Jesus, He lives in our hearts.
We become one with Him.
We love Him and speak with Him daily in our hearts and in our prayers.
Our lives are a living testimony of our belief in the Savior and our personal relationship with Him.
He and the Father become the center of our lives.

Most of the world now knows about Jesus Christ, but few, by comparison, know Him personally as their Savior and living, daily guide to their existence.

In the full Gospel sense, we should not only make Jesus our personal friend and guide, but also develop a personal, loving relationship with our Father in Heaven as well.
Many people who say they have been saved, actually miss this essential key to the Fullness of their personal salvation and their relationship with God.

That is the 'unsugar-coated' truth.

Jesus constantly talked of obeying the will of the Father.
His whole aim was to get close to the Father and to submit His will to that of the Father.
If we are to become true 'followers' of Jesus Christ, we must become personally aquainted with the Father, as He did - as He counselled us to, "Come, follow me." ... and He lived His whole life for the Father.

Answer 6

I like to think I have a fairly good relationship with Jesus. I never went in for that sugarcoated crap. It's dishonest. I hardly ever read the Bible. I don't need to. I know what God wants me to do. Remember that guy who asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was, hoping to trip Him up? Jesus said: The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul. And the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. On these, all the laws and prophets hang". That's paraphrased a bit, but I think you know what I meant.

When I think about salvation, I don't think about Heaven and Hell so much as some Christians seem hung up on. I think Hell is not a place but a state of mind. Hell is when I go merrily along my way, sinning and doing things that grieve God, and not caring. Trust me, I have acted in this manner and eventually, I felt the loss of God's presence. It is dreadful. It is Hell. It made me ill in spirit and I crawled back to God, begging for His/Her forgiveness. God welcomed me back, eagerly!

God really, really, REALLY does love us and wants us to have a relationship with Her/Him (I believe God is both male and female and neither! Yes, it's confusing but just let me have my little ideas, here!).

I go to church when I can (I'm sick a lot so I don't go as much as I would like) and other times I read books about art and music. I also make music and art and feel very close to my Creator when doing these things. I belong to a church that is very much about God's love. Our motto is: "No Rules, Just God". I agree. I think people make things much more difficult than they have to be. If you don't feel like reading the Bible, don't! Do you honestly believe God is going to throw you into a pit of endless flames for not reading a book? I hope not. I truly hope that you don't believe that.

Listen, before I end up writing a book HERE, let me stop. If you want to send me a private email and we can chat some more, that would be okay. I feel God's presence 24/7 and I feel God's unconditional love for me 24/7 and that, my friend, is a nice feeling.

And, if you think I never argue with God, think again! :)

Your sister in Christ,

-Spike

Answer 7

If you know Jesus you know you love Him , believe in Him and you feel His peace and you don't doubt that you are saved by His death for your sins. If you just know about Jesus it is the same as knowing about Allah or Mo hammed - just another god or name that people say exists

Answer 8

You''l know Jesus in many ways. Some through your suffering, some through your universal love for mankind, some for the tenderness you have for the weak and the lonely, some through the love he gave you through others.

Answer 9

Knowing on an intuitive level requires a purity of heart and mind that knowing on an intellectual level doesn't require. If we can combine them, all the better.

Answer 10

A young Christian asks such questions. A more mature Christian with answers with assurance will happen if you're reading more Scripture more often.

Matthew 1:20
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 10

32"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

34"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to turn
" 'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her motherinlaw—
36a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'[e]

37"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

40"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."