What Does it Mean to Believe in Jesus?
“He then brought them out and asked,
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “They
replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved– you and your
household.” (Acts 16:30-31)
“Do you believe in Jesus?” seems like a strange question. It sounds like the same question as “Do you
believe in Santa Claus?” or “Do you believe in aliens?” But the question “Do you believe in Jesus?” is
asking far more than “Do you believe that Jesus Christ existed/exists?” The true meaning of the question is “Do you
believe Jesus Christ is who the Bible says He is, and are you trusting Him as
your Savior?”
So, do you believe in Jesus?
Suppose you were walking along a path and you came to a bridge
which crossed a deep canyon. You might look at it and believe that it would
hold you, and you might even see other people walking across it so you know it
would hold your weight. But so far, your
“belief” in the bridge is only in your mind. When do you really believe the bridge will
hold you? You only really believe it
when you are willing to commit your life to it and actually walk across it.
Consider these questions:
1) Do you believe that Jesus is God in human form? (See John 1:1, 14)
2) Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for
your sins (See 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21), for which you deserve
eternal separation from God? (See Romans 6:23)
3) Do you believe that the sacrifice of Jesus is the only adequate
payment for your sins? (See 1 John 2:2; John 14:6; Acts 4:12)
Do you believe these things? If you do,
great! But believing the facts about
Jesus is only part of the equation. Biblical faith/belief is far more than
believing certain things to be true. Biblical saving faith is also trusting
and relying on those facts.
A chair is a good illustration. You can
look at a chair and believe it is made of materials strong enough to support
your weight, and you can believe that it was assembled correctly. But that is not biblical faith. Biblical faith is sitting in the chair. It is actually relying on the chair to hold
your weight off the ground.
Are you trusting that Jesus is your Savior? Are you relying on His death as the
full payment for the debt of your sin? Are you depending on His resurrection
as the guarantee that you, too, will be raised to eternal life after death? Not that it could ever happen, but if the
“chair” of Jesus Christ were pulled out from beneath you, spiritually speaking,
would you hit the ground, or are you also relying on things in addition to the
chair?
If you understand and believe what the Bible says about Jesus, and
if you are trusting in those truths as the basis for salvation—you are saved! You “believe in Jesus” in the biblical sense.
If you are uncertain if you truly believe in Jesus, but you desire to, or if
you feel God drawing you to faith in Jesus, the next step is simple. Believe! Trust in Jesus! Rely on Him for your salvation. Allow God to turn you from sin to forgiveness
and salvation.
If you would like to verbally express your new faith to God, here is a sample
of what you can say:
“Heavenly Father, I know that I have sinned. I know that my sin
separates me from you. I know that if
left unforgiven, my sin will separate me from you for eternity. I believe and trust that Jesus Christ is my
Savior, that He died to pay the full penalty for my sins and that He rose from
the dead on the third day. I am relying
on His sacrifice alone to bring me into a right relationship with you. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for saving me. Help me to grow closer to you each and every
day for the rest of my life.”
Have you made a decision for Christ because of what you have read here? If so,
please let me know so that I may rejoice with you.
I pray that you will seek to grow closer to Him, and that you will
daily pray and read His Word. If you
have any questions please fill free to contact me and I will do my best to
answer them.
I will not be posting throughout the entire holiday time. There will be one post on Christmas day and
one post on New Year’s Day. I will
resume posting full-time again on January 5th.
God bless you! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
