What does the word “believe” mean? The dictionary answers, “To consider to be true or honest, to accept the word or evidence of someone or something.” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/believe)
No Work Needed
By definition, a Christian is someone who believes on Jesus for righteousness. Romans 10:6-7 says, “But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
These verses sound a bit confusing, but what Paul is saying is that there is nothing we need to do to earn our salvation. We don’t need to go anywhere or do anything. This is righteousness based on faith in the risen Lord Jesus. Faith in the truth of God’s word and the Gospel.
Our salvation is through faith in Jesus alone (see Ephesians 2:8).
Confess and Believe
How do we place our faith in Jesus?
Romans 10:9 tell us, “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”
We have established that it takes faith to be saved. From this verse we see that there are two things that we have do: confess and believe.
Confess
To confess Jesus as Lord, we must first acknowledge our need for a Savior, turning from our sins and repenting of them (see Matthew 4:17 and Acts 2:38). We confess Jesus’s saving Lordship privately to him and publicly to others.
A new believer’s baptism is a public confession, a testimony to others. Baptism doesn’t save you, but it is a public declaration of what Jesus has already done in your life. This is why, before someone is baptized, we always have them confess before the congregation what Jesus has done in their life. There is power in our confession.
Believe
But believing is more than simply saying a few words. Anyone can say a sentence without believing it. Faith on Jesus is believing that he can save me from my sin and then trusting him for my salvation. There is a difference between believing in something and believing on something.
One can believe in the historical Jesus, the fact that a man was born and lived in Israel 2000 years ago, without believing that he is the Christ and the only way of salvation.
Believing is more than declaring; it is evidenced in how you live. When we truly believe on Jesus for salvation, it changes the way we live so that our decisions and lifestyle flow from a Christian perspective—what we would call a Biblical worldview (see John 8:31-32).
We must believe that Jesus died in our place, but we must go further and trust him with our lives now and in eternity. We must believe on him for salvation and for our transformation.
Belief That Saves
Salvation is not based on giving verbal ascent to certain truths. Our salvation is based on fully trusting on Jesus, leaning on him, resting on his completed work—believing that Jesus has saved you and that he will save you. This is belief that saves.
We, by nature, believe in things and people all the time, but sometimes our belief is unfounded. The person or thing we believe in lets us down.
- We believe in our strength, until it is gone.
- We believe in our wealth, only to find it fleeting.
- We believe in our medical professionals, until they have no answers.
- We believe in our friends and family, until they desert us in hard times.
- We believe in our political leaders, only to find that they don’t share our values.
- We believe in our military, until our nation, like every great nation one history, crumbles.
- We believe in our intellect and learning, until we encounter a problem we cannot solve.
Ultimately, everything we believe in is fleeting. Only Jesus remains. He is the only eternal God, who can handle all of our problems and our cares (see 1 Peter 5:7).
Does your belief match your confession?
The Role of the Church
We have the truth, and we have our belief, but what is our responsibility as the church?
Romans 10:14-15a says, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”
Every day we interact with people who do not believe on Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Our role as the church is to declare the Gospel, to tell others about him. There is tremendous importance in speaking the truth of God’s word.
But why don’t we share the Gospel?
The excuses are plentiful, “I am not an evangelist”, “I am too shy”, “They might reject me”, “I might lose my job”, and many more.
However, may I suggest that the real reason that we don’t share the Gospel is that we don’t believe it?
If we truly believe that we are all eternal beings, destined for either heaven or hell, and that the only way to be saved—from suffering in hell and eternal separation from God—is to confess and believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, then we would take every opportunity the Holy Spirit gives us to share this truth with those around us.
Do You Believe?
Are you living like you believe? Or are you living like a practical atheist? Professing to be a Christian, but in the practical issues of life—finances, career decisions, relationships, etc.—relying on your instincts, your intellect or even Google!
Do you trust Jesus in everyday life, or do you live as if he doesn’t even exist?
Do you believe the truth of the gospel enough to want to share it with others?
If you don’t believe on the name of Jesus for the every day life issues, then he is not Lord of your life, and it is an indication that you may not be not saved.
Being a Christian is not coming to church, carrying a Bible or attending meetings; it is believing on the name of Jesus for everything. It is having a personal relationship with him that governs your every decision. And it is believing the good news of the gospel is so good you want others to believe it, too.
Do you believe? Have you confessed that belief?