Belief

By Michael Moser

The entire Bible is about God's patience, love, and grace in saving us from our sins. From Adam to Revelation and everywhere in between, there is one calling, one invitation, and one faith. God asks us to listen to His word, believe that Word with all your heart and all your soul, and act on that belief through trusting, loving obedience to Him from the heart. While hearing of God and His wonderful grace proclaimed is the first step, one must then believe that message that He is the one true God and that God made salvation possible through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Of what effect would be the hearing of the gospel if it did not cause belief? Of what gain is there to say you believe in God when you do not? Of what benefit is obediance to God if you do not believe in Him?

Webster's dictionary defines belief as confidence and trust in a firm conviction about something, accepting it as true. In our case, we are talking about a firm conviction in God's love and grace. How can we have confidence and trust so that we may accept this as true? One gains confidence of something by careful examination. Once a certain level of confidence is reached, we develop a trust that our research and study has yielded sufficient proof of that something. That irrefutable proof allows sufficient faith in our study so that we can accept the truth of the matter. Again, God's love for us in wanting us to join Him in eternal life and grace in allowing us to do so in spite of our sins when we obey Him is the matter at hand. We can only do research and study on God in His word, the bible. He speaks to us in no other way today since miracles ceased with the death of the apostles (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). Since we require sufficient evidence of God's love, we need the testimony that is found in the bible. The Bible is a book of testimony, given to create faith in the human heart. The New Testament is filled with examples of miracles and signs performed by Jesus so that those seeing Him would believe and those reading of Him throughout all time would also believe. "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." (John 20:30-31)

Belief comes to rational people through rational means. The bible is a rational exposition of the love of God and His desire for all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Many sincere religious people contend that faith comes as a result of the direct working of the Holy Spirit on the human heart. If such were true, all men would believe since God treats no one person differently from another (Acts 10:34). Since all men do not believe, this cannot be true. We can believe God's promise to us through His word:

John 20:31

but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name

John 17:20

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Romans 10:8-17

But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." 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? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?" So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God

Acts 18:8

Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

If you hear the word of God as it is found in the bible, you can have faith that it is irrefutable proof that God loves each and every one of us and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross as a once for all time sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 9:11-28). You can have full faith and confidence that when He promises eternal life, He will grant it to those who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9). One of the most famous verses in all of scripture is John 3:16-17. It is a fitting conclusion to our discussion of belief. Won't you believe today and take this essential step on the road to salvation? "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."