What Does it Mean to Believe?

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31). If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). These two Bible verses are true in their message and beautiful in their simplicity. This simple message however, represent a complex process.

If you ask, “How do you become a physician?” The simple answer is, “You go to medical school.” This simple statement summarizes the complex tasks of getting a premedical college degree, applying to medical school, graduating from medical school. Further, while you are a physician upon graduation, practicing medicine requires additional training (internship, residency and board certification) and the ongoing process of maintaining your license and competence.

We should not be surprised that salvation is “easy” but not “simple.” Acts 16:31 correctly states that all that salvation requires is to believe (to have faith) in (the gospel) of the Lord Jesus. The question arises, “What is it that the gospel tells us that we must believe about Jesus in order to be saved?” The answer to that question is complex.

Salvation is not about passing a theological quiz. It is unlikely that the thief on the cross had an intellectual understanding about Jesus and His teachings (Luke 23:39-43). Jesus responded to the thief’s sincere request for His favor by promising the thief that he would be with Him in paradise. As God, Jesus knows our hearts (John 2:23-25). His knowledge of the thief’s heart was the basis of His response.

Jesus welcomes deathbed conversions. Fortunately, most people come to faith by responding to the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

The essentials truths of the gospel are: 1. God loves you and wants to be in relationship with you. The Bible uses the relationship between a father and his children to describe this relationship (2 Corinthians 6:18; Romans 8:16). 2. We are sinners – we do not obey the commandments of God’s (Romans 3:23). 3. Our sin separates us from God and prevents us from being in relationship with Him (Isaiah 59:2). This was the situation mankind was in prior to Jesus coming to earth.

4. Jesus death and resurrection paid the penalty for our sins (1 John 4:10). 5. If we have faith (actions taken on what we believe) in Jesus, then He forgives our sins and our relationship with God begins (Ephesians 2:8-10). 6. Our earthy life has new meaning and purpose as we serve Jesus as our Lord. Our purpose is daily to become more like Jesus (sanctification: Hebrews 12:14) and to share the gospel with others (deeds of righteousness: Matthew 28:19).

Based on the gospel we believe, we confess that Jesus is our Lord (Romans 10:9). Our greatest joy in life is to follow Him by obeying His commandments (John 14:15, 21) and completing the good works that He has prepared for us to do (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:10). Believe in the Lord Jesus.