WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELIEVE IN JESUS?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO
BELIEVE IN JESUS?
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| Photo Credits:@mlightbody |
Today I want to go back to the basics of Christian
Faith.
I
came across a very interesting question while reading an article. It said “if I believe that Jesus is the Son of God the same way that I believe that
Vladimir Putin is the leader of Russia, have I fulfilled the conditions needed
to be saved? Or is there more to believing in Jesus than that?
I rarely write evangelical articles but rather
mostly discipleship ones because this is the area I feel strongly called in.
Though as Christians we are all witnesses of Christ Jesus through our changed
lifestyles and therefore we basically are evangelists first. In order
to disciple (teach) a new believer he must come to Jesus first and how will
they come to Jesus if they do not know Him? Romans 10:17. This is where
evangelism comes in. So today’s post is about how one gets saved.
A person becomes a Christian believer by being
born again. Jesus Himself said that night when teaching Nicodemus (a pharisee) that unless one is born again they cannot inherit eternal life. John
3:1-2. This is a confirmation from our Lord Jesus that unless one
receives and accepts salvation their destiny is the eternal fire of hell. But
God does not desire for anyone to perish but for all men to be saved John 3:16-17.
This begs the question what is salvation? We are told that it is belief in Jesus as the son of God. Then again what is to believe in Jesus? How can you know you are now saved? The simplistic nature of the message of the cross and grace for forgiveness of sins has caused many to be skeptical or question what Jesus meant by believe in the son of God and you will be born again and even others to be doubtful of their salvation. So going back to the earlier example of Vladimir Putin I would say there is more to believing that Jesus is the son of God than just knowing and assenting to that fact.
This begs the question what is salvation? We are told that it is belief in Jesus as the son of God. Then again what is to believe in Jesus? How can you know you are now saved? The simplistic nature of the message of the cross and grace for forgiveness of sins has caused many to be skeptical or question what Jesus meant by believe in the son of God and you will be born again and even others to be doubtful of their salvation. So going back to the earlier example of Vladimir Putin I would say there is more to believing that Jesus is the son of God than just knowing and assenting to that fact.
How do we know this? Because Satan and his demons
know and believe that Jesus is the son of God see James 2:19, Matthew 8:29 and Mark 1:24.
Believing in Jesus therefore can be seen as a three stage process i.e. knowing, embracing and having faith (trust).
1) First we get to know who Jesus is because without
knowledge how can we gain understanding. We need to know that Jesus is the son
of God; the second person of the triune God. The word that was from the
beginning THROUGH which all things were created and that same word incarnated John
1:1, 14 (came
to earth in human form) to fulfill the promise of a savior that would save
mankind and reconcile them back to fellowship with God just as it was in the
garden of Eden before the fall and separation of man from God see Genesis 3:15 and Hebrews 2:14. This
promise is of a savior, a sacrificial lamb that is blameless (sinless) to die
and pay the price of sin in man see John 1:41, 4:25-26. When He died
He resurrected again after three days and went back to heaven where he came
from, before the very eyes of men so they would know and believe He is who He said He was see Acts 10:40-41, 1 John 4:2 and
Romans 5:6-11.
Just in the same manner He will come back to judge the world based on the truth which He revealed to all men; the grace of salvation because He has promised all who believe in Him will be forgiven of their sins and declared righteous on account of His righteousness and His sacrifice on the cross Romans 3;21-22,2 Corinthians 5:18, Colossians 2:13-14. They will be reconciled back to God and receive the Holy Spirit (third person of the triune God) as a mark of Sonship in the Kingdom of God see Ephesians 1:13-14, and so that they can always have fellowship with God.However, those that would not believe Him will be condemned to eternal separation from God (hell).
Just in the same manner He will come back to judge the world based on the truth which He revealed to all men; the grace of salvation because He has promised all who believe in Him will be forgiven of their sins and declared righteous on account of His righteousness and His sacrifice on the cross Romans 3;21-22,2 Corinthians 5:18, Colossians 2:13-14. They will be reconciled back to God and receive the Holy Spirit (third person of the triune God) as a mark of Sonship in the Kingdom of God see Ephesians 1:13-14, and so that they can always have fellowship with God.However, those that would not believe Him will be condemned to eternal separation from God (hell).
2) Second part of believing in Jesus is embracing the knowledge received about who Jesus is. Satan knows that Jesus is
the Son of God, He believes in the sovereignty of God but He does not embrace
it, in fact He hates it because He is full of pride and wants to be above God
and rule over everything. His plan from the beginning was to overthrow God. So believing is also embracing this knowledge
as the truth.
3) The third part of believing in Jesus is having
faith and trusting that Jesus actually died so that you may be saved. You trust
that your sins have been forgiven on account of His death on the cross and
resurrection. It involves coming to a realization of just how much you have
fallen and how sinful you are. Your struggle with sin that no matter how much
you try to do right you still do wrong.
Coming to the realization that you are helpless to save yourself from the
bondage of sinning and acknowledging you need a higher help than yourself. This
kind of surrender only comes from a place of trust: when you trust that Jesus
the son of God has that power to save you from your struggle with sin.
With this
conviction you can invite Jesus to come to your life usually by confession
prayer. Romans 10:9-10 KJV {the King James Version says it so candidly)
Believing
in Jesus is therefore a conviction, transition involving change of heart so that we are now looking away from ourselves to Jesus Christ.
This stems from an UNDERSTANDING OF WHO
JESUS IS, HIS ROLE, and HIS POWER TO SAVE AND TRUSTING HIM TO DO EXACTLY THAT FOR YOU.THIS IS WHAT SAVES. This is when the Holy Spirit
comes and dwells in you and begins the transformation work. He reveals God’s truth to you and causes you to
recognize that your value is nothing compared to Jesus' value. Instead, you
just yearn to know him, to be with him, enjoy him, follow him, and praise him. He gives you confidence and you will know that you know you are saved.
Have a question or thought let us know in the comments below. Like,share with a friend or both by hitting the like button👇
Love muchly,
Liz😍😍
Posts
2 comments
Now this helps me understand more about salvation. What salvation is in a different light.
ReplyDeleteGlory to God.
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