What do we believe in when we believe in Jesus?
This is such an important question because John 3:36 says, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” What you believe will determine who you are and where you will spend eternity.
To believe IN Jesus is much more that believing ABOUT Jesus. Many historians will acknowledge that Jesus lived, so they believe ABOUT Jesus. To believe IN Jesus is to put your faith in Him as your Lord and savior, realizing Him to be the ONLY way of salvation. A Philippian jailer once asked the Apostle Paul, along with Silas, how he could be saved. Let’s read Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” In reference to this man’s salvation, Paul used the Lord’s full title…the LORD JESUS CHRIST. ‘LORD’ speaks of His authority to rule. ‘JESUS’ speaks of Him being the Savior. ‘CHRIST’ speaks of Him being the Messiah or sent one of God.
Let’s also read Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” To ‘confess is’ to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. To ‘believe in thine heart’ indicates much more than a head knowledge, but a belief held deeply in the conscience. ‘God hath raised him from the dead’ indicates knowledge of the death of the Lord Jesus for our sins from which God raised Him again in three days.
To acknowledge the existence of God is not salvation! James 2:19 says, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” It is right to believe that there is one God, but the devils also believe that, and they tremble at the very name of God. The heart must rise above simply acknowledging that God exists. Belief in the heart is a life-changing event. It is FAITH in who the Lord Jesus is and what He has done to save us. The Apostle Paul stated in 1 Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” The purpose of Christ coming into the world was to save sinners. John 3:17 assures us, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” To believe on the Lord Jesus is to acknowledge that He is the very Son of God who sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins.
To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ makes you a new person and gives you a new title…Child of God. We read in John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the SONS OF GOD, even to them that believe on his name.” We also read in 1 John 3:1, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called THE SONS OF GOD…” As sons, or children, of God, we receive eternal life. John 3:15 says, “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ETERNAL LIFE.” Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Salvation is offered to everyone. The Lord wants you to believe on Him unto salvation. He said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” However, those who refuse God’s gift of eternal life by rejecting the Lord Jesus as their savior will be judged of God throughout eternity in Hell. John 3:18 says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Are you condemned or have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior? To those who have trusted Christ, we read in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…” (211.10)