Believe the book and trust it

Published 9:31 am Friday, November 11, 2022

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The word believe occurs numerous times throughout the Bible. In the Gospel of John, it appears more than 90 times. In Acts, it occurs about 40 times. What exactly does the word believe mean? Our modern concept of believe can lead to confusion. To some, believe means nothing more than mere hope or speculation. To others, it is an agreement of facts. The word believe in the Bible encompasses much more, and demands much more.
Larry Moyer asks, “So what does the Bible mean by believe? The New Testament Greek word ‘isteuo’ (believe) means to ‘be convinced of something’ or ‘give credence to.’ We must be convinced that it is an historical fact that more than 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ died on a cross and rose the third day. Being convinced of those facts, however, is not enough.” James 2:19, says, “…..the devils also believe, and tremble.” Demons and Satan believes that Jesus is the Son of God, however that does not mean they will be saved. They are forever doomed to Hell. One must accept or personally appropriate them as being true. Note that we are not merely accepting as true that He died and arose. We are acknowledging that He did it for us. In a substitutionary “instead of us” death, Christ died in our place. The punishment we deserve, He suffered for us. Christ saved us by dying for us. The third day He arose, proving that as God He conquered both sin and the death.
The word “pisteuo” also has a further inherent meaning. Along with “be convinced of something” and “give credence to,” it also means “trust.” If we believe in the biblical sense of the word, then we are trusting Christ to save us from our sins. No better word brings out the meaning of believe to a twenty-first century listener than the word trust. We must be sensitive to the fact that some people believe in Christ in the sense that they accept Him as an historical figure who died and arose; however, they are not trusting Him alone to save them, which is what the biblical word believe conveys. Those who believe in Christ must choose to pick up their cross and follow after Jesus. They nail down their fleshly desires and lusts and walk in accordance to God’s word. When an individual believes the book, he devotes, dedicates, and commits his life to it. The person is willing to die for the cause of Christ.
Real belief in the Lord is more than words. It is a lifestyle and everyday actions. To believe in the book means to guide all the affairs of one’s life with the word of God. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ forces us into action. Billy Graham said, “Suppose you were walking along a path and you came to a bridge which crossed a deep canyon. You might look at it and believe that it would hold you, and you might even see other people walking across it so you know it would hold your weight. But so far, your “belief” in the bridge is only in your head. When do you really believe the bridge will hold you? You only really believe it when you are willing to commit your life to it and actually walk across it.”
(Brandon Young is pastor of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church, Hampton)

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