What Does It Mean to Believe in Jesus Christ?
Doctrine is practical.  Clarity, accuracy, and thoroughness in doctrine while evangelizing is practical. We are justified by Biblical faith, not some kind of fraudulent faith. Someone may say that he believes in Jesus Christ, but the belief must be actual belief. We know that some faith does not save (James 2
). The parable of the sower (Matthew 13) says that some might “receive” the Word in a non-saving way, specifically the examples of the stony ground and the thorny soil. Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:9-25) provides an occasion of faith that falls short of conversion.
Getting into Heaven instead of Hell is as practical as it can get. Someone whose doctrine sends him to Hell will agree that it hasn’t been very practical. On the other hand, someone in Heaven will thank God for the practicality of the position he was taught.  A profession isn’t practical if it doesn’t save anyone. It might make someone look good, and that might have a kind of practicality, but in the end it will mean practically nothing. A church growth seminar won’t do anyone any good at the Great White Throne (Revelation 20) if someone’s name isn’t in the Book of Life.  So thinking about this can reach maximum practicality.
EXPLAINING BELIEF IN CHRIST
When I preach the Gospel, near the end of the presentation I’ll say, “We must believe in Jesus Christ. A whole lot of people will say they believe in Jesus Christ today, but it is important that we understand what it means to believe in Jesus Christ.” Then I explain. What is it that I tell someone?
First, we must believe in Jesus Christ. I quote John 3:36, then John 3:18 and 3:16. Each of those say “believe in Jesus Christ.” They don’t say “accept Jesus as your Savior” or “ask Jesus into your heart” or “ask the Lord to save you.” We’ve talked about Jesus being the Jesus of the Bible, but is the belief the belief of the Bible? To start, however, it is clear that the only way of salvation comes through faith in Christ.
Second, what does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ? Just because people say they believe in Jesus Christ, doesn’t mean they do. Part of what it means to believe in Jesus Christ is found in Luke 13, which says in v. 3, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish,” and in v. 5, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” If someone does not repent, he will what? He will perish. In John 3:16, the Lord says that if someone believes in Him, He will not what? He will not perish. If we believe, we won’t perish, but if we don’t repent, we will perish. Belief and repentance are talking about the same thing. We can’t believe in Jesus Christ and in ourselves. To repent means to turn. That’s part of the history of the word “repent.” Unless we turn from our way, relinquishing our will, and stop believing in anything else but Jesus Christ, we will perish.
There are a few passages that will make this clear. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 says, “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” The word “repent” doesn’t occur here, but ”turn” is synonymous with “repent.” We can’t serve the world or ourselves. No man can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). We can’t put Jesus on the shelf with all the other gods. That’s not believing in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way (John 14:6), so we can’t go our way; we must turn from our way. This is the message of something that Jesus said repeatedly in the New Testament.
LOSING LIFEÂ
One place the Lord Jesus used an often repeated truth was Matthew 16:25-26:
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
The word “life” is psuche, which is found in v. 26, but translated “soul.” A believer must offer His soul to God for saving. This is the idea of these two verses (Psalm 23:3; 19:7a):
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul.
Our soul is cleansed of sin when we give it to God, that is, it is restored or converted. We can’t hang on to our soul and expect to be in heaven.  A person cannot keep his life for himself and get to heaven. He must relinquish his life to the Lord. This is part of what it means to believe.
CONFESS THE LORD JESUSÂ
Fitting right into this Scriptural understanding of “believing in Jesus Christ” is Romans 10:9-10.
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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
If Jesus is Lord, then we are not. He rose from the dead. How? He is God. He is the Messiah. Confessing Him as Lord is confessing that we are not Lord.
HAVE YOU EXPLAINEDÂ FAITH?
This is what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. When I present this to people, I have found that when I am done, they understand what it means to believe. They are under conviction.  They know that if they hang on to their life, they are rebelling against the Lord. They know what He has done for them. They know He deserves their allegiance. Working against this within them is their desire to control their own life. They love the world. They’re tempted to procrastinate. They see the goodness of God, His love for them, but they understand how their life will change. When I see this, I believe I have succeeded at explaining what belief in Jesus Christ is.
Last 5 posts by Kent Brandenburg
- The Musical Style We Offer to God: Can It Be Inherently Sinful? - July 19th, 2007
- The Place to Start in Evaluating Music - July 11th, 2007
- I Feel - June 28th, 2007
- What Do You Think Scripturally of Clarence Sexton Speaking at the National Fundamental Baptist Fellowship Meeting? - June 13th, 2007
- Can Someone Be Consistent in the Matter of Separation? - June 8th, 2007
Do you believe someone just needs to repent of their unbelief, or of their sin, in order to be saved?
March 16th, 2007 at 1:18 pmKent sez:
“Unless we turn from our way, relinquishing our will, and stop believing in anything else but Jesus Christ, we will perish.”
I used to have a pastor who told us that Jesus did not want to be number 1 on a list of 10, he wanted to be 1 on a list of 1. The one and only. I have always found this troublesome. What about loving my neighbor as myself? When you say “believing in anything else”, do you mean believing in Jesus as the only way of salvation or believing as the only God? That is easy to believe because the context is salvation, and nobody has that authority but God. But if you mean believing in Jesus Christ as my only ruling authority or as the only guide in my life, which are in the context of repentance, then I have a really tough time with that. How are we to ignore all the wisdom of this world, through teachings, through my family and friends, etc.. ? Do I look for guidance only in scripture and ignore them and everything else? How can we go through life and not gain insight and influence from family and friends?
March 16th, 2007 at 8:15 pmYou are to love your neighbor, but that doesn’t assume that your neighbor is Lord. You mention “ignore all the wisdom of this world”—James 3:15
says that the wisdom of this world is earthly, sensual, and devilish. Jeremiah wrote, “Learn not the way of the heathen.”
Kent sez:
“We can’t believe in Jesus Christ and idols. We can’t believe in Jesus Christ and ourselves. We cannot turn to Jesus Christ and keeping going our own way. ”
Yeah, this is the part I really don’t understand. I can’t really find a distinction between the two, following Jesus or going my own way. As a doubting Christian, my moral sensiblilities have actually increased without the guidance of Jesus. It is not like I am looking to the wisdom outside of the Bible because I want to start smoking, being greedy and gambling again. If I start trusting my own feelings and advice from friends rather than praying for guidance in my life, well, nothing there has really changed there either. In either case, all I can do is what I think is best for myself and my family.
So I am learning that as a Christian, I am really projecting my own thoughts into that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, and my own psyche becomes that of Jesus. As I stand back and pay attention that is what seems like is happening, and has been happening for years. I just do not see a distinction between following Jesus/Bible for moral and life guidance and looking for additional wisdom and guidance outside of Jesus/Bible.
Kent continues:
“You are to love your neighbor, but that doesn’t assume that your neighbor is Lord. You mention “ignore all the wisdom of this worldâ€â€”James 3:15
says that the wisdom of this world is earthly, sensual, and devilish. Jeremiah wrote, “Learn not the way of the heathen.â€
Yeah, I kind of thought you were going to say something like that. James says that bitter jealousy and selfish ambition are earthly, sensual and devilish, and I agree. But whether Jesus is Lord of my life or not, I am not out to be bitter, jealous or selfish, nor looking for wisdom to justify any other selfish or evil emotion and action. The Bible has some great stuff in it that has influenced my life greatly, but as the sole source of my day to day activities, well I am starting to loose confidence in that notion
March 17th, 2007 at 5:59 amThe Father is seeking for true worshipers, not candidates for a get-out-of-hell free card. We are here to please God, not ourselves. You say that your own psyche and your own natural abilities have been better able to reform your lifestyle into something moral, better than Jesus was or could. But you are missing one key point here, and Romans 4:1-6
and Ephesians 2:8, 9
mention it, that is, when you “clean up” based on your own efforts, you have whereof to glory. You get the credit. On top of the fact that you can’t get rid of your sins by reforming yourself. You don’t please God, you remain in your sins, and in light of eternity, your existence becomes worthless to the Lord. Self-righteousness is immoral.
The point is NOT living in a certain way so that we can have a certain kind of well-being to our life. The point is glorifying the Lord, which is only by grace through faith. The way you know if it is the Holy Spirit rather than your projection of your own thoughts is by a Scriptural test. We prove all things by means of God’s Word, which is sufficient for every good work. The immutable, powerful, gracious, holy God has created the world, given you your life, and provided a way of salvation. When you don’t humble yourself to receive Him, your daily activities may be orthodox, but they are not righteous, because they are not of faith (Rom. 14:21
).
You can live as moral as you can, and it won’t cover for the sinning you do. God alone saves, not us through our labor.
Deuteronomy 6:25
And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
James 2:10
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Romans 9:30-33
What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Romans 10:1-5
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
HelsSailing,
March 17th, 2007 at 1:52 pmIf you want to live by your own righteousness, God demands perfect conformity to the Law. But all of mankind has failed - like Israel, mankind has tried to achieve salvation by their works - not by faith - and as such, it is unacceptable to God. All your righteousnesses are as filthy rags in His sight - the only righteousness God will accept is the perfect righteousness of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ - whose righteousness is given to us when we trust in Him alone and in His finished work through faith. There is NO other way to be saved.
Thank you for a really clear presentation of salvation. It’s my favorite topic! That’s all I have to say. And that I read your blogs regularly and always enjoy, but never have time to post.
March 17th, 2007 at 2:45 pmPastor B,
I read this right before work, it really offered some encouragement to me, Thanks
God Bless,
March 17th, 2007 at 6:14 pmCathy
Kent and Jerry, thank you for your frankness. I appreciate that you approached this with some Scripture. Kent, you said something that I guess this all boils down to:
“The Father is seeking for true worshipers, not candidates for a get-out-of-hell free card.”
I agree with this statement from a Biblical perspective. But practically, would anyone worship if not for the threat of hell? Or the threat of a curse of any sort, be it to ourselves, family or nation? I am not trying to be blasphemous; this is an honest question that deserves consideration. Would any of us worship God if there were not something in it for us? If that incentive is not there, then just what is a “true worshiper”?
I wrote a short article about this just the other day called “Why do you Love Jesus?”, and I am going to ask Kent and Jerry to read it and please comment on it. I am looking for Christian insight because it does trouble me. I invite any other Christians to read it also, and give me your perspective, and cite as much Scripture as you want. Thanks alot.
http://heissailing.edublogs.org/2007/03/15/why-do-you-love-jesus/
March 18th, 2007 at 6:29 amHeissailing, you can’t “give Jesus a try” and be saved. It sounds like you just wanted to try Jesus and “give it your best shot.” That isn’t faith. What will help you Heissaling is a strong consideration of Who God is, of who Jesus Christ is. Then receive Him for and as Who He is.
Well, I ‘Gave Him a Try” for the past 35 years. Believe me, I had saving faith - and I had the fruits to testify to that faith. I am asking some difficult questions that have plagued me through a lot of that time though. I am tired of sweeping them under the carpet and trusting Jesus that they would go away. They don’t.
March 18th, 2007 at 9:15 amI got saved because I feared going to Hell. After hearing a clear Gospel message, I acknowledged that if I didn’t surrender to the Lord that He would judge me and send me to Hell, where I deserve to go. As a Catholic, I knew I was a sinner, but I didn’t know what it meant to trust in Christ alone. I was trusting my good works (and I had plenty of that) hoping that that would at least get me to ‘purgatory.’ But the time came when God convicted me of my ways through His Word (particularly John 3:16
). I realized that I was wrong and that I had to take God at His word. That day (about 14 years ago) I repented and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, initially it was a fear of going to Hell that motivated me to trust in the Lord, there was also a sincere sorrow for my sinfulness. God changed my life (and still is).
Although I initially ‘got saved’ because of ‘fear.’ I grew in the Lord, I had learned so much reading the Bible and listening to God’s Word being preached (by Pastor Joey Guerrero in the Philippines, who btw, since mid-March this year has been in the presence of the Lord). I joined the church and did my best to be faithful to the Lord’s work. As I grew in the Lord, I realized that there were ‘better’ motives for ‘getting saved,’ particularly to and for the glory of God. For obedience to His will. For the love of Christ. For the beckoning of the Holy Spirit, and so on and so forth.
Having said that, i did get saved initially because of ‘fear.’ But I did not ‘give Jesus a try,’ I did not ‘tip my hat to God,’ I did not just ‘give it my best shot.’ I can say with Paul, ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements, and His ways past finding out!’ (Rom. 11:33
).
March 20th, 2007 at 6:47 amWow, my story is pretty similar to brother Bill’s! I was saved about 14 1/2 years ago too out of fear of going to Hell. At least that was what made me search for the Lord. I already knew I was a guilty sinner on the way to Hell, due to my nominal Catholic background - but it wasn’t until the night I got saved that I realized how to have my sins forgiven. When I heard the Gospel, I completely trusted in the Lord to save me, believing He was the only way to Heaven/salvation.
So it was the fear of Hell that drove me to the Lord, but immediately thereafter was love for the Lord and His goodness in forgiven a wretch like me!
March 20th, 2007 at 1:37 pmI know what you mean Pastor B. I certainly do not want to misrepresent the Gospel. BTW, I do appriciate this article, it gives me other ideas when sharing the good news.
March 21st, 2007 at 7:04 amThis was good.
Kent, are there any gospel tracts you recommend?
Do you find the “God’s Simple Plan of Salvation” (Ford Porter) tracts too shallow?
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:48 amFirst time Visitor. I wanted to drop in a few thoughts on this article I’ve had from simlair discussions elsewhere.
John 3:36
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.
The active word in this verse is believe. If a man will believe on the Son (of God), he will have eternal life.
Some men cite the second usage of the word “believeth†(from the KJV) as “obey,†but may overlook the first half of John 3:36
, which is the key to the context. The first usage of the word “believeth†in John 3:36
is identical to the word “believe†in the Romans 10:9
passage.
While the word “believeth not,†(apeithon) is a different word than the first usage of the word “believeth,†and can mean “obey†in some cases, the context of John 3:36
(a) demands unbelief, not disobedience.
The correct meaning of “believeth not†is to refuse or withhold belief. Or, we could say that disobedience in itself is unbelief. Taking the whole context into consideration, the second part of the verse cannot be referring to a person’s actions, but rather to his unbelief.
In reference to John 3:36
, Spiros T. Zodhiates defines Apeitheia this way: “from the negative a (1), without, and peitho (3982), to persuade. Not to believe, to disbelieve implying disobedience; also to disobey as through unbelief.â€
Obey is a legitimate translation of believe, but to render it that way in John 3:36
does not clearly convey what sort of obedience is required. Refusing to believe in Christ is, in essence, disobedience.
April 5th, 2007 at 6:59 pm