BELIEVE (Updated from the vault)

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life.”

John 5:24

What do you do when you hear some form of information? You may accept it as factual, or you might not believe it at all. When we are young, we may not believe the stove is hot. In fact, possibly the orange glow of the burner or open flame is appealing to the eye and the warmth is nice feeling on a cold day. However, if you chose to touch it, you will certainly be burnt and certainly believe what your mother may have warned you about. Belief is established when presented with truth, yet, when we hear truth, we have the option to believe it or not.

In matters of faith, belief is an integral part of the God's plan for saving man. Last week I wrote about hearing, and that it is the basis of that plan. We must hear, but what do we do once we hear? If we are to come to faith, we must hear the truth and belief the truth. This leads us to salvation that is found in Christ Jesus. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 The word believeth is special. It is a verb, a present active participle. The rule is that the present tense of a verb denotes duration, i.e. denotes that something "goes on" happening. So when Jesus says whosoever believeth in Him, He is saying that it is an ongoing thing. I imagine if you were burned by a hot stove you would remember and keep on believing right?

To believe is not coming to a mental ascent based on your own cognitive ability, it is coming to a realization based on the truth of the Word. We may see evidence in creation that points us to the possibility of a God, but the Word is what tells us who that God is. A God we can hear about, believe in, and come to be His child. He is the God who, if we keep on believing, will lead us to eternal life.

Belief or faith is not an absolute in salvation but they are but steps along the way to come to be a child of God. We see from the Scriptures that none of the five steps of the Gospel Plan are absolute but all must be satisfied for one to be in Christ.

Grace and Peace,

Ryan

Comments

Are You Uncomfortable With Sin?

Benjamin Franklin was quoted as saying, I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. — I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer. To sum up this thought, if we want to get someone out of poverty, we need to make them uncomfortable with it. Think about it. If someone is in relative comfort, being taken care of by everyone else and not doing for themselves, then they will remain in poverty. If on the other hand, they have to rely more on themselves to get out of their situation, they may get ...

Can a Christian Celebrate a Secular Christmas?

Can a Christian celebrate a secular Christmas? This is a good question and one that deserves an honest answer. This week I read the following, “If you don’t talk about Jesus at Christmas time, you miss Jesus. If you do not sing those scriptural songs focusing on Jesus, you miss Jesus. You might have grown up in a church where “Christmas” was a “Jesus-free” day.” These were some accusations leveled against some brethren by a well-known preacher in our brotherhood. In this article, I wish to set the record straight on how it is rather simple to celebrate a secular Christmas and it not be a “Jesus-free” day. I contend that no day is “Jesus free” for a New Testament Christian. First, this brother accuses the church “of not knowing what to do with Christmas. They celebrate it in their homes, but avoid it at all costs in church.” I contend that the preachers who preach the whole counsel of God know what to do with...

Why Should I be Merciful?

Why should I be merciful? This is a question that you may not have asked yourself before. Maybe mercy is something that you are given often. For others, maybe we have forgotten the goodness of the mercy God has shown to us. Jesus said after all, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matt.5:7) To answer the question, we must first define mercy. What is Mercy M ercy which comes from the word eleeo ( ἐ λεέω) and describes the act of showing compassion and pity on someone. God perfectly exemplifies mercy. Paul recognized the mercy that God showed him while he sinned in ignorance. I thank him that enabled me, even Christ Jesus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me to his service; though I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: howbeit I obtained mercy , because I did it ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. Faith...

Ironworks

Search This Blog