What does it really mean to believe in Jesus Christ?
I believe in Jesus Christ. We all have most likely heard people say that. Maybe we’ve even said it our self. There was a time when your heard somebody say that you knew what it meant. These days we live in today though, when you hear somebody say, I believe in Jesus Christ, you really kind of have to pause a minute to try to understand what they mean by that. Why do I say that? Well, because believing in Jesus Christ these days can mean one thing to one person, and something totally different to another person, and yet in most cases when somebody says that they are in some way believing that the fact they are saying they believe in Jesus Christ, will in some way lead them to Heaven when they die. That belief comes from the fact that we have all heard at one time or another statements that Jesus Christ Himself has made in the Bible, either through other people who believe in Him, at church, or funeral, maybe even from a stranger who approached you somewhere. Here’s just a few of those very popular statements the Lord Jesus Christ has spoken:
“ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”….(John 3:16)
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life”…( John 6:47)
The one we hear most often at funerals is this one,
“ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live….( John 11:25)
If you open the Bible to any of the four Gospels, (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John), you will see over and over and over again as you read through the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ making these promises of eternal life to those who “believe in Him”, and so what has to be of the utmost importance then, is this,.. ‘what did Jesus mean when He said,.“believe in Me”. Let me be the first to raise my hand acknowledging that what I thought believing in Jesus Christ meant at one time in my life, is not what I believe it means to me today. In a world where there is so many personal opinions of what that means,.. and in a world where everybody seems to believe you can have your truth and I can have my truth,…the only truth that really matters is what Jesus Christ actually meant when He said, “believe in Me”. Then, if everybody else’ opinion of that means does not agree with what the Lord Jesus Christ said “believing in Him” really means,.. then everybody else is wrong.
All that said, look for a moment at something believing in Him, does not mean. Believing in Jesus does not mean merely believing in facts alone about Him. The fact that He is the Son of God. The fact that He came into this world and died for the sins of the world. The fact that He rose from the dead on and ascended back into heaven. The fact that He said certain things, like love your enemies, and give and shall be given to you. Those are all facts about Jesus Christ and are true, and you can pick up any Bible, and verify all those facts. Did you know the Bible tells us that even the demons believe those facts about Jesus Christ? Beloveth, the fact that they believe those facts about Jesus Christ will not spare them from the coming judgement of God upon them. They are heading for a day of judgement before the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the age, where they are going to be sent to a place of eternal torment, and they know it, and they tremble because of it. Matthew, chapter 8, and verses 28-29, tells us this,
“ When He(Jesus) had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us, before the time?” (Matthew 8:28-29)
They are well aware of who Jesus Christ is, and they know He is going to judge them at the end of the age, and their fear is this,… “Have You come here to torment us, before the time?” Knowing facts about Jesus Christ will not spare these demons, who are fallen angels from the coming judgement of God upon them.
Beloved, just like knowing facts about Jesus Christ will not save the demons from the coming judgement of God, merely knowing facts about Jesus Christ alone will not save anyone of us from the coming judgement of God, nor does it assure us that we will get into Heaven when we die. The Scriptures also tell us this again in James, chapter 2, and verse 19, “ You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! (James 2:19)
Look for a minute at an example of religious people, who knew facts about Jesus Christ, and notice what the Lord Jesus Christ said to them in Matthew, chapter 7, verse 21-23;
“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven,.. but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day,.. ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name,.. and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’… (Matthew 7:21-23)
Beloveth,.. don’t miss this because this is so important,. Notice, they all called Him Lord. They believed He is, who He says He is, the Savior of the world, the Lord of this Universe, God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. They believed,.. to the place where they prophesied, (or preached) in His name. That’s what Jesus Christ called His followers to do., and notice the last part of verse 22,.. they said,. “in your name,.. we have done.. many wonderful works”. They actually believed the facts about who Jesus Christ is,..but merely believing the facts about who Jesus Christ is, or merely doing what they believed to be good works that they felt, would cause God to be pleased with them was not enough to get them into Heaven. They had their own truth about what it meant to believe in Jesus Christ, and what they believed was not what Jesus Christ said,.. believing in Him,.. really meant, and so Jesus tells them on the day of judgement, as they stand before Him,.. “depart from Me”, “I never knew you”. There can’t be a more devastating thing to hear Him say than that. They have died at this point,. and are standing before the Lord to be judged by Him, and their own truth about what it meant to believe in Jesus Christ during their lifetime beloveth,. was wrong,.. and there is absolutely nothing they can do about it now. “They are dead”.
So, what is it that the Lord Jesus Christ meant when He said, “believe in Him? We would do well to let Jesus Christ Himself tell us what He meant when He said, “believe in Me”. Look at it,
In (John 7:38),.. Jesus spoke to a group of people about what He meant by believing in Him;
“ He who believes in Me,.. “as the Scripture has said”,.. out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”…. ( John 7:38 )
So then beloveth,.. to believe in Jesus Christ,.. according to Jesus Christ Himself.. is to believe in Him… “as the Scripture has said”. The eternal life that Jesus Christ gives will flow in the heart and life of those who believe in Him,… “as the Scripture has said”.
The Scriptures, Jesus is referring to, is the Bible.., and so the question we all need answered then is this,.. “what has the Scriptures said, believing in Jesus Christ really means?
First, and foremost, the Scriptures said that Jesus Christ is God, the Creator of all things.. and that includes you and me beloveth. We are His creation. Look at it in (Colossians 1:15-16),
“He (Jesus Christ),.. is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him…. (Colossians 1:15-16).
I want to just pause here for a minute and ask,. “did you catch that last part? Look at it again,. “All things were created through Him and for Him”…. (Colossians 1:15-16).
Beloved, if all things were created through Him, and for Him,..then when I think about my own life, to believe in Jesus Christ then, is to believe that He is God, The One from whom I get my very next breath. The One who created each one of us,.. for Himself. It is to believe that our purpose for being here beloveth,. even to this very day,. is not for us, but for Him… Let that just sink in for a minute.
Look again at what the Scripture said about Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John, chapter 1, and verses 1 thru 3…(John 1:1-3), where it says this,
“In the beginning was the Word,. (Jesus Christ),.. and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made….. ( John 1:1-3)
The question that might come to mind here, is how do we know Jesus Christ is the Word that the Scripture is referring to here? Well, verse 14 of the same chapter one in this Gospel of John says this,
14 And the Word became flesh,.. and dwelt among us,.. and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth….. John 1:14
Beloveth, that is what is Christmas is all about. The celebration of the birth of Savior of the world, Jesus Christ the Lord.
Pause a minute and think about that,. just for a minute,.. When you look up at the night sky and see all those stars and the moon and find yourself at times amazed at what you see, when you look at that Sun during the daytime and the awesome cloud formations you see at times, and birds you see fly across the skies… think about this. It is that God who created all that,.. that came into this world in the person of Jesus Christ. He came into this world,.. a world He created,. in the form of a man. He became one of us… He left eternity, and came into time…, and dwelt among us.
That is what the Scriptures said about Jesus Christ. John chapter 1, verse 10 says,
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him…. John 1:10
So, beloveth, to believe in Jesus Christ is to believe that He is the God of all Creation. It is to believe He as our Creator, He created each of one of us for Himself, and for His purposes, and because I believe that is true,.. “I willingly submit myself to His rule over my life to fulfill His purpose for me”. In spite of all we do to take care of ourselves, and we should, the one who determines how long we live on this earth,. is Jesus Christ. Our time here is in His hands.
God loves every one of us in spite of ourselves, and because He loves us, He will not force His way into our lives. He wants each one of us to willingly choose to receive Him, not just as the Lord, (acknowledging Him only factually), but as my Lord, who I look to for His direction for my life through His word because of who He is, God. When we willing receive Him that way because we have come to believe in our heart who He really is, then we willingly confess that, and He receives us into His family as one of His children. Look again at what the Scripture says about those who choose to do so in….(John 1:12),
But as many as received Him,.. to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name…(John 1:12)
Beloved please notice, It is He (Jesus Christ),. not us, who gives the right to become the children of God based on the reception He receives from each one of us individually. If 1000 people in a crowd heard this message, it will only be the ones who receives Him as their personal Lord that He gives the right, to be called the children of God.
The second thing,. “believing in Jesus Christ as the Scriptures has said” would also mean is this,.. It is to believe “He is the very God that I will stand before one day, to be judged by Him”.,. I will give an account of the life I lived before the Lord Jesus Christ on judgement day. That is exactly what the Scriptures have said. Look again at.. (John 5:22);
“ For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him….( John5:22-23)
Think about this a minute,.. it is not God the Father that we all will stand before to be judged by, it is Jesus Christ and so to refuse to honor the Son of God while we are alive here on this earth, is to refuse to honor God the Father in heaven. That is what the Scripture is tell us in..(John 5:22-23),
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ warns those at the church in Rome about a coming day of judgment,
“For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:
“As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me,. And every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God… ( Romans 14:10-12)
Then there’s a third thing that “believing in Jesus Christ as the Scripture has said” means, and that is this;.. It is to realize that He alone,. is the only hope of anyone getting into Heaven. There is no other person,.. there is no other religion,.. there are no good deeds no matter how many or how great that can be done, that can get you into Heaven. It is only through Jesus Christ. Those are Jesus’ own words.
“ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me…..( John 14:6)
Since I know that He is the one I am going to stand before to be judged by Him one day, I want to be at peace with Him while I am still alive. There is no making peace with God after a person dies. The Scriptures tell us the only way to be at peace with God is through Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…….( Romans 5:1)
Beloveth it pains me to even think about this but to be faithful to the truth of the Word of God that He has entrusted to me I have to say this. There are some people who are willing to believe the facts about Jesus Christ and even do good works in the name of Christ because they sincerely believe that’s what pleases God,.. that will die, and go into eternal torment in Hell because, “they fail to see the need to allow Jesus Christ has rightful place as Lord over their life” and submit to His rule, and,.. “they do not see the need to trust Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross for our sins,.. but choose to trust their own deeds they have done instead. Look again at… (Matthew 7:21-23)
“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’….. (Matthew 7:21-23)
They believe the Lord sees them, as they see themselves, because of all the wonderful works they have done in His name. Their faith is in what they have done.
Beloved, to believe in Jesus Christ, is to believe in Him, “as the Scriptures have said”. It is to believe that He is God, who created us for His purposes, and you and I must willing submit ourselves to His rule over our life because of who He is,. God. It is to believe that as my Creator, “He is the one I will stand before to give an account of my life to when I am resurrected on the judgement day for me. To believe in Jesus Christ as the Scripture has said, is to believe “He is the only way to get to the Father in heaven”. There is no other way.
Finally,.. to believe in Jesus Christ,..is to believe that,. “He alone gives eternal life” to all that come to Him and trust Him,… as their only way to get to Heaven. Don’t miss this most important point beloveth,.. “Eternal life has to be given to you”. The only person that can give it to you is Jesus Christ. It cannot be earned by you. That is what the Scriptures teach about Jesus Christ.
“My sheep hear My voice,.. and I know them,… and they follow Me. ….”And I give them eternal life,.. and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand..(John 10:27-28)
Jesus again tells us that He gives eternal life as He prays in.. (John 17:1-3)
“Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,… 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, ….” that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him…. And this is eternal life,…. that they may know You,…. the only true God,… and Jesus Christ whom You have sent ….(John 17:1-3)
Beloveth, God the Father loves us. So great is His love for us that gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins so we can have everlasting life with Him in Heaven if we believe in Jesus Christ ,.. as the Scriptures has said.
“ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life…. (John 3:16)
Believing in Jesus Christ then is not so much as believing the facts about Jesus Christ. It has everything to do with who you see Jesus Christ as beloveth. To you,.. is He your Creator? To you, is He God? Have you chosen to receive Him as Lord over your life? Is He the one you believe, will be your Judge when you pass from this life? Do you believe you have to trust Him alone to give you eternal life, or do you trust your good deeds? Do you believe you have to come to Him for eternal life? Do you believe you need Him to forgive you to get into heaven? The answers to these questions will tell you whether you believe in Jesus Christ,. “as the Scriptures has said”. The Scriptures have spoken on all these questions. But what do you say? It may be that God has spoken to your heart as you read through this post and you want to make that commitment to the Lord in your heart. If so go to the “Main Menu under Encouragement-Prayers, to see how to pray to invite the Lord Jesus Christ into your life so you can have that assurance of eternal life that He give to those who come to Him.