One Must Believe the Gospel

What must I do to be saved? We began our study of the most important question a human can ask last week. The Bible teaches that one must hear the Gospel, but what should be done with the Gospel message that one hears? To answer this we might consider what we do when we hear any type of information. We take into account the reliability of the information. We consider who is bringing the message. We also look at what evidence the speaker presents concerning the authenticity of the message. It is then up to the hearer to decide what they will do with the information. Jesus said, “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). Based on this statement it is apparent that hearing and believing is part of the plan of salvation. What is belief and what does the Bible say concerning its role in man’s salvation from sin?

Basis of Belief

              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. Possibly the orange glow of the burner or open flame is appealing to the eye and the warmth is a nice feeling on a cold day. However, if you choose to touch it, you will certainly be burnt and certainly believe what your mother may have warned you about. Belief is established when one is presented with truth, and when we hear truth, we have the option to believe it or not. 

Continuation of Belief

              In matters of faith, belief is an integral part of God's plan for saving man. Last week I wrote about the fact that we must hear the good news. We must hear, but what do we do once we have heard? If we are to come to faith, we must hear the truth and believe 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 when we consider the original Koine Greek text. This word 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 that it can be hot, right? The Hebrew writer explains that faith is something that is necessary to be pleasing to God. “And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that seek after Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

The Necessity of True Belief

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 God is–a God we can hear about, believe in, and become 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 becoming a child of God.  In the coming weeks, if the Lord wills, we see from the Scriptures that none of the five steps of the Gospel Plan are absolute on their own, but all must be satisfied for one to be in Christ. Can we study further about God’s desire to save us?              

Grace and Peace,

R.D. Beavers