To anyone who reads the teachings of Jesus it is clear that the single most important thing that you and I must do in this life is to make sure that we “believe” in Him. “Belief” is the cornerstone of everything that Jesus taught. Consider the following:
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)
It is God’s will to give eternal life to those who believe.
” . . . unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
Eternal judgment is guaranteed for those who do not.
If you consider Jesus to be at the very least a good moral teacher, these statements must make you stop and seriously contemplate the nature of “belief”. According to Jesus, the single most important question that you and I need to answer is “Do I believe in Jesus?” The quality of our eternal existence hangs in the balance.
How would you answer that question? “Do I believe in Jesus?” A lot of people in America today would answer “yes”. Polls show that a majority of Americans consider themselves to be Christians. But that sounds more than a little suspect when you consider other instruction which Jesus gave on this same subject. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said . . .
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. . . . Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23)
Ouch! According to Jesus, a significant majority of people are heading for destruction. Only a small percentage are actually finding the “narrow way” which leads to life. A lot of people who thought that they “believed” will find out that they did not. A lot of people will reach the day of judgment with false confidence. How can this be? How can a person intellectually accept certain things about Jesus and yet still be regarded as an “unbeliever?” Some of the people Jesus talks about here believed in He and His power so much that they did miracles in His name. Yet, they did not “believe” in the sense that Jesus says that we must believe. Have we also been deceived? Is there a false perception of what it means to “believe” in Jesus? The answer must clearly be yes. There must be a hollow, shallow, counterfeit “belief” that gives a false sense of security, but is actually deception.
Consider a startling reality. It is possible for someone to “believe” almost everything there is to believe about Jesus, but still go to hell. Do you think that Satan will go to heaven? Clearly not (see Revelation 20:20) But Satan “believes” more about Jesus than a lot of people (if not most people) who think they believe in Jesus. Satan does not just believe . . . he knows as actual historical facts (which he personally eye-witnessed) that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, who created all things, who has authority over all things, who was born of the virgin Mary, who lived a sinless life, who died on a cross for the sins of mankind, who rose again on the third day, who ascended into heaven, who is currently sitting at the right hand of God, who dwells in His followers and is building His kingdom through them. Satan believes all of that and a lot more. He was there. But that “belief” is not going to get him into heaven.
So let me ask you again, do you believe in Jesus? Not in the sense that Satan believes, that in the sense that Jesus tells us we must believe in order to receive eternal life? No other matter in this life is worth even a moment of your time until you’ve settled this one. Don’t give rest to your soul until you are certain.
Is it possible to know for certain? Definitely. Jesus said that it was. It is the reason that John wrote to us about Jesus:
Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:30-31)
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)
What does it mean to truly believe? This is one answer that you don’t want to get wrong.
