I love hearing stories of how people came to faith in Jesus. Everyone has their own journey and their own stories. A number of years ago, I was getting to know a man who had attended a few services at our church. As I often do, I asked him how he became a Christian. His response surprised me.
He said, “You know, Pastor…I decided to study all the major world religions. I took a couple of years and did a deep dive into the various religions and beliefs. Out of the major religions, Christianity seems to make the most sense to me, so I decided to become a Christian.
I’m in no position to judge the authenticity or the sincerity of his faith in Jesus, but the conversation led me to reflect on how a person comes to faith in Jesus. What does it truly mean to believe in Jesus? How does a person become a Christian?
In John 6:44, Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them…”
We learn here that God himself is actively involved in pursuing us and calling us to believe. Faith in Jesus cannot be the result in academic study alone. It must include the work of God’s spirit in our hearts and lives that brings us to a place of faith.
We also know from Scripture that believing in Jesus is not simply an intellectual assent or agreement. It’s more than just head knowledge. I’ve heard people say, “Pastor, there are too many unanswered questions in this world, there must be a God up there somewhere, so, yes, I guess I do believe in God.
We must understand that this kind of belief is not saving faith. There will be multitude of people in Hell who believed in God. We do not receive salvation because we believe in God.
James 2:19 - “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”
Demons believe in the existence of God, but they will not be in Heaven.
So, what does it mean to believe in Jesus? Well, we have established that saving faith is not believing in the existence of God. It is something more.
In Romans 10:9-10 the Bible says, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
Twice in these verses Paul says we must believe.
In scripture, one of the definitions of faith is “to fully lean.” It is leaning your full weight upon Jesus. It means we fully trust Christ as our savior.
Faith that brings us salvation is trusting Jesus’ death upon the cross as payment for our sins.” It’s recognizing that salvation is found nowhere else. The death of Jesus satisfied the justice of a righteous and holy God. A penalty had to be paid for our sins or God is not just. Out of love, Jesus too our penalty. He took our place.
So when we say salvation requires us to believe in Jesus, we believe not only that he exists but that his death was personal. He died for me. He died for you.
You either trust Jesus’ death on the cross on your behalf, or you trust your own good deeds. There is no other option. So many feel they are going to Heaven when they die because they believe in God and because they are a good person. If this were true, Jesus’ death was in vain. It wasn’t necessary.
But it was necessary because it was the will of God. Jesus became our substitute. He died for us so we wouldn’t have too. God offers us the opportunity to be born again, to be saved and forgiven of our sins. It requires faith. It requires trusting Jesus’ finished work on the cross on our behalf.
Today’s Challenge: Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your savior and Lord? Or are you trusting in yourself and your good deeds? God offers us salvation as a free gift, but it requires that we believe. Today can be the day of your salvation.
