Believe
The Word of God is so meaningful and rich. I want to encourage you to be willing to go beyond a surface reading of the scripture and to delve into the meanings of the words used so that you truly understand the vital relevant message the Lord has for you. It is imperative that we know the integral meaning of the words used in scripture, as they reveal God's will to us.
Romans 10:9 and 10, "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." These verses are commonly used in what is referred to as the 'Roman Road' to salvation. According to these verses, there are two things we must do to experience the salvation God has provided for us. One is to "believe in our heart" that God raised Jesus from the dead and the second is to "confess the Lord Jesus with our mouth."
Today, we are going to consider the significance of the word "believe" as used in verse 9, regarding our salvation (deliverance, preservation and safety). The Greek word for 'believe' is pisteuo. Pisteuo is the verb form of "pistis" which means "faith". Thus, pisteuo means: to trust in, have faith in, and to be fully convinced of. Using the word pisteuo indicates more than having credence (confidence) in the church doctrines or articles of faith. It means to believe that something is absolutely true, without doubt. It means to believe the fact that Jesus was not just a man who existed historically, but that He was and is the Son of God.
Let's look a little more closely at this condition for salvation. Romans 10:10 said, "with the 'heart' one believes..." According to the NSFL Bible, kardia (heart) means: "the physical organ of the body, the center of physical life, the seat of one's personal life (physical and spiritual), the center of one's personality, the seat of one's entire mental and moral activity, containing both rational and emotional elements. It is the seat of feelings, desires, joy, pain, and love. It is also the center for thought, understanding, and will." No wonder the Lord instructs us to guard our hearts! So, to 'believe with our heart' means we are fully convinced, have all trust, and no doubt in our thoughts, understanding, and feelings that Jesus was and is the Son of God, who was crucified on the cross and then raised from the dead, by God.
Scripture is quite clear that Jesus was God manifested in the flesh as the Son of God. John 3:16, "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."
Matthew 3:16 and 17, "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Matthew 16:13,16 and 17, " When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" ... 16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."
Scripture also clearly establishes what we must do to be accepted by God and recognized by Him as His children. In addition to our beginning scripture (Romans 10:9 and 10, this is also seen in 1 John 4:15, "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God."
Romans 5:1 tells us, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," The word 'justified' means: be judged, declared, pronounced righteous and acceptable. This is wonderful news! Notice, that the cause of our acceptance is our faith. The word "faith' in this verse is the noun form of our word 'believe' or pistis. Then, going on in this verse, it tells us we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we are in right standing with God. Our part: to have faith or to believe.
What is it we believe? Jesus was born of a virgin, walked among us as the Son of God and man, was crucified (shedding His blood) to free us from the consequences of sin, was buried, and rose from the dead.
The ultimate result of our believing is our salvation. Jesus told Martha in John 11:25 and 26, " Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Our pay or allowance for sin is death - thanatos which means: all the miseries arising from sin, physical death as the loss of a life consecrated to God, to be followed by wretchedness in the lower world. In other words, death without believing in the heart and confessing Jesus with the mouth, brings about an eternal separation from God. It means never being in the presence of love again. There is a saying I like: "We owed a debt we could not pay. He paid a debt He did not owe." The debt Jesus paid was for all of our sins. It is because of His payment for us that we too receive that marvelous gift of our (never dying) eternal life, being spent in His presence!
Our foundation for believing (or having faith) is the Word of God. We see this in the following scriptures:
Romans 10:17, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
John 20:30,31, "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."
All that we receive from God through Christ is established by our believing God. This is a powerful truth! Lay hold of it by meditating on:
Mark 9:23, "Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."
Mark 11:22-24, "So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 23 "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."
John 14:12, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."
Just as we believe God's Word for salvation, we also believe God's Word for all of His promises. Remember - to believe means to have faith in, be fully convinced of, with no doubt! This means we believe, even when we do not see the physical evidence. Instead, we believe the evidence of His Word. If God said it, that settles it. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"
Many times, because of our history of past circumstances or life events that have not ended positively, we have struggled with doubt or a lack of belief. Sometimes, the mountain we faces looms so large, we can only see that mountain and not be able to see a way to overcome. In ending today, I encourage you to be as the father seen in Mark 9:17-27. In seeking help from Jesus for his son - after Jesus said, "If you can believe...." In verse 24, the man, "in tears" said, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief."
Call upon Him to help you believe.
Believing - the foundation of our faith and relationship with God!