Believe

What Does It Mean to Believe in Jesus?

The Bible says in many places that all someone needs to do to be saved from eternal damnation and to be able to claim many promises made by God is simply “believe.” But believe what? Many Christians (if not all of them) will tell you that that means believe in Christ Jesus. But, what does that mean? What does it mean to “believe in Christ Jesus?”

To answer this question, I’m going to turn to a book that often sheds light on the meanings of various things in life: The Oxford Dictionary. The definition that the Oxford Dictionary gives for our particular usage of the word “believe” is as follows:

Believe- intr. (foll. by in) a have faith in the existence of (believes in God). b have confidence in (a remedy, a person, etc.)(believes in alternative medicine). c have trust in the advisability of (believes in telling the truth).

This definition presents us with three options: a, b, or c. Let’s take them one by one and try and decipher which one of these option is the one that we need for the phrase in question.

To start with, let’s look at option “c.” If we were to replace the word believe with this definition, would the phrase we are questioning convey the message that it was intended to? “One only needs to [trust in the advisability of] Christ Jesus.” Does this sound like the gospel message? If you said no, you are right; but why? The definition in option “c” simply recognizes the soundness of Christ Jesus, or the fact that the decision to accept Christ is a good one. Option “c”, in the context of our phrase says all anybody needs to be saved is to see the benefit, or the ‘goodness’ of choosing Christ. While that recognition might lead to an acceptance of Christ into one’s heart and life, it does not require it, so we can cross option “c” off the list of possible definition of “believe.”

What about option “a?” That one sounds like it might be close, doesn’t it? Let’s find out: “One only needs to [have faith in the existence of] Christ Jesus.” That sounds pretty close, but is that the gospel message? If you said yes, than I need to tell you that you are wrong, and I’ll tell you why straight from scripture. In James chapter 2, verse 19, James writes “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder!” In this verse, James is telling us that simply to believe God or Christ exists is no extraordinary feat; even the demons and the very Lord of Hell believe in His existence, and they are terrified. Because the demons of Hell believe with option “a”, we can confidently rule it out as the answer to our question since they (the demons) use option “a” and are still damned to Hell.

So that leaves us with the only remaining option, option “b”, which refers to confidence. Let’s see if this definition fits into our phrase. “One only needs to [have confidence in] Christ Jesus.” Is this the Gospel message? If you said yes, you are correct! Another way of phrasing option “b” is to simply say “trust;” one only needs to [trust] Christ Jesus in order that he might be saved. So all we need to do to be saved is to trust Christ. But what must we trust him for? The answer here is simple: Everything. We can see in the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that Christ trusted God for everything, from the food he ate to the people he healed, to his very spirit as he hung upon the cross. Christ calls us to follow him; just as he put all of his trust in the Father, we must put all of our trust in him. What does that mean? That means that we trust Christ for our faith, for our salvation, for our spiritual health, for our physical health, and it goes on and on, even down to the minutest detail of our lives; the food we eat, the cloths we wear, the money we need to live, shelter, everything. Matthew 6:32-33 says “for the gentiles seek after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” In other words, trust Christ first, and he will take care of the rest. That is what it means to “believe in Christ.” But going back to our dictionary definitions, I think that it needs to be said that both options, “a” and “c,” must be present in order for option “b” to be possible, but only option “b” will result in the salvation of your soul that Jesus Christ offers.

Do you believe?