(John 3:16) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Many people take this scripture and say ,“I believe that there is or was a Jesus” so therefore, I have eternal life. This is faulty thinking. The problem is most people do not understand what “believe” actually means.

There is a huge difference between believing “in” Jesus and “believing” there is/was a Jesus. Intellectual reasoning is not biblical faith.

“BELIEVE”?

The word “believe” relates to the heart, not the mind. It means trusting in His promises and believing so strongly in God that we are willing to commit our lives to Him and live the way we know He wants us to live. We must believe, accept, receive, and have faith.

1. Believe in His Existence

  1. He is God, our Lord
  2. He had no beginning nor an end.
  3. He was born from a woman, walked on this earth as a man, died and resurrected.
  4. Believe that He was sent to be our only Savior
  5. Believe as in Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

2. Accept His Words without Conditions and Doubt

  1. Accept that each one of us are sinners
  2. Accept that grace alone saves us and has nothing to do with our works
  3. Accept the fact that we must become a new person to be received by the Father
  4. Accept that He is faithful to forgive, if we confess and repent of our sins
  5. Accept there is no one like HIm.

3. Receive the WORK of Jesus at the Cross

  1. God says “the penalty for sin is death”. Jesus took our penalty with His death, so we could have life.
  2. Trying to keep the Mosaic laws kept us in bondage. He came to replace the law, not to remove it.
  3. Jesus defeated death at the cross, therefore giving eternal life to those that receive it.

4. Have Faith in Christ

  1. Faith in Him means believing in His promises.
  2. Faith in Christ means trusting Him to bring you through all your trials and adversities.
  3. Faith that it is He that leads to salvation…Acts 4:12 states, “Neither is there salvation in any other…..” Salvation is by one and His name is Jesus.
  4. Believe Isaiah 45:22 ….Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”