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This is another exceptionally important
topic for anyone wishing to please the Lord and spend eternity in
heaven. In John
8:24 we read the words of Jesus: "I said therefore unto
you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he,
ye shall die in your sins." Earlier in the same chapter Jesus
said unto the Pharisees, "I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and
shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come." (John
8:21) Jesus tells Mary in John
20:17, "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my
God, and your God." Where was His Father? Matthew
records, "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on
earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew
18:19) So without belief, one will die in their sins. If
one dies in their sins, they cannot go where Jesus is. Jesus is
with His Father, who is in heaven. Therefore, one who does not
believe in Jesus as the Son of God cannot enter heaven! But what
does it mean to believe in Him? Does it mean to simply believe
that He was born of a virgin and did live some 2000 years ago, or is a
belief in Him which is capable of washing us of all sin and opening the
gates of heaven to our entry something more? The purpose of this
study is to answer this question. Please open your Bibles and your
hearts to the word of God as we consider Biblical Belief.
A common understanding of the definition
of the words we are considering is essential to our study. I will
begin by defining belief, believe, and faith. Next, we'll consider
the scriptures dealing with these
concepts and determine the meaning within them. We'll then
undertake a detailed study of the "chapter of faith", Hebrews
11. Finally I'll close the study with a summary.
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