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After hearing the word one must believe in Jesus as
the Son of God. This is a concept which is widely misunderstood
in the religious world (in my opinion). What does it mean to
believe? For the purpose of
reviewing the plan of salvation we need to introduce the concept of
Biblical Belief. Please follow the link provided for an
in-depth study of this important topic.
Definitions
"Believe": The Greek word translated
"believe" in the gospels and in the book of Acts is pisteuo.
Vine's
notes that pisteuo "signifies, in this sense of the word,
reliance upon, not mere credence."
Scriptures
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Mark
16:15,16: Jesus links belief to salvation.
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Acts
8:26-40: Account of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch.
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Matthew
28:18-20: Responsibility for teaching given to men.
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James
2:19: The devils believe and tremble.
Summary
Merriam-Webster includes the ideas of thinking or
supposing in the definition of believe.
How do you think most religious persons view belief? Do they
hold an opinion that Jesus is the Son of God, or do they apply the
Biblical definition and live their lives only for Him? A
Methodist church close to my home recently displayed a sign stating
"All who believe in Jesus have eternal life." The
statement "all who believe" would lead one to think they
included those who placed such a degree of faith in Jesus that they
are willing to suffer shame for His name along with those who merely
held an opinion that the world was unlikely to have come into being
without some higher power. Is this valid? Will the devils
spend eternity in heaven? James states they also believe, and
tremble! Biblical Belief is a firm
conviction in the truth and application of its teachings to ones
life, not a superficial supposition or credence that something is
true. Belief is absolutely essential to salvation. After
hearing the word preached by Philip the Ethiopian eunuch asked him
"See, here is water. What hindereth me from being
baptized?" Philip responds by telling him "If you
believe with all your heart, you may." Notice the eunuch's
response in verse
37. He affirmed his faith in Jesus as the Son of God prior
to his baptism. To review the first step leading to salvation (hear
the word), how did the eunuch learn what was necessary for his
salvation? There was an angel involved, but did he reveal to
the eunuch what was necessary for salvation? No! The
angel led Philip to the eunuch and placed the responsibility of
telling the eunuch what he must do into Philip's hands. In the
great commission Jesus placed the responsibility for teaching others
into the hands of His disciples. So, just as the eunuch heard
the word from another man, people today must hear from another
man. The word will not be revealed to them by an angel or other
spiritual being.
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