The Bible tells us the following about Jesus: “To all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). In Acts 16:31, a desperate man receives the good news: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” So, in order to become a child of God and be saved, we have to receive and believe in Jesus. What does this mean exactly?
What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
It is possible to believe that God the Father and Jesus exist, without becoming a child of God. This becomes clear in James 2:19: “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe — and shudder“. This verse explains that even God’s opponents believe in Him to a certain extent — they know He exists and has power over them. Also, the devil knew the Bible and God’s will very well when Jesus was tempted in the desert (Matthew 4:3-10 and Luke 4:3-12). But the devil and his demons do not accept Jesus’ authority or listen to God’s will at all. They are at war with Him. They are not children of God. They are not saved, but will be destroyed at the end of time.
Similarly, we too can believe that God exists, but not listen to Him, not practice what He wants us to do. Such “faith” will not save us. We need to accept God’s authority over our lives and completely surrender to Him in a personal, loving relationship. That’s what the Bible means by “faith“.
Your intention
Ephesians 2:8-10 says that we cannot be saved by works or by our own doing, but only by faith which has been given to us by God. At the same time, James 2:26 says that “as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26). If someone does not take God’s commandments seriously, this is taken as proof that his faith is not genuine. But good works in themselves can’t heal us from sin. They can’t heal our broken relationship with God. To understand this better, let’s look at the difference between the Pharisee and the tax collector in the parable in Luke 18:9-14.
The Bible makes it clear that all humans fall short of God’s standards. The tax collector was aware of his failures, confessed his sins and was saved by grace. The Pharisee on the other hand was proud of his “good works”. He was convinced of his own righteousness and considered himself superior to other people. However, God does not only look at our outward “good works”, but at our attitude. Jesus knew that many of the Pharisees were hypocrites who just focused on outward piety while their hearts were cold. That’s why He warned them, “Woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God.” (Luke 11:42).
God also looks at your heart and sees if it is impacted by His Word and His love. He can see whether we just obey and do outward good works, or whether our relationship with Him is more than that. He doesn’t want a boss-worker relationship, He wants a father-child or husband-wife relationship. He wants us to surrender to Him, accept His grace as a free gift, and love and enjoy Him. If we do so, we will start doing “good works” — not to earn salvation, but because we want to please the God we love.
Grow in faith
So, salvation is a free gift of God. We just have to believe in order to be saved. At the same time, it is our responsibility to “live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God“ (Colossians 1:10 NIV). We have to decide to focus on God and avoid evil things. We have to make that choice, so we can show Him our love.
You can compare this with a relationship between a husband and his wife. A husband and wife have the responsibility to show each other love. They must not focus on others, but on each other. When they do, they will grow in their relationship and eventually understand each other better. So it is with your relationship with God. It will grow.
To start with, we are babies in faith, but if we grow in the right direction we will become adults in faith. You can be born again only once, but we have the daily decision to choose for God and persevere in faith. If we truly want to follow Him and pray for Gods help, then the Holy Spirit will help us to do so and carry us through.
“For the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn His face from you if you return to Him” (2 Chronicles 30:9).