March 18, 2023
Believing
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” John 5:24 (NASB)
You may be familiar with statements like, “If God is a loving God, why would He send people to hell?” Or “The God of the Old Testament is not the same as the New Testament.” The God of the New Testament is loving, the Old Testament God is judging. Statements like this sometimes boils the blood of Christians. I reply to the first statement, “If God is such a loving God, why would you reject His love?” To the second question I would reply, “God is the same God in the Old and New Testaments. He is patient, but His sovereignty is consistent. What He does is in His timing. Jesus gives very clear instructions for those who choose to believe.
“…he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life,” In order to understand this statement, it is important for us to unpack “believe.” The word “believe” is the word pisteuō; which means to believe, entrust.[1] The word believe- pisteuō, appears 233 of the 253 times believe is used in the New Testament. This gives us a pretty healthy look at what God wants us to know. This is more than intellectual belief. It is heart felt and heart changed. This belief begins in the heart of man when convicted by the Holy Spirit. When a heart is changed the desires change. Here are few examples of belief: In Matthew 8:13, Jesus told the centurion “Go; it shall be done for you as you believed.” This was more than simply agreeing with Jesus. It was “entrusting” Him. In Matthew 21:22, Jesus again says, “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” This believing is trusting God to do as He pleases, not what we want. To do this, we have to “trust.” In Mark 9:24, a father declared to Jesus, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” This man knew he didn’t truly have faith he needed and asked for Jesus’ help to believe. Jesus had just told him if he believed, all things were possible for his son’s healing.
Here is the final statement for each Christian today, “he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” When belief occurs, faith in Jesus transforms us into another realm, from death to life. Jesus told the Jews those who trust Him, would be transformed from death to life, they didn’t understand. Each one of us are born without Christ’s forgiveness. We live forever, but where? One sentence is death or eternal separation from God. The other, a life with God in heaven. When a person believes in Christ, they are transformed, a saint, no longer a sinner. They receive a new nature (Romans 6). We may still sin, but Jesus has transformed those who trust Him. Those who call themselves sinners only, do not understand the transformation which occurred in their lives once they trust Jesus. Positionally, Christians are perfect before God. It is only through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Horizontally, we still battle with the old flesh, but we get a new Spirit who helps us battle it each day. The reason people ask the questions like above is they don’t understand or realize the gift that awaits all, love. They are “passed out of death into life.” It transforms each into a new life, not the same old one with an upgrade. Today, take a moment and thank Jesus for allowing you to “hear His word, and believe.” He is the one who began the good work in you, so you would experience His love and grace here and for eternity.
[1] Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).