Do You Believe God or Just Believe In Him? (Part 2)

So you say you are a Christian and you say you believe in God. That is a nice thought but if you stop there then you may have a problem. James 2:19 responds to that saying, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.”

 It is not enough for us as Christians to say we believe in God; we must also believe God. What is the difference you ask? The difference can be described as faith. In the Book of Hebrews chapter eleven we find the definition of faith. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

What does this means in terms of real life? It means that we trust in God no matter what. It means that we believe the promises of scripture for the Bible is God’s Word. And God cannot lie nor does He make mistakes. So when we read of a promise in scripture we can know for complete and absolute surety that the promise will come true. It means that every statement made by God in the Bible can be trusted in and applied to your life.

When life is going well and the blessings of God are easy to see, all of us will say we believe God. If you say that you do believe God, then that attitude of faith should not waver or change even at life’s worst moments. But this is not as easy as it sounds.

For this discussion let us start here: Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

That is a promise of scripture, though written by the Apostle Paul it is the inspired Word of God. This means God said it and He means it. So ask yourself this question: Do you believe God that all things work together for good? This means when you lose your job God will work that out for good. When your spouse runs off with the neighbor and your whole marriage falls apart you understand God will work that out for good as well. What if you lose a baby during pregnancy or your child is hit by a car and killed? What if the church bus blows a tire, hits a pole killing the entire praise team? What happens when the tests come back positive for terminal cancer? I think you get my point.

The simple truth is that Romans 8:28 says that all, yes I said ALL things work together for good by God. Even when we cannot possible imagine how. That, my friends, is faith. That is believing God even when we cannot see the good.

This sounds hard and it is. This is why Jesus built His church and why we need each other. We must come alongside each other and follow the words of Galatians 6:2 that says we should “carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Even when our brothers are caught in sin we are to help carry them through. Quite honestly when we don’t believe the truth of Romans 8:28 we are sinning because we are essential calling God a liar.

 I am not saying we won’t grieve and find ourselves in despair. I am saying though we must band together as Christians and pick each other up. We must show the world we are different even in grief. Read the Word of God from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

If we would simply believe God our lives would change. If we believed God we could truly be the salt and the light of Christ to the lost world we live in. If the lost would see in us the true hope in Christ whose light is best seen in the midst of darkness I believe we would see a revival break out like never before seen. But even if that did not occur imagine living with the complete confidence that God is truly in control and no matter what happens one day we shall see that it was all for His glory.

But you have to believe God. Do you?

Do Believe God or Just Believe in Him? Part 1

There are a lot of people in the world who believe in God. We assume most of those sitting in the pews of our churches are part of that group. But to simply believe in God is not enough. Hear the words of the Book of James 2:19, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.”

That, my friends, is a very scathing remark. You see as Christians we have a greater call than to simply believe in God. Turn to the Book of Romans, chapter 4, verse 3, “For what does the Scripture say?”Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."

Did you catch that? Do you hear and see the difference? Even the demons believe in God but all that really does is to remind them to be afraid. But Abraham? He believed God and do you see what happens when he believes God? “It was counted to him as righteousness.”

Why is that important, you ask? It is important because without righteousness and holiness we cannot and will not spend eternity with God. The Scriptures are clear on this.

Hebrews 12:14
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Matthew 5:20
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

The teachings of scripture are clear that we are born sinners. Jesus explains in John 3, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

But since the beginning of man he has tried to work his way to heaven. But Isaiah 64:6-7 shows us the folly of this saying that, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.”

The Book of Romans expands on the theme of our wickedness.  Hear the inspired Word of God as it describes our state in Romans 3:10-18, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

But God has not forsaken us to die in our sins and to perish forever in the lake of fire. He has provided a way out.

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 God sent His Son, Jesus to die in our place and in that we can become righteous. John 3:16-18 explains, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

But you have to believe God. You have to believe His Word is true. You have to believe when He says Jesus is the only way, then Jesus is the only way. If you believe God, then you will believe “in” Jesus. Then you become righteous in God’s eyes.

"Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." Do you?