Do You Believe Jesus?

By Darin

“If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die on your sins” (John 8:24b).

Do you believe Jesus?

Consider the following account from the gospel according to John. In it, we meet Jesus who is having a conversation with a group of Pharisees. They have challenged His authority, and specifically His testimony on His own behalf.

Then they [the Pharisees] asked him [Jesus], “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, becasue his time had not come yet come. Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.” This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?” But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”

John 8:19-24 (NIV)

Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe in a personal God? In a survey conducted in Great Britain and the US 90% of people polled responded that they believe in a personal God, and over 80% identified themselves as Christians. So perhaps there is no need for revival in this country, since nearly everyone already believes? Yet, there is a belief that does not lead to salvation. And, Jesus makes it very clear that “If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die on your sins” (John 8:24b). What does this mean?

There is a great difference between believing that Jesus did something, believing in Jesus, and believing on Jesus.

Belief has three components. Historically the philosophers and theologians have referred to these three components with Latin names: notitia, assensus, and fiducia.

Notitia refers to the belief that something is factual. To say that New York is a city in America or that George Washington was the nation’s first president would be examples. These things are thought to be true statements about reality and there is no moral or spiritual virtue in either believing or disbelieving them. If the facts seem convincing then a prudent person will believe them. If the facts are unconvincing then you would be prudent to be skeptical about believing (notitia) them. To “believe” in Christ we must certainly recognize certain facts about Him but there is no spiritual value in recognizing these facts. If the facts seem unconvincing then it is prudent to wait until more evidence is available.

The Bible specifically teaches that the demons have this type of “belief” in Jesus. Indeed, their belief in these facts is based on first hand observation. James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that -- and shudder.”
Yet no demons are saved.

This type of belief can be called “belief that”. A person may believe that the Mona Lisa is in Paris, and they may believe that Napoleon was a former Emperor of France. Their belief in either case is simply a belief that something is, in fact, true. Their belief may be based on firsthand knowledge (a person may have visited the Louvre and seen the Mona Lisa) or it may be based on authority (they believe Napoleon was an Emperor in France because they read about it in a history book) but it is simply a belief that the given fact is true.

This has two major implications. The first implication is that we must recognize certain facts as true. God the Son came to Earth and lived in the middle-east for 30 plus years, dying on a cross as a sacrifice for the sins of all who believe and then was physically resurrected from the dead three days later. If you find these facts difficult to believe because of convincing evidence to the contrary then it would make no more sense for you to “believe” that they are true then it would for you to believe that Oz is a land that can be reached from Kansas by a hot air balloon. However, most people that I have spoken with have no such evidence. Instead they choose to act as if the evidence is flimsy or preposterous because they do not want to believe. Of course, if we admit that there is a God in heaven who lovingly created us, yet whom we cannot approach as free moral agents because of our sin, then that obviously requires a drastic solution. Many would rather not admit such a problem and they hope to make it “go away” by pretending that it doesn’t exist. I submit to you that if you are such a person that you should return to the Scriptures, and read the gospel of John each day for two months, and before you read, say a prayer such as this: “God, if there is a God, please show me the truth regarding the matter of Jesus Christ and the claims in the Bible. I am an honest seeker and truly want to know the truth more than I want to be proved right. With Your help (if You exist) I will repent and believe the truth about Jesus if I am convinced of it.”

The second implication is that believing that “God exists” and that “He loves us” is not saving faith. The demons believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, that He lived on earth and died at the hands of Pilate, then was raised from the dead after three days. They know this from first hand experience. They were there. They witnessed it. Yet, as I already said, there are no demons in heaven.

Assensus refers to knowledge and approval of the facts. Nicodemus knew that Jesus had come from God, for he said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who had come from God, for no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2). Nicodemus believed that Jesus came from God, and he realized that Jesus’ miracles were real and that the miracles showed that God was with Jesus. Yet Nicodemus did not have saving faith. We know this because Jesus said to Him, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). While Nicodemus believed in Jesus he did not believe on Him. King Agrippa was in the same situation. When Paul stood trial before Agrippa he said, “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe” (Acts 26:27). Yet clearly Agrippa did not have saving faith on Jesus for he replied to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to become a Christian?” (Acts 26:27). In the cases of both Agrippa, and Nicodemus, knowledge and approval were not enough.

Fiducia is perhaps best described by the English word “trust”. It implies an actual placing of confidence in something and is typically manifested in action. The action itself is not the trust, but the action follows the trust as a logical consequence. A true story that illustrates this well happened over a century ago.

The French tightrope walker and acrobat, Blondin, was born at St. Omar, France, on the 28th of February 1824. His real name was Jean Francois Gravelet. When he was five years old he was sent to the Ecole de Gymnase at Lyons and, after six months’ training as an acrobat, made his first public appearance as “The Little wonder.” He combined remarkable technique with a flair for the dramatic, not unlike the famous magician, David Copperfield, in our own time. Blondin particularly owed his fame to his idea of crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope, 1100 feet long, stretched 160 feet above the water. He would cross carrying things, pushing things or blindfolded. On one occasion he stopped halfway and cooked an omelet. In 1869, while a great crowd gathered on the Canadian side of the falls watching him, he performed a new stunt. Legend has it that he never wore a rope around him, but this time he did. He walked over, slowly at first but gaining speed as he progressed. Once he made it over to the New York side, he walked back over. This time though he walked back pushing a wheelbarrow. When he got over to the Canadian side, he took off his safety rope and he asked the crowd if they thought he could carry a kitten, in the wheel barrow. Most of the crowd said that they thought he could, and he put his kitten in the wheelbarrow and proceeded over the falls with the kitten in the wheelbarrow. When he returned, he asked the crowd if they thought he could carry a man across in the wheel barrow. By now everyone in the crowd put up their hand, because they knew he could do it. But then, he asked for a volunteer. Suddenly there were no hands left up. "Surely one of you will volunteer" he asked again, but no one would get into the wheelbarrow. While all the observing fans believed that Blondin could do it and believed in Blondin’s abilities, none of them believed on Blondin. None of them got in the wheelbarrow.

True faith means placing absolute trust on Jesus Christ. When someone asks a child of God if he is going to heaven, the true believer does not say, “I hope so”, or, “I believe that as best I can.” The Christian with trust (fiducia) on Christ says, “Yes. According to God’s great mercy He has caused me to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for me. I am protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5).

This type of faith is composed of trust that Jesus loved the church and gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25), trust in Jesus that He bought the Church of God with His own blood (Acts 20:28 ), and will work in it to will and to act according to His good purpose (Philippians 2:12), and a firm trust on Him, knowing whom you have believed, being convinced that He is able to guard what you have entrusted to Him for that day (2 Timothy 1:12).

This type of saving faith always leads to changed behavior and a changed life.

“For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one can boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit [i.e. the fruit of the Spirit -- good works], for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says that he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? . . . Faith without works is dead” (James 2: 14, 17).

Does this mean that we are saved by works? No. If anyone had climbed into Blondin’s wheelbarrow he would have been brought to New York across the Niagara Falls. In fact, if he remained in Canada he would have to wonder if he were in the right wheelbarrow. The person’s faith would have resulted in the works of him being carried across Niagara to New York. However, the motive force for the trip across the falls would have been Blondin pushing the wheelbarrow. And Blondin would receive all the credit and glory.

Some people hearing this may realize that although they have always “believed in” Jesus, they have never truly “believed on” Him. They do not trust Him to redeem their life or to have His Holy Spirit direct their life and produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8 ). Perhaps you are such a person yourself. What should you do if you are even now aware of the fact that you know of Jesus like King Agrippa did, and that you approve of Jesus as Nicodemus did in the third chapter of John, yet you have not placed saving faith in Jesus? Perhaps you have attended church for much of your life yet you have never trusted Christ to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, and to bring you into an intimate relationship with the Father and the Son (John 17:3) -- one in which Jesus Himself is not ashamed to call you a brother or sister (Hebrews 2:11). Perhaps you would like to trust Christ in this way but you are unable? That very thing happened to a man who came seeking help from Jesus and His disciples for the healing of his son. In Mark nine we read:

“Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by an evil spirit that has robbed him of speech. . . I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit but they could not.” . . . Jesus replied. . . “Bring the boy to me”. So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “’If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief! When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

Mark 9: 17-27 (NIV)

This man believed in Jesus in two senses of the word. He knew of Jesus and His power over demons and over illness. He certainly approved of Jesus, otherwise he would not have gone through the trouble of seeking Him out. Yet, when it came down to it, he did not trust on Jesus to heal his son. Jesus explains that this man must believe in this third sense (fiducia). Perhaps like this man, you approve of Jesus, and have even traveled to find Him, going to church most Sundays to hear a word from Him. But perhaps, like this man, you have not truly trusted Jesus. What can you do? If Jesus is putting this desire in your heart then you may be certain that He will help you overcome your unbelief, for, God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3: 16)

Unless you believe/ know to be factual/ acknowledge and approve/ trust by placing your life in His hands -- you will die in your sins.

If you are in a position of unbelief, then please cry out to Jesus as the father of the demon-possesed boy did: I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!

Psalm 60

by Steve Owen

At first reading this seems a rather strange Psalm. Parts of it may even appear faintly ridiculous to unsanctified eyes. The English comedian, Stephen Fry, entitled his autobiography, 'Moab is my Washpot' (v8 ), presumably because he found the words quaint or humorous. But if we look further into this Psalm, remembering that God inspired David to write it, we shall find instruction and encouragement, and something deeply comforting to all God’s people.

The first place to look is at the extended title. The Psalm is a Michtam or ‘teaching’ of David. It was written to teach us something. We also know something of the occasion on which it was written. It was probably composed on the eve of battle (we can read more about that in 1Chronicles 18 ) and published afterwards. This battle occurred early in David’s reign. David had inherited a weakened kingdom. The death of Saul and his sons came about in a defeat by the Philistines. Following that, there was civil war between David and Saul’s last surviving son, Ishbosheth and his general, Abner. You can read about it in 2Samuel 2-4. These were dark days for Israel.

However, I don’t want to concentrate on history. I want to look at what these verses mean for us. We are told that we may draw application for ourselves in the Old Testament Scriptures. Indeed, Paul tells us that David and the other O.T. writers were not writing so much for their own times as for ours. ‘For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope’ (Rom 15:4 ). Also, we are to find the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Our Lord tells us, ‘These are [the Scriptures] that testify of Me’ (John 5:39. cf. also 1Peter 1:10-12 ). So with these thoughts in mind, let us look at this wonderful Psalm and see what it has to say to Britain, to America, to our churches and to each one of us personally.

The Psalm divides itself into four sections:-

Verses 1-3 reveal God’s displeasure towards His people.

In verses 4-5, God’s Banner is displayed. It is a banner of Truth and a banner of Salvation.

In verses 6-8, God expresses His sovereignty over the whole world; not only over His own people but also over His enemies.

In verses 9-12, the truth is revealed that in David’s strength or in our strength, we can do nothing, but with God’s aid, we can do all things.

Vs 1-3. ‘O God, You have cast us off; You have broken us down; You have been displeased; Oh, restore us again. You have made the earth tremble; You have broken it; Heal its breaches for it is shaking. You have shown Your people hard things; You have made us drink the wine of confusion.’

Israel had been brought low. The death of King Saul, the defeat by the Philistines and the civil war that followed had weakened the land. Now there were two armies threatening her very existence. Times could hardly have been more desperate. Matters were so unsettled that it seemed as if the very earth was shaking. Things that had once seemed solid and reliable suddenly seemed insecure. ‘You have broken it.’ As fissures and cracks appear in the ground during a powerful earthquake, and walls crack and threaten to collapse, so it was in the kingdom. King Saul, who had had such a promising start to his reign, had shown himself to be devoid of any spiritual worth. He killed the Priests of Jehovah when they crossed him (1Sam 22:18 ), and consulted a medium rather than the Living God (1Sam 28:7; Isaiah 8:19 ). As so it is in the Church of Jesus Christ today. I realise that most of my readers will perhaps be American and circumstances there are rather different, but the Churches in Britain are in a dreadful state. Attendances almost everywhere are down. In 1905, 50% of all children went to some sort of Sunday School; today it is 3 or 4%. Not many years ago, politicians had at least to pay lip service to Christianity as the established religion of the country; recently, a Home Secretary felt free to couple evangelical Christians with Islamic terrorists. The stage show, Jerry Springer, the Opera, with its vile blasphemies against the Saviour, has been touring the country.

‘You have made us drink the wine of confusion' (or ‘astonishment’: literally, ‘wine of staggering’). Our afflictions have made us stagger like men drunk with some potent and bitter wine. Crime, violence and immorality and sexual diseases are running rampant in the land and no one has the least idea how to restrain them, but instead stagger from one quack remedy to another without avail. David knows that this is the Lord’s doing- God is sovereign. It is He who has given us this wine to drink. If trouble comes to a nation God has permitted it. ‘You have broken us down; You have been displeased.’ If we have sinned against Him, as Israel sinned, then He has sent these trials to chastise us, but also to purge us from our sins and to call us back to Him (2Chron 7:13-14 ). Our churches too have been shown hard things, with internal divisions and falling congregations. Yet if we are truly the Lord’s people, these things are ultimately for our own good, and the Lord will bring us back again. There is a wonderful promise in Hosea 6:1-2. ‘Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days, He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.’

Vs 4-5. ‘You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth. That Your beloved may be delivered, save with Your right hand, and hear me.’

Here the theme takes a sudden turn. The Lord has given us a banner. Now to be any use, a banner has to be displayed. In a battle, the banner was entrusted to the bravest men and when it was unfurled, the army would rally to it. It would show where the king or the general was, and when the banner was raised, soldiers would gain fresh heart because they knew that their leader was still with them. The banner that God has given to us is the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should have eternal life’ (John 3:14-15 ). A banner must be lifted up so that friend and foe alike can see it. In Numbers 21:4-9, we read that God commanded Moses to made a bronze serpent, to nail it to a pole and lift it up. Whoever looked at the serpent was healed. 1.500 years later, men took the Lord Jesus Christ, nailed Him to a cross and lifted Him up for all to see. He is our banner. Our task today is to lift up the Lord Jesus in our witness and in our preaching so that all men can see Him and say, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29 ), and whoever will look and believe on Him will be saved (Isaiah 45:22 ). We display our banner ‘because of the truth.’ just as the Apostles did. Peter declared, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 ). Psalm 20:5 declares, ‘And in the Name of our God we will set up our banners!’ We must set up our banner in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ so that whoever looks to Him will be saved.

‘….That Your beloved may be delivered.’ God’s beloved people, His elect will be delivered, but they will only be saved as we, the Church, lift up the Lord Jesus Christ.. He Himself declared, ‘And I, if I am lifted up from the earth will draw all peoples to Myself.’ Have you, the reader, looked to the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you know that you are one of God’s elect? Do you say to yourself, “Perhaps I’m not one of the elect; perhaps, whatever I do, God won’t save me”? Look to the banner! Look to the Lord Jesus Christ! Everyone who trusts in Him will be saved. ‘The one who comes to me I will by no means turn away’ (John 6:37 ). But when you look, when you trust in Him, it will be because God has known and loved you from all eternity, drawn you to Him and caused you to look upon Jesus Christ (Jer 31:3; John 6:44 ). Therefore, if God is sovereign in salvation, how important is prayer! Should we not be in constant prayer for our friends and family, for those perishing souls all around us? “Save with Your right hand and hear me!”

Vs 6-8. ‘God has spoken in His holiness: “I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem and measure out the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the helmet for My head; Judah is My lawgiver, Moab is My washpot; over Edom I cast My shoe; Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”’

Again, God expresses His sovereignty. He also speaks ‘in His holiness.’ He does not lie. “I will rejoice,” He declares (cf. Zeph 3:17; Heb 12:2 ). God will accomplish all His will and He will rejoice over it. His people will be saved. In David’s time, it looked as if parts of Israel might be lost to the enemy. God says, no! Shechem and Succoth were areas of Israel where David was not yet ruling. God declares, “These places will come under My rule, they will be divided up among My people.” Today it looks as if Britain has shaken off God’s rule; again, God says, “No! The world is Mine to divide up as I will." Gilead, Manasseh and Ephraim (v7 ) were parts of Israel, and God says that no one is going to take them from Him. ‘Judah is My Lawgiver.’ Judah was the tribe of David, and David was to be the one who should rule over Israel. Of course this also speaks of David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who was of that tribe (Heb 7:14 ). He rules today in the hearts of believers, but one day the whole world shall bow the knee before Him (Psalm 2:8; Phil 2:10-11 ).

‘Moab is My washpot.’ The Moabites hated God’s people; the imagery here is of them being reduced to the position of the basest slave who held the basin for his master to wash in. ‘Over Edom I cast My shoe.’ The Edomites were descended from Esau who despised his godly birthright as worthless (Heb 12:16 ). Christ will figuratively place His foot on the neck of the ungodly as a sign of conquest and of judgement (cf. Josh 10:24; Psalm 110:5-6 ). God will judge those nations that hate or despise His word. Then, suddenly, the tone changes. ‘Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.’ The Philistines fought against God’s people for centuries, yet they will ‘shout in triumph.’ God will be merciful to many who have resisted Him. Even now the Gospel is coming to parts of the world that have hated and opposed it to this very day. Moslems, Hindus and others are finding the Saviour. What separates Philistia in this Psalm from Moab or Edom? Sovereign grace! ‘I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion’ (Exod 33:19 ). No one deserves God’s mercy, and if it was doled out according to merit, no one would receive it. That is why it is called grace. It is mercy in the face of active demerit. ‘If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you’ (Psalm 130:3 ).

Vs 9-12. ‘Who will bring me to the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom? Is it not you, O God, who cast us off? And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies? Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies,’

Who will melt the hard hearts in Britain? Who will break down the walls of intolerance and persecution keeping out the Gospel from Saudi Arabia and North Korea? Who else but the Lord, the very One who has been hiding His face from us? If He has not been with us recently, then we need to be beseeching Him to return to us. ‘Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence!’ (Isaiah 64:1 ). Prayer is the Christian’s greatest weapon in times of declension. ‘Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless.’ If a football team is failing, it can change its manager or transfer in new players. When the Lord’s cause appears to be in dire straits, it is because God is chastising His people. To be sure we need godly people, just as Israel needed David, the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22 ), but first and foremost we need our God. ‘Through God we will do valiantly.’ How we need His aid today, and how we need to be in prayer! But just as David was enabled by God to overcome all his enemies and establish his kingdom, so we, if we truly turn to Him, can rely on His mighty power. 'If God be for us, who can be against us?' (Rom 8:31).