“B” is for Believe…
Bb Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved…. —Acts 16:31
Getting saved is so simple, even a child can come to faith. In fact, it is childlike faith we are encouraged to develop. I love the trust expressed on the child’s face in the photo illustrating this promise in my book, an Alphabet of Promises. I am particularly taken with the captivated gaze. This is what I want my faith to look like. I want my gaze to be locked in on Jesus.
In answer to a man’s desperate plea, “What must I do to be saved?” he was told to believe in the Lord Jesus. This is the distinctive between biblical Christianity and every religion of the world. Religion has requirements, rules, and regulations to be met in order to achieve right standing. Biblical salvation, however, depends on the person and work of Jesus. All that we must do is believe. Of course, this is more than just intellectual assent.
In 1859, a Frenchman known by his fans as The Great Blondin, dazzled his audience as the first tightrope walker to cross Niagra Falls. Over the years, Niagra Falls became his favorite place to practice this early version of an extreme sport. Included among his many successful crossings was one in which he pushed a wheelbarrow. When Blondin asked the crowd if they thought he could do it again, the crowd enthusiastically roared their confidence. However, when he asked for a volunteer to climb into the wheelbarrow, there was utter silence. The crowd believed intellectually he could deliver, but no one was willing to demonstrate their faith by climbing into the wheelbarrow.
Obviously, there is a huge difference between giving mental assent and placing one’s trust in another. Believing in the Lord Jesus to be saved is the kind of faith that is willing to climb into the wheelbarrow. And yet, faith in Jesus is all that is required. It’s not Jesus plus the good stuff we should try to do. It’s not Jesus plus trying to measure up. It’s not Jesus after we get our act cleaned up. There is not one thing we can possibly do to add to the priceless shed blood of Jesus. It’s all about Jesus. The Bible assures us there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12).
A friend recently acknowledged she knew salvation was only by faith, but questioned if she had enough faith to be saved. Just how much faith is required? Jesus talked about faith no bigger than a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds. However, it is not the amount of faith that saves, it is the object of our faith that is important. If the object of our faith is Jesus, then we can be sure that even the smallest amount sufficiently connects us to him who saves.
One day Jesus asked a young father if he believed. The father admitted there were limitations to his belief and answered, “I believe, but help my unbelief.” In other words, the man believed, but at the same time recognized he had doubts and perhaps areas in his life he was unable to entrust to Jesus. He wanted more faith. Since faith begins as a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8), it is appropriate to look to him to increase our faith. Even faith as small as a mustard seed grows exponentially when placed in Jesus.
Belief in Jesus gets us to heaven, but what about all the hard stuff in the meantime? How are we to live? Somewhere I got the idea it was up to me to live the Christian life. My performance based MO was so deeply entrenched that it never occurred to me my thinking was faulty. Even though I trusted Jesus to get me to heaven, I was depending on my own efforts to get me through each day. Eventually, I came to the end of myself and realized I could no longer delude myself into thinking I could cope with the hard stuff. I was exhausted by trying harder to measure up, to manage my sin, and to try to please God.
The truth is, we receive Jesus by faith, and we also live by faith (Colossians 2:6). It’s not up to us to live the Christian life. Only Jesus can live the life pleasing to God. But the good news is that he desires to live his life in and through us. This is the abundant life he came to give so that we can become more like him as we believe, not just to get us to heaven, but to get us through each day in the meantime.
I laugh now, thinking God wanted me for what I could do for him. In reality, he just wanted me. That is a staggering thought. To be loved apart from what I could do was very foreign to me. The truth is, God desires his unconditional love and acceptance be enjoyed in a continually growing relationship through faith in Jesus.
There is a great deal more to salvation than just getting to heaven. Jesus desires to save us from ourselves— our own religiosity, our own performance trap, our own fears, habits and hang-ups, and the multitude of ways sin can enslave us. During our struggles here on earth we always have the option to believe in Jesus so that we walk in the Spirit and not fall into sin. We will not do this perfectly, but we have all we need for life and godliness to have victory over any sin or difficulty as we trust Jesus to be our salvation in that moment. And for those times we fail, faith in Jesus even saves us from condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved from the penalty of all sins—past, present, and future. Believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved from the power of sin to walk in newness of life in the meantime. Believe in the Lord Jesus to one day be saved from the presence of sin when we leave these bodies. Our part is simply to believe. And whoever believes in him, will not be disappointed (1 Peter 2:6). He will do the rest, and therefore, gets all the glory.
Where do you place your confidence? In whom do you trust? If you believe in the Lord Jesus— you will be saved.
Sally,
I love this. God gives you such truth to speak. I thank Him for the way He has gifted you and I thank you for using that gift to share with others thereby helping others.
I love you.
Nikki
Love your insight! May God continue to abundanly bless you! Miss your smiling face!
When you said:
“it’s not Jesus after we get our act cleaned up. There is not one thing we can possibly do to add to the priceless shed blood of Jesus. It’s all about Jesus”
You had me…you powerfully articulated the Gospel that has been missing in the church for too long…at the end of the day it’s about Jesus, always about Jesus…He not only gives salvation…He is salvation.
As I get older, I am thankful for a God who is bigger than my theology and life experiences, and a God who loves me not because I have arrived, but because Jesus did…the freedom in knowing Jesus is my life and my salvation, and not what I do, has forever changed me…Thanks for the great verbal reminder.
Monty
Thank you for this post Sally- incredibly uplifting. Not a day goes by that my faith is tested and I constantly question who is in control here? Ultimately, I get the end of myself when I realize that my life is ‘not about me- but Him.’ I love that God wants to be in control of my life- it is true freedom to live. Love you
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
John 10:10 (New International Version)
I loved it. Wow, you give me inspiration, to speak out, as one who likes to take the back seat, I am being encouraged by you, with little tiny steps, but thats how one gets started.
God has truly blessed you, in so many ways as to reach out to others.
B is for beautifully written. B is for how bountiful, bold and brilliant Christ’s love is for all of us. B is for how blessed we are to have someone like you Sally in our lives.
Thank you, Sally, for continuing to minister to all of us. The tight rope illustration is challenging me in new ways to walk out the faith that He has given me by His grace. I love you!