Does what you believe make a difference in your life? I suppose the answer depends upon what you
believe. For example, for each of the
following statements, decide first if you believe it. Then, whether or not you actually do believe
it, ask yourself how it would change your life if you did believe it:
·
The sky is blue.
·
You cannot breathe under water.
·
If a police officer sees you run a red light, he
will give you a ticket.
·
Flowers are pretty.
·
The person sitting next to you right now has a deadly,
contagious disease.
·
You car is faster than my car.
·
George Washington was the first president of the
United States.
·
The Zombie Apocalypse will break out tomorrow
morning.
There are lots of things we believe (or don’t believe) for various
reasons. For some of those things,
believing or disbelieving really makes no difference whatsoever in our
lives. On the other hand, there are
other things that if we really believe them would actually change the course of
our lives and/or modify our perspective and our behavior. To me, this is the essence of the difference
between BELIEF and FAITH. Consider these
verses (emphasis added for effect)
John 3:16 - 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 (ESV).
Ephesians 2:8 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and
this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (ESV).
So, is there really a difference between faith and belief? According to some dictionaries, a belief is
an opinion or a conviction. According to
other dictionaries, belief is synonymous with faith. Similarly, according to some dictionaries,
faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing. However, other dictionaries speak of faith in
terms of a belief system. The
implication is that while there may be nuances between them, ultimately there
is very little difference between faith and belief. I could not disagree more.
The Bible gives us a very clear definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1,
which says “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things not seen” (NASB). The Bible,
therefore, defines faith in the context of two principles – the “assurance of
things hoped for” and the “conviction of things not seen.”
The Assurance of Things Hoped For.
This very statement is an oxymoron.
How is it possible for us to be assured for something we hope
for? If it is something we cannot prove,
then by definition it is something we hope for.
There is no assurance in it. Faith,
however, says that our belief in this unassured, hoped for thing is so strong that
in our minds it is absolutely certain. It
is so certain in our minds, in fact, that we actually consider it to be fact –
even though it cannot be proven.
Consider the following examples.
I might hope that I will win the lottery and as a result go buy a
ticket, but do I really, really believe I will win? For me personally, the answer is no. The odds are just too much against me. There
have been too many experiences by people buying lottery tickets and not winning to
convince me this is something I want to place my faith in. I might hope for it to be true, but I don’t
believe it. If I did believe it, not
only would I go buy the lottery ticket, but I would quit my job and go on a big
spending spree.
On the other hand, I hope that that the sun will rise tomorrow. I don’t know for certain that the sun will
rise tomorrow, but I believe that it will. There have been enough examples of the sun
rising – every day in fact - to convince me that the sun will rise
tomorrow. I believe it so strongly that
I don’t go around ringing my hands saying “oh, I really hope the sun comes up
tomorrow…” No, for me, it is as good as
fact, so I never give it a second thought.
Rather, I make plans for tomorrow as if there were no question as to
whether or not the sun will rise. It
will rise.
Faith in Jesus Christ must be like the latter not the former. With the witness and example of so many who
have come before us, we have more than enough evidence to show that Jesus can
change our lives. Do we know it with
certainty? No. However, we believe it so strongly that we
are willing to commit our lives to him and follow his teaching and his commands
in the hope that his promises will be kept.
The Conviction of Things not Seen.
This is also something of an oxymoron.
A conviction is something that we believe “deep down” inside of us. It is something so deep and so moving that it
changes how we see and act. For example,
one of my convictions is that abortion is wrong. I believe this “deep down” inside. In fact, I believe it so much that I cannot
vote for any politician that supports abortion.
Some people have the conviction that killing and eating animals is
wrong. This significantly changes their
behavior. They are vegetarians. Some will not even go to a restaurant that
cooks meat. When we have a conviction in
something, it changes our actions.
Our conviction as Christians, however, is in something that we cannot
see or proven. We have faith in Jesus
Christ for our salvation. We believe he
can forgive our sins. We have hope that
he will save us and that we will one day see heaven. However, not only do we not physically see
Jesus, but we cannot physically see heaven.
In fact, we will not see the fulfillment of the promise until after we
experience physical death (that is, unless Jesus returns first – which is also
something we hope for).
How can we have conviction in something that seems so out of reach and unattainable? That is the real essence of faith. I might believe Jesus existed, but until
belief in his teachings and promises change my perspective and my behavior,
they are not really convictions. I
might believe that Jesus has the power to forgive sins and grant me eternal
life, but until I behave as if such is assured, my hope in it is false.
True faith means we have assurance in our salvation. We don’t just hope for it like I might hope
to win the lottery. We believe it so
strongly that it might as well be fact, like the rising of the sun. We hold so strongly to the conviction that
Jesus can save us that it changes our behavior.
We live like the things he taught us actually matters.
There is a difference between faith and belief. Some things, if we really believe them, should
change our lives. On the other hand, it
is absolutely possible to believe that Jesus can save you and still reject God.
The Bible says that the demons believe – and shudder. Similarly, it is
absolutely possible to believe that Jesus can save you, but not place your
faith in Jesus.
We are saved by grace – THROUGH FAITH… not through belief.
In fact, in the Greek, the word translated “believe” in John 3:16 is
actually the verb form of the word faith.
In the English, we don’t have a verb form of the word faith. John 3:16 is better translated as
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that
whoever has faith in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Here’s the question:
Do you believe Jesus can save you?
Or
Do you have faith that Jesus can save you…
If you have faith that Jesus can save you, then it will change your
perspective and you will be convicted to live the way he taught.
John 8:31 - If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples…
John 13:35 - By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if
you have love for one another.
John 15:8 - My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit,
and so prove to be my disciples.
For more information about how to live by faith, please try my book –
Faith Beyond Belief (Available at Amazon.com)
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