John 3:16 - for God So Loved the WorldSýnishorn

What must we believe to be saved?

John 3:16 tells us that “…whoever believes in him should not perish…” But what does it mean to believe in Him? Unless we know the answer to that question, we can be led astray to believe all manner of lies, false doctrines, and false teachings.

Our faith in God should not be " blind.” Jesus wandered the regions of Judea and Galilee, teaching His disciples what to believe. God gave us the Bible to educate us in what we were to believe, too, so that our faith would not be blind.

So, what should we believe?

First, we believe in God and Jesus Christ, specifically believing there IS a God, that Jesus came in the flesh, He died, and He was resurrected by the power and will of God. That is the starting point. We are told also that “…if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (See Romans 10:9)

Salvation at the most basic level is based upon these two beliefs. Believe in God, and believe in Jesus. (John 14:1) Many Christians never move beyond that point for one of many reasons. That’s OK. If that is all they can accept and understand, it is sufficient. Recall the thief who was put to death with Jesus. His faith was sufficient to be received into Paradise. (See Luke 23:39-43)

The next level of faith we need to grow to is believing in the power of Jesus's death.

By faith we enter into His death and resurrection, taking His death as our own. We die with Him through baptism into His death and resurrection.

Belief in the power of His death now removes our sin and sets us free from the Mosaic law. As the scripture says:

How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (Romans 6:2-3)

And;

Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ (Romans 7:4)

When we believe that we have died with Christ, we need to change the way we think. We must believe we are dead to sin, as Romans 6:11 says, “…you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” You cannot "consider yourselves dead to sin" unless you believe and have faith that this is where you now stand in Christ.

We must also believe that we have received God’s free gift of righteousness by faith so we can stand in righteousness before the throne. Our faith is not accepted as righteousness by anything we do but by the grace of God, just as God declared Abraham righteous when he believed in God.

Abraham was given something impossible to believe: that at nearly one hundred years old, he would have a son by Sarah. She was about ninety years old, barren, and incapable of falling pregnant. But Abraham believed God could do anything, and so God declared him righteous.

Likewise, we are declared righteous when we believe the impossible. We are called to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. When we believe that, we, too, are declared righteous.

When we understand these things, our faith in God is not blind.

Prayer Point:

Pray that you can learn and understand these things so that your faith is grounded in God’s truth rather than man-made doctrines.