“For God so loved the world that He gave us His one and one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” NIV
Key word is BELIEVE! So, what does it mean to believe Him? Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate helps by defining belief and believe.
Belief – Conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being
or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence.
Belief and faith are often used interchangeably. Belief may or may not imply
certitude in the believer, whereas faith always does even where there is no evidence or
proof.
Believe – 1. a. To have a firm religious faith. b. To accept trustfully and on faith.
2.To have a firm conviction as to the reality of something. 3. To hold an opinion, to think – to consider to be true or honest.
My opinion: I believe that for any person to become an honest follower of Jesus the Christ requires a firm conviction that Jesus is who He claims to be and that He is the only path to the saving grace of God! In John 14:1-14, Jesus spells it out for us and also for His disciples.
In the Grand Scheme of God, all of Biblical History, beginning with Genessis 1:1
and following through to Revelation 22:21, inclusively deals with His selective process for obtaining a people to populate His future eternal kingdom. This requires two additional definitions: Predestination and Free Will.
Predestination -The doctrine that God in consequence of His foreknowledge of all events infallibly guides those who are destined for salvation.
Think. Our Omniscient God, knows everything. He knows the past, present and future as one, and is already aware of tomorrow and to the end of time. Psalm 139:7-12, tells us we can’t hide from Him. So if you are running from Him, that is bad news. But if you belong to Him you are never out of His sight! Thank You Lord for always knowing my whereabouts!
This is fascinating stuff for our finite minds to attempt to grasp! Like when you say, “I forgive you” with your fingers crossed behind your back!! Before you say it, God already knew your mind.
This important topic deserves more attention, thus, Lord willing my next paper will focus on the topic of Predestination.
Free Will – 1. Voluntary, spontaneous.
- Freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine
intervention.
Enough from Mr. Webster for now but I appreciate his helping us to understand who we are in God’s sight.
Now “The devil made me do it” will not fly! The devil specializes in tempting us to “do it” but we make the choice. Eve said the devil fooled her thus she disobeyed God. Don’t miss that; Eve chose to disobey God. God said there are consequences for disobedience; for Eve and for us.
Thus for us the most important teaching in Scripture is THE CROSS OF JESUS! He gave His life for the sin of the whole world and specifically for my sins and for your sins. So our personal relationship with Jesus goes back to His cross. Important.
John says hear and heed, Revelation 1:3) “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophesy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” The message of Revelation 1:3 is for us. God promises a blessing for reading the book and for following the instructions.
The basic requirements for receiving the blessings are: honest acceptance of and obedience to our Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Creator God, Sovereign over all His creation! The blessing comes in His new eternal city!
Remember, His purpose in this world is to select a people for His new eternal city where we will reign with Him. The following Scriptures speak of reigning with Jesus: Daniel 7:18, 26-27; Matthew 19:28; Romans 5:17; Revelation 22:1-5.
To reign is defined as “To possess or exercise sovereign power.”
This we understand; eternity with Jesus will not be boring! Revelation 21:1-7 gives a beautiful picture of a comfortable healthy life without fear because Jesus is with us for eternity.
The most important question right now is, “Do you belong to Jesus?”
Think about it. Verse eight gives the only other option; separation from God, for eternity!
Come, Lord Jesus.
Buford Smith is a retired minister of the Gospel and lives in Dugger, IN