What does it really mean to believe in Jesus?

Paul and Silas said to the repentant Philippian jailer ‘believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.’

But then we read that James said this ‘Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?’

So how do we balance these two truths?

The difference is faith.

The devils believe that God is the one true God but they don’t believe with faith.

Many believe that God is real but haven’t put their faith, their trust, in the saving work of Jesus Christ upon the cross.

Faith acts upon what we believe to be true.

When we’re sick we may believe that a certain medicine is able to help us. But we don’t put our faith in that medicine until we actually take it.

True believers realise their soul sickness. And seeing the remedy in Christ reach out in faith to receive healing from Him, trusting that Christ, the remedy, will cure their soul sickness.

James said that ‘faith without works is dead.’

Faith that isn’t active is dead, faith is a living thing. Living faith is actively trusting in God and this faith is worked out in the way we live our lives as God’s children.

Faith believes that God will give us all the grace we need and we exercise that faith in our works.

For example we may believe that God can give us the strength we need in our weakness to do hard things. But it takes faith to actually step out and do the hard work, trusting God to give us all the strength we need to do it.

Our faith then is evident by the work we have just done trusting in God’s strength.

Jesus, when talking to us about abiding in Him, tells us that ‘He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me ye can do nothing.’

When we abide in Jesus, taking hold of His all sufficient grace by faith, leaning into His fullness, the fruit of the Spirit is worked out in our lives. Our faith then, as we abide in Jesus, produces those good works.

Jesus also said ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.’

When we abide in Jesus’ sufficiency, it’s then that we can truly follow Him.

When God commands He also has all the grace we need freely available to us to obey those commands. If we’ll just look to Him for that grace and step out in faith to obey Him, then we truly follow Jesus and our faith is evident by our works. The works don’t save us but they are the fruit of our salvation and the evidence that we are saved.

Acts 16:31 James 2:19-20, John 14:15,

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