What Is Biblical Belief?

Introduction

Good morning. If you will open your Bibles with me to John chapter 3. John chapter 3. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend where we gave thanks to God and got to see family and friends and spend time with one another. I attended a funeral yesterday that was the gators playing Florida State Seminals. That was painful, slow, and they did eventually pass away. But I was thankful to be with family, thankful to be with friends, and more thankful to have a wonderful loving God. In John chapter 3, verse 16, a passage that many of us know very well, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but will have everlasting life. This one I want to ask the question about John 3.16.

Have we got it wrong? And normally when you hear that start, the thought is, okay, we’re going to see why. It’s not just this passage, but we also need to put it together with other passages. And if you’re thinking that, you’re partially right. But I also want to make sure that we do justice to a passage because I think sometimes if I were to ask a random uh a random straw pole of people, what do you think John 3.16 means for those who believe? What does it mean to believe? I think on the one end you might have people who say, Well, all you have to do is understand and accept Jesus in your heart as your Savior, and that’s who God will save. That’s who Jesus died for, that’s who will be saved.

That’s those who believe in John chapter 3. But you might ask some other people, and they might say, Well, John chapter 3 and verse 16, those believers are those who don’t just believe, but they do a whole lot of other things. They may be baptized, they may repent, they may have a have a life that is full of good works. They might be like the Good Samaritan. And the truth is that sometimes what we do with that passage is we either exalt it, as Adam said, he studied with one woman, and she said, This is the only passage in the Bible I need. But on the other hand, we sometimes might be a little quick to say, you know what, but yes, that’s a good passage, but let’s go look at all the others.

And the problem is it is a Bible passage, and it is inspired by God, and so it is of a critical importance that we understand it. And so when you read John chapter 3, beginning in verse 1, you have to understand where was this placed? What was the context of this discussion? In verse 1, Jesus is approaching a man and being spoken to by Nicodemus. And there’s this question of, What do I need to do? I know you’re the teacher. What is your message for me? And Jesus in verse 3 has said, Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And of course, this is puzzle puzzling to Nicodemus, and so he asked the question, how can a man be born when he is old?

Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. Of course, Nicodemus asked the question, How can these things be? Jesus answered, Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

Truly, truly I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. For I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who has descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. And of course, beyond verse 16, verse 17 is an important Bible text as well. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him, in verse 18, whoever believes in him is not condemned.

But whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. I think verse 18 is interesting because we read verse 16, and that makes sense that we need to be those who are believers. That’s who Jesus died for, that is those who will not perish but have everlasting life. I think in verse 17 we understand that God didn’t send Jesus so that everyone will be eternally lost, but that those might be saved. But in verse 18, it’s a powerful passage. And as we answer the question this morning, what is biblical belief? Verse 18 holds an important key, because in verse 18 it says, Whoever believes in him is not condemned. Whatever biblical belief is, it allows us to have a relationship to be reconciled to our holy God.

But the verse continues whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. We think about believing in the name of something. The question this morning is what is that belief? Is it just an acknowledgement that there was a Jesus, that he is the Son of God? Is it that those who are Jews who reject that Jesus was the Messiah? Is it them that are lost? Is it atheists who are lost because they reject Jesus being the Messiah? Nowadays we have all kinds of problems with even establishing basic fact. You see that with any type of political discourse. Even there are many in the Jewish community nowadays that reject Moses and the Exodus as being a true literal telling, as we would read in our Bibles in the book of Exodus.

We have lost the ability to reach conclusive fact. But the problem with that is our God never left, giving us strong and firm expectations. And verse 18 in John chapter 3 is just as clear and important as verse 16 is, and that is if we are going to please God, if we are going to be acceptable to him, we must believe in his Son. Jesus said in John 14 and verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and life. No one comes to the Father except through me. So this morning, let’s examine what is biblical belief, because those who do not believe are already condemned. Those who do believe will not be condemned. But what about this big old group in the middle? Because what we’re going to do is we’re going to start boxing in the definition of biblical belief.

1. People Who Mentally Accept Jesus Yet Did Nothing

What does God want from the believers? What does it mean to be a believer? Let’s see if there’s any type of middle ground. In the Bible, we see numerous groups of there. There are people who mentally accept Jesus as being who he claimed to be and yet did nothing about it. Let’s see what their fate would be. In John chapter 12 and verse 42. Turn over there with me, just several chapters over. In John chapter 12 and verse 42, we see that there are some even of the authorities, of the Pharisees who would believed who Jesus was, and that’s a bit curious, isn’t it? In John chapter 12 and verse 42 and 43, though the mystery will be unraveled as to how they believed, but we have such a negative perception of them.

In verse 42, nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue. For they love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. I think this is a critical problem because in verse 42 we see unequivocally that they did what? They believed in him. Who is the hymn in verse 42? That is Jesus. This group of authorities, these group of leaders, these Pharisees, believed who Jesus was. What was the problem with these believers? John 316 says that Jesus died, and those who believe in him will not perish. In verse 18, those who believe will not be condemned of John chapter 3.

Do they fit that mold? Well, we can’t just stop in verse 42, the beginning. As the second part pivots, but for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it, so they would not be put out of the synagogue. Now there’s a problem, and if it sounds like a red flag to you, it is. Look in Matthew chapter 10. This is important to see that the Bible has teaching on what God expects of his followers. In Matthew chapter 10, though, in verse 32 beginning, as Jesus is speaking to his disciples, and he’s speaking to them about the warnings of going out. In verse 32, he says, So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Is that not exactly what some of the authorities, some of the Pharisees did? They believed in him, but did they confess him? Were they willing to cast their lot with Jesus the Messiah? No. More tragic is the reason found in verse 43, because they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God back in that chapter. I sometimes want to think about how easy this is to pile on the Pharisees, these religious authorities, and say, that’s pretty silly. If you believe Jesus is the Messiah, why would you not follow him? But then I remember that Jesus’ closest disciples, including Peter, not once, not twice, but even in one encounter, three times denied who Jesus was. And that might be because they didn’t have a full picture, a full understanding of the picture of who Jesus was.

If anyone should have known it was the disciples, how many times was it that Jesus had to explain his kingdom was not of this world? How many times did he have to tell the disciples and even rebuke Peter for standing in his way saying, I have come to die. This is my mission. I came to give my life a ransom for many. And Peter would rebuke him saying, Far be it from you, Lord, and Jesus would rebuke his closest disciple. How did he miss it? Because he didn’t understand. Why did he deny Jesus? Because at that time it looked like Jesus was going to lose. It looked like man was going to win. And that his promised hero, Messiah, was not who Peter thought he was.

Well, I think we have a bit more clear understanding of who Jesus is in this day and age and being able to study the Bible in its entirety. I think we need to be careful not to be so prideful as to say, I think only Peter and the disciples of that day and age could make that mistake. I think we misunderstand Jesus all the time. I think one of the misunderstandings of God and of Jesus is at the heart of this very question we’re studying this morning, what does God want from his followers? What is it? That means I have a belief that will save? We misunderstand that question all the time because we mischaracterize God. We say, God is just love. God won’t punish anyone, but you read the Old Testament, that’s not true.

2. Even the Demons Understood Who Jesus Was

And then we go on the other end and we say, Well, God is so powerful, he is so mighty, his justice is so perfect that I will sin. I can’t do it, I can’t make it. It’s a misunderstanding of God. It’s a misunderstanding of the life that Jesus sacrificed on the cross for our sins. If we accept him and we understand mentally that he is who he claimed to be, but we don’t follow him. I think there’s a second group, even, and a lot of people don’t like reasoning this way, but I think the Bible makes a strong point of it. In Mark chapter 5, turn there with me. There’s a group of even of the demons who understood who Jesus was. In Mark chapter 5, beginning even in verse 1.

They came to the other side of the sea to the country of Garcessenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit. Skip down to verse 5. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him, and crying out with a loud voice, he said, What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you, by God, do not torment me. For he was saying to him, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit. And Jesus asked him, What is your name? He replied, My name is Legion, for we are many.

And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, Send us to the pigs, let us enter them. So he gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down into the steep bank into the sea, and drowned in the sea. Verse 15, they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there clothed in his right mind, and they were afraid. Why were they afraid? They saw what Jesus had done. They saw that Jesus had this power. But what’s interesting from our study this morning is would we not say that legion, the numerous spirits understood who Jesus was?

In fact, unlike the Pharisees, note what the demons did even. The demons said what? In verse 7. What have you to do with me? Jesus, son of who? The most high God. They knew who Jesus was. They confessed who Jesus was, you might say.

In James chapter 2, consider the point that the writer there is making. In James chapter 2, turn there with me. See this in your Bible. See the connection to Mark chapter 5 with me. In James chapter 2, beginning in verse 18, but someone will say, You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one, you do well. Even the demons believe and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? It’s quite interesting that James, in this in this passage, where he’s talking about the necessity of linking both faith and works and understanding that real faith works.

The faith that saves is a faith that obeys. In this passage, note who it is in verse 18 that he calls out. In verse 19, he speaks of even the demons who believe, and they had a reaction to that belief. It was not simple mental acknowledgement. The demons shuddered because they knew the power of Jesus. The legion was upset because what had Jesus been doing? He was trying to cast out the spirit, and he was successful in so doing. We see the problem with believers who do nothing are that they do exist, that it does happen. But when it comes to John chapter 3 and verse 18, they fit some sort of middle ground. But with the Bible and with God, there is no middle ground.

3. Believers Who Do the Wrong Thing

There is the narrow way that leads to life and the broad path that leads to destruction. And we see from James chapter 2 that faith without works is dead. So those who have faith without works are lost. There’s another group, though, of believers, and these are believers who are sincere, and this perhaps speaks on our misunderstanding of God. That’s to say, well, as long as we try really hard, that’s what God wants. I want to examine that idea. Is that what biblical belief is? Is biblical belief just having a strong mental acceptance that makes me do things? Or does it actually matter? Let’s look at a few examples. In Matthew chapter 7 and verse 21, note with me the religious people found in this text. Matthew chapter 7 and verse 21, note who is making the claim and what the claim is.

We’re going to figure out the who by examining the what. In Matthew chapter 7 and verse 21, Jesus says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but see this. But the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? Then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. You see, Jesus is saying in verse 21, this is not just about claim. It’s not just about what you say. At the day of judgment, our fates are sealed. Are we believers who will be with God and will not be condemned?

Or are we those who have rejected him? Are we those who are found lacking the biblical faith that God requires? Matthew 7 21 gives the dividing line himself. Jesus says it’s the one who does the will of the Father who’s in heaven. But note in verse 22, Jesus said, Many will say to me, What? We prophesied in your name. We cast out demons in your name. We did many mighty works in your name. These are religious people. They were doing religious things. And of course, you can qualm with the text and you can say, well, maybe they weren’t really doing them or it wasn’t working outright. But the claim is we were doing these things. And by the way, how foolish to stand before the Almighty God and lie.

That does not follow. But in Matthew 7 and verse 23, Jesus has an answer for these religious people, and it’s not a good one. He’ll tell them, I never knew you. He’ll say, Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Without law, without the end of verse 21, without doing the will of God. You can be a believer mentally. You can accept Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah. You can accept God as the creator of the heavens and the earth as the only God. You can believe that God created the heavens and the earth, and you don’t believe in the Big Bang Theory. You don’t believe in evolution. Then you can do some good things. But Jesus said, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.

But perhaps let’s get a little bit more specific. In Matthew chapter 15, we see a group of, they’re the Pharisees again. In Matthew chapter 15, they were on to Jesus for his disciples, not washing their hands, according to as verse 2 is termed the tradition of the elders. And as Jesus is reasoning with them, he’s telling them, you not only, you’re not only condemning them for breaking your tradition, not law, but you break the law. You don’t honor your father and mother. You are robbing from God with the pretense of honoring father and mother. But in verse 7, Jesus rightly condemns them, saying, You hypocrites, rather than Isaiah prophesy of you when he said, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

In vain do they worship me, teaching us doctrines, the commandments of men. I ask, are these people who accepted God, who were strong religious teachers, who did a lot of religious things, save individuals? Is this the type of belief that reconciles us with God? Of course not. Being called hypocrites and offering a heart far from God and vain worship and teaching his doctrine the commandments of men is the very thing Jesus is condemning in these very religious people. Or at least as they would so consider themselves. They were believers who did the wrong thing. I think sometimes we see also that zeal can be wrongly exercised. I think when you think about the Pharisees, as you turn to Acts chapter 22, we think, well, they were doing it for the glory, and Jesus often calls them out for that hypocrisy.

They were doing things, they were preaching the right thing, but they weren’t practicing it in Matthew chapter 23. And again, that’s what Jesus calls them out for. But not everyone is so evil, not everyone is so twisted. In Acts chapter 22, we know about a very prominent Bible figure who was very zealous and very real. He was doing the best he could. Let’s read about that individual and let’s see what that was like for him. In Acts chapter 22, we run into someone named Saul or Paul at this point in the text. And as he’s giving this testimony of his past life in verse 3, he says, I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Sicilia, but brought up in the city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as of as you all are this day.

I persecuted this way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. Paul was being zealous. Paul was living out the according to the traditions of his teachers. He was at the feet of Gamaliel. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He was doing what they did. He believed in God. He was living it so much so that he was persecuting those Christians who belonged to the way. But note what Jesus thought of that in verses 6 and following. As on my way, as I was on my way and drew near to Damascus about noon, a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

I answered, Who are you, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting. I think it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyhow. Those who persecute the Lord will not be saved. Paul certainly, as Saul, considered himself a man of strong faith. He considered himself a man of strong held convictions. And he was a strict practice of the Judaism system. So much so that as verse 4 said, he self-acknowledges, I persecuted the way to death. Paul was a believer. Paul was a zealous believer. But he did the wrong thing. I understand that Paul was practicing Judaism, and we have a divide over how to practice Christianity. But the truth is, the Jews at one time were God’s chosen people.

They had a specific law to reconcile them to God. But we know Paul was wrong because now there is a right system. There is the system of Christ. There’s a system of grace, faith, and trust in God. But if there is that singular system that replaced Judaism, it means that there is also that singular system for us today as Christians. That it can’t be divided or made up by the opinions of men. It must come from the mind and inspiration of God. And so Paul’s example should stand as a strong warning to us that zeal wrongly exercised fits the category of believers who do the wrong thing. And perhaps even we consider, as time eludes us a little bit, in Hebrews chapter 3, when there’s the warning by the Hebrew writer not to fall away or to depart from the living God.

There might be those who obey. Maybe you’ve spent your whole life being a Christian, but now you’re only going through the motions. Maybe you’re offering some form of vain worship. You’re here, but your heart is not. We can obey, but we can fall away. And if we have fallen away, if we have rejected Christ as being king over our life, we may be mentally acceptance, mentally accepting Jesus. We may be believers in that sense, but we are believers who are no longer doing the right thing, which means we are believers doing the wrong thing. And the sad part is the Bible is clear that if we reject Jesus, we will be lost. Now the good news is there are believers who please God, and so not only are we seeing that we have to back up our faith, back up our belief, but we’re going to see how did they do that.

4. Believers Who Please God

Let’s look at just four examples as we conclude the lesson this morning. You have Noah in Genesis chapter 6. In Genesis chapter 6, as we as we bemoan the fate of the world, I have to tell you, Genesis chapter six is a harsh reality check for us. In Genesis chapter six, maybe you’ve thought this before of the world, but note the description given. In Genesis chapter six and verse five, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention and thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. How was it that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord? What was he doing before then? What was Noah doing that in spite of this whole generation in verse 5 that the thoughts of their hearts were only evil continually? What secret did Noah have? How did he find favor in the eyes of the Lord? And while it’s hard to say exactly what he was doing at that point, we can see what he continued to do in showing that belief which is pleasing to God. Pick up the reading with me in verse 13. In verse 13, and God said to Noah, I am determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them.

Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood, make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it. The length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Make a roof for the ark and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh, in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

What did Noah do? What do we know as we read the rest of the Genesis account about Noah? What did he do with that faith, that belief? Did he mentally accept a flood was coming? Yes, he did. Did he find favor in the eyes of God? Yes, he most certainly did. What did Noah do? God gave him some specifications. He said, You are to make the ark with gopher wood. You are to make it with three decks. You are to make it this long, this tall, this wide. What do you think would have happened if Noah said, You know what, that’s that’s a pretty good description there, but I’m gonna kind of I’m gonna do my own thing. I’m gonna use this oak wood over here, I’m gonna use this cypress type of wood.

I’m gonna do this because it’s gonna be better. Do you think that would have worked for God? Of course not. God had the specifications that he allowed Noah. God did not give Noah the cheap code to his uncoming flood. God was not telling Noah, if you happen to make this ark this way, if you use gopher wood and you make it these dimensions, my flood’s just not going to be able to wipe you out. So here I’m gonna give you the little cheat code to my destruction. That’s not what it was. Noah, in his belief in God, accepted what God had said as both true and authoritative in his life, and he submitted to God’s will, and in so doing not only found favor in the eyes of the Lord, but lived through the flood, and the rest of the creation goes back to the blood of Noah.

Because only Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives were spared. Because Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was someone who pleased God in his belief. There’s a second Old Testament fellow, though, in Abraham in Genesis chapter 22. We know a lot about Abraham, but in Genesis chapter 22 is perhaps the most startling story. We know in Genesis chapter 12 that God told Abraham to go out, and he did go out, as Hebrews 11 says, not knowing where he was going. But in Genesis chapter 22 is perhaps the most alarming show of faith, the most alarming show of belief. You want to know what does it take to please God? What does God expect of me? Look in Genesis chapter 22 and verse 1 and 2 to see just an example of how serious God is.

In verse 1, after these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, Here I am. He said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. When it comes to obeying God, what was his expectation for Abraham in Genesis chapter 22? They offer up Isaac. And the Bible reader knows that Isaac was the promised son, who Abraham not only waited for, but he was impatient for and had Ishmael, which led to a host of different problems for God’s people.

Isaac was the promised son. But even if he wasn’t the promised son, he was Abraham’s son. He was Abraham and Sarah’s long-awaited son. And God said, I want you to sacrifice him to me. Just like in Genesis chapter 6 with Noah, in Genesis chapter 22 is not a command for us today. The context of the scriptures demands that we see that that was unique to these men. But what’s what’s so testifying to Abraham’s faith and his understanding of what belief pleases God is found in verse 3. At that command, Abraham just went. And we see as he goes through with the sacrifice as he’s about to offer up Isaac, of course, the angel of the Lord appears, and Abraham does not have to do that, the offering is made available to him.

And Abraham’s faith is substantiated in that way. He knew that was happening. In Hebrews chapter 11, you want to talk about faith. Let’s see Hebrews chapter 11 as we move towards concluding the lesson this morning. In Hebrews chapter 11, what was it that Abraham saw? What was it that he knew? Well, in verse 17, by faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, Through Isaac shall your offspring be named. Verse 19 talks about what real belief is. What was it that Abraham believed about God? In verse 19, he, Abraham, considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

How strong was Abraham’s belief? It wasn’t just a blind faith. He didn’t just say, Well, God said it, so I’m going to go do it. Although that’s true. Abraham believed so strongly in God, entrusting his ways, and trusting his message, that even to the point of offering up Isaac, that promised offspring, who finally came after years and years of waiting, he was going to go do it. And verse 19 says what? He knew that if it meant it, if it was God’s plan, he could raise him from the dead. We serve a great God. We have to have the faith that Abraham did, or we won’t do it. We don’t have to sacrifice our only son, but we must sacrifice our life. And in Acts chapter 3, we see that there were 3,000 at Pentecost who put to death the former man of sin.

They find out in verse 36, as Peter concludes this great sermon that the kingdom has come, that Jesus reigns, and in verse 36, what do they learn? Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus is the Christ. And they crucified him. In verse 37, they have that question for Peter. What do we do? How do we have a relationship with God? How are we made right? Well, certainly they understood and they believed at that moment that they had done wrong. That’s why verse 37 says that they were pierced or cut to the heart. But in verse 38, Peter didn’t say, you know what, that’s good. God wants you to feel bad for what you did. You believe in who Jesus is. Let’s all go home happy. That’s not what Peter says.

In verse 38, he says, Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. How are they to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ? But all of a sudden, now we’re back to that confession. We’re about that name in Jesus. And when it comes to Saul, how was it that Saul was dealt with? In Acts chapter 22, as we read about Saul saying how he zealously served, but then Jesus said, Why are you persecuting me? This is Jesus. I you are persecuting me. What did Saul have to do? Did Jesus say, Well, now that you got the picture, just cut out the persecution and go forward? No. He was to find Ananias. He was going to teach him the way. He was going to teach him what his expectations were.

Conclusion

Saul was a zealous believer in God. He just didn’t accept Jesus as the Messiah. But then Jesus spoke to him. I think if you were, if you spoke to Jesus, and Jesus said, Why are you persecuting me? But you’d have belief that he exists. He might even go around and tell people that he is, who he claims to be. But that wasn’t sufficient because God’s message is clear. God’s message for those who are going to be reconciled to him is concise. It is objective. So when we see what is biblical belief, it is an objective faith that moves us to completely sacrifice self and please God. What was different from the Pharisees in John chapter 12 and verse 42 and 43 who believed? What was different about the demons?

What was different about the Pharisees? Or Saul even at the beginning of his life. They were at various stages of belief. They were at various stages of understanding who Jesus was. But ultimately they rejected him. How? Not just in what they said, but in how they acted. How they trusted God. See, Abraham’s trust in God is clear. We know that because he was willing to sacrifice Isaac. The question I have to ask myself is my belief pleasing to God. It’s a wonderful thing to know that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. That’s a wonderful blessing. But am I a part of that belief? As verse 18 of John chapter 3 says, am I one of those believers who will not be condemned?

I can know if I am, because I’ll have given all in the name of Christ. I will have given up the claim to self and said, Jesus, God, thy will be done. That’s biblical belief. Faith that saves is a faith that obeys. Will you go to God in prayer with me? Our dear God, a most gracious and powerful Heavenly Father, we’re mindful of how merciful and gracious you are, and we pray that you continually forgive us of our sin and help us to be more in your image. Help us to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of our mind, seeking after you, setting our mind on things above, being thankful unto you. Forgive us of when we have done wrong.

Help us to have that faith that is pleasing to you. We know that without faith it’s impossible to please you. And we pray that we not only understand who you are, but also serve you as the Almighty God that you are. Thank you for creating us. Thank you for showing your power all around us. And we pray to you and we thank you in a special way this moment in this country and this weekend for the very life we have, the freedoms that you’ve blessed us with, the family and friends that you put around us, and most importantly, all of your wonderful provisions that allow us to one day be with you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, so that if we believe in you, we will not perish.

Thank you for the church here at South Bumby and Christians who can work together, and we pray that we might be like iron that sharpens iron, encouraging one another. Thank you for your love. Help us to forgive others so that we may too be forgiven by you. Help us to be faithful unto death. We pray all these things in the name of your Son Jesus, the great sacrifice. And it’s in his name we do pray. Amen.