12.24.23 Willisburg Bulletin
Believing
About this time of year, everyone starts asking the kids if Santa is coming and what they are asking for. The question of believing in magic come up and questions of miracles. Then, Jesus’ birth is brought up and if we should celebrate this holiday as His birthday and such. I will admit He likely wasn’t born during this time of year and the Bible does not mention anything about celebrating His birthday, but let’s focus on the whole reason people have these questions. It comes down to believing. Have you reflected this season on if you truly believe God? Do you believe in Him? In His promises? In His resurrection? In His plan of salvation? In His return? Because there is a difference between believing in God and believing God. Mark 16:16 says we must believe and act on that belief to be right with God. So, what does that believing entail?
The Greek word for believe in the verse in Mark is pisteuo, defined as to put one’s faith in, trust, and belief with an implication that actions based on that trust may follow. The Greek word for “believeth not” in the same verse is “apisteo”, meaning disbelieve, faithless, and unfaithful. In some instances it is referenced as not acting like a true follower and moral failure.
Believing God means…
Just by the definition we can see that believing has to do with fully trusting God in what He says. It also shows us that actions will follow that true belief. So believing God means we take Him seriously in what He says because there is an eternal punishment (condemnation) for those who do not obey and there is an eternal paradise (salvation) for those who do obey, just as Mark 16:16 quotes. It’s as simple as that. BUT actually obeying is the hard part.
Action Required
The parable of the Sower is explained in Luke 8:11-15, and it mentions the ones with a noble and good heart keep the Word of God and use it to bear fruit with patience. If you truly believe God, you will be taking His Word to heart. Ps 119:11 quotes, “Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” It takes reading, meditating, and studying in His Word to believe.
Ps 119:98 says, “You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies,” and verses 100-101 say, “Because I keep Your precepts, I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your Word.” When you take the time to get in His Word, it becomes a lot easier to know the path He has called you to follow. Christ asks us to follow Him in Matt 16 by picking up our cross, meaning we will have struggles with the flesh, weights of the world, and personal desires we must let go of, but if we truly believe, we will do all of that with a servant’s heart just as our Lord had and we will do all of that knowing we have a home prepared for the obedient.
Believing in God is Different
We can’t just believe in God and be okay. Even the demons believe in God (James 2:19). Just believing in God is a simple act that even a lot of people still don’t do, but we must believe in God and believe God to be saved. If you lack one or the other, you are in trouble. Belief in God can sometimes seem so hard because it requires faith and confidently knowing He exists even though we haven’t seen Him just as Hebrews 11:1 talks about. But it also says in verse six of the same chapter that you have to believe that He exists and believe God Himself and what He says to please Him. The apostles had this same issue in Mark 16:14, but God gave them what they needed to be able to complete the Great Commission, just as He does today with us.