"What Does It Mean
To Believe In Jesus?"

Jesus says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). We have got to believe in Jesus in order to be saved. But what does it mean to believe in Jesus?

There is a popular misconception today that says you do not have to obey Jesus but only believe in Him to be saved. They say we are saved by "faith only". But the Bible says, "You believe there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble" (James 2:19). If all one has to do to be saved is believe, then the demons also will be saved. We are to "be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" James 1:22). A person only deceives himself if he thinks he is saved by "faith only".

Jesus says, "He who does not love Me does not keep My words" (John 14:24). If one does not believe and do everything that Jesus says, then he does not love Him. To this person Jesus asks, "But why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46).

To believe in Jesus is to trust, and do everything Jesus and His inspired word says and for the reason He says. To believe in Jesus is to believe Him when He says, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). One needs help to misunderstand this. Many people, who claim to believe in Jesus, defiantly say that being baptized has nothing to do with being saved. They have more faith in their denominational preacher who tells them that baptism is not necessary in being saved, than in Jesus who says that one must "believe and be baptized" to be saved.

Doing what Jesus says proves that we really believe in Him. Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). There are many people who claim to believe in Jesus, who do not love Him. God's word says, "He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). A person may claim to believe in Jesus but if he doesn't keep all of His commandments, then he is a liar and is only deceiving himself. To believe in Jesus is to do everything He says, when He says, the way He says, for the reason He says, and only what He says.