What does ‘Christian belief’ mean?

In the 1972 brilliant film, ‘Godfather’ there is a scene in which a baby, nephew of the Mafia boss Michael Corleone, is being baptised in a cathedral. Then Michael, acting as a godfather, is asked,

“Michael, do you believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth?”

Michael Corleone replied,

“I do.”

“Do you believe in Jesus Christ our Lord?”

“I do.”

“Do you believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church?”

“I do.”

At the same time five murders are being perpetrated on the orders of this same Michael Corleone. He becomes both a godfather of a child and the godfather of a massive Mafia gang. He may give intellectual assent to The Church’s doctrine but does he really believe?

Somehow ‘belief’ in Jesus is the key to receiving eternal life but a nominal faith, even if fervently held, does not impress God. John the Baptist was preaching to and baptising many who came to him in the Desert of Judea. When a group of religious Pharisees and Sadducees came he did not mince his words,

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance And do not say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’” Matthew 3:7-9

When Paul was on trial for his life before King Agrippa, he explained clearly what his message to all people was,

“I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” Acts 26:20

When I was young I was taught the famous Bible verse that encapsulates the Christian message.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

A little later the necessity of having a belief in Jesus is made,

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:18

Our eternal destiny depends on believing in Jesus. But what does ‘belief’ mean?

Origin of the word ‘believe’

Our word ‘believe’ joins the two words, ‘be’ and ‘lieb’. ‘Be’ comes from ‘being’, a state of mind and ‘lieb comes from old English ‘lieben’ which meant to ‘love’. It is the same word ‘leiben’ in German, meaning ‘to love’. Originally ‘to believe’ meant to be ‘in love with’. ‘Beliebt’ in German still means ‘loved’, ‘favoured’ or ‘much liked’. When the King James version of the Bible was first published in 1611 this was the meaning of the word ‘believe’. It has changed in meaning over the last 150 years into the cerebral acceptance of an idea. There is now no necessity of being really committed.

The Bible’s meaning of ‘believe’

Today we can say that I believe Donald Trump is the President of the United States without being committed to him. Clearly ‘believing in Jesus’ in just an intellectual way does not satisfy the condition that Jesus meant for salvation. It does involve acceptance of the teaching of Jesus as being God’s truth but it is more than that, it involves a wholehearted commitment to the person of Jesus

Satan has an intellectual belief in Jesus. Demons recognised that Jesus was ‘the Holy One of God . . . the Son of God.’ The devil is orthodox in his beliefs about Jesus but is certainly not saved! To ‘believe in Jesus’ is to love him for who he is and all he has done for us. He becomes very important to us. It is no coincidence that the relationship between a Christian and his Lord is described in terms of marriage – a lifelong, deep personal commitment to the person we love. A person with true Christian faith knows the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The Holy Spirit gives us a real love for the Lord Jesus. We want to live in a way that will please him, we want to serve him and speak for him. We want to spend our lives with him, knowing that, when we die we will see him face to face. It is this change in the way we think that confirms that we are children of God – it is the evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us.

I will never forget a lady who visited our church. Before the service I went and sat next to her to welcome her. I was shocked at her opening words,

“The trouble with your church is that you talk too much about Jesus!”

I showed her the opening chapter of Paul’s first letter to the troubled church at Corinth. All of the first ten verses mention Jesus. There can be no doubt that Paul longs for this church, that was so into trying to have experiences of God to refocus on the Lord Jesus. This is what ‘saving faith’ or ‘Christian belief’ is all about.

Jesus explains what saving faith means

Jesus, who describes himself as the light of the world, expects his people to follow him,

“You are the light of the world . . . let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

We can only do this if we live closely with our Lord.

Jesus emphasised to his followers, shortly before his crucifixion, that he longs for his people to live in a loving relationship with him.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” John 15:9

How do we stay in such a close relationship. Any relationship is maintained by doing what we know pleases the other person. Jesus goes on to say,

“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” John 15:10

Paul explains what Jesus meant to him

When he was under house-arrest in Rome awaiting trial, he was uncertain about the outcome but only one thing mattered to him.

“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:20-21

Such devotion to him is what the Lord Jesus wants to see in all of us. Paul’s life is now lived for Christ. Elsewhere he wrote,

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Such devotion to the Lord Jesus is not meant to be exceptional; Paul repeatedly stresses that he is the example others should follow because he is simply following the example of the Lord Jesus. He wrote,

“Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.”

Even in his day he saw people, who called themselves Christians, who were not living in a Christlike, sacrificial way but were still living for themselves and in so doing were rejecting the teaching about Christ and his cross.

“For, as I have often told you before and now say again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.” Philippians 3:18-20

To think like this is the way to experiencing great joy and peace.

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:9

A faith that is just intellectual and moral, but that does not involve a love for Jesus, is surely not a saving faith, it is not Christian belief, according to the Bible.

BVP