John 20:31 but these things are recorded in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name
This verse in the book of John is the thesis for the entire book. There is one main reason why this book was written. The reason why the book was written is because it tells us exactly what we need to understand, in order to spend an eternity with Jesus.
What we see here is that this book was written so we would believe. Belief, in the Scriptures, is the verb form for the noun faith. So you have to ask yourself what is Faith.? There are three main aspects to Faith. First is knowledge, which is an understanding of the Gospel message that Jesus is 100% God and 100% man. John 17 :3 States and this is eternal life, that they know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
The second aspect of biblical faith is assensus, this is a conviction and a certainty that the testimony about who Jesus Christ is entirely true. Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
The final part of Faith is trust or reliance. This is a personal, resting or clinging to or relying on Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Galatians 2:16 jess yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Jesus Christ, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Let me make this more clear and what faith accomplishes. That we are objectively grounded in Christ alone( Romans 3:21-22) Secondly, Faith comes from Christ alone( Romans 10.:17) Thirdly, we live by this faith( Romans 1. :16-17) Fourthly, that through this Faith we have exactly what we need (Romans 12:33) Finally, we accept those who have a different measure of faith than we posses (Romans 14:1).
This Faith that we are gifted with is hard to grasp the depths of it but if we reflect back through seasons of trails we can gain a fuller and richer idea of it. For example, myself and my family have been going through some ups and downs with some very dear friends lately. Maybe for you it is a family member???This is very common in many people’s lives and it can become all-consuming. But at the end of the day, we can either have faith that Jesus is who he says he is, that he loves us, that he is sovereign, that He died for my sins and that his plan is better than my plan…or we cannot have faith and look within ourselves and rely on our own actions and thoughts and see where that gets us. What this verse is saying to me right now is to remember that we are loved by Jesus and have faith that he works ALL things out for his glory…not my glory!
Friends, believers, remember that faith is first believing that Jesus is who he says he is. Is. That he died on the cross for our sins, was buried, was raised, and now sits at the right hand of God, the Father.
Additionally, never forget, that this life is lived by faith in the sovereign work of our Lord and savior, this impacts our daily thoughts, words and deeds. Live in the freedom that your Faith is enough!
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