top of page
  • Black Facebook Icon
  • Black Twitter Icon
  • Black Instagram Icon
  • Pinterest

Believing is not necessarily belonging

templatesoftruth

Updated: Jan 17

Karl Wallenda pioneered the breath-taking act staged high above the big tent arena called the Seven-Person Chair Pyramid, and the Flying Wallenda Family have performed this dangerous feat on the highwire tightrope before thousands of circus crowds worldwide without a safety net since 1948.  They were excellent acrobats and daredevils that kept audiences sitting on the edge of their seats.  They mastered their skill through countless hours of intense training, exercise, and rehearsals.  They

performed their dangerous walking pyramid flawlessly for years, believing and trusting in the hundreds of times they were consistently successful.

 

But while performing in the Shrine Circus at the Detroit State Fair Coliseum in 1962, their front man on the wire, Dieter Schepp, lost his balance, and the pyramid collapsed.  Two performers in the group fell to the arena floor and were tragically killed before a horrified audience.  The confidence in their skill and the trust they had developed over many years of practice and experience wasn’t enough to secure them against the many dangers of their act nor save two of their comrades from the disastrous consequences.

 

We are taught to believe in ourselves and believe the best in others.  We are encouraged to know our strengths and capitalize on our skills and abilities for success and prosperity.  Anything is possible as long as you believe in yourself and believe that you can do it.  That positive self-talk helps shape a healthy self-image and has earned teams prestigious Super Bowl rings, Olympic gold medals for athletes, and record-breaking scores in the history books.   Like the Wallendas, however, can we grow to place too much comfort and confidence in mere belief, thinking that quality alone will get us through?

 

In the first volume of my book series, “Dismantling Doctrines of Demons: Disclosing the Darkness,” I write about the three-fold meaning of a unique Greek word used to translate the word “faith.”  It is the word PISTEWO, and we see it used nearly 250 times throughout the New Testament. Perhaps the best-known verse is John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever faiths in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

 

You say, “Hold on, preacher, that’s not how the verse goes!”  Actually, it is.  Let me explain.  King James I of England gathered some 50 scholars into six committees and appointed them the monumental task of translating the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible into the English language. Their completed work became the first publication of the King James Version in 1611.

 

The English language has been criticized for its complexities as much as it has been praised for its simplicity, namely because certain words can mean different things depending on their specific context.  For instance, in sounding the word, “red,” are you referring to a color or the completion of a book?  Is “hear” an audible sound you pick up or the place you are standing?  Is “lie” an untruth or the act of reclining?  Is “bark” the covering of a tree trunk or the sound your dog makes?  Without the context, you simply don’t know.

 

The team of scholars King James appointed encountered other challenges in their transliterations.  This Greek word, PISTEWO (“faith”), is one such example.  The problem is that in Greek, “faith” is not only a noun but also a verb, and you don’t always have to have the context to show it; the very spelling determines the distinction.  That is not the case in the English language since faith is not an action word.  When was the last time you went out faithing or told your spouse, “I faith you.”  You can see the point.

 

So this stately group of scholars and linguists poured over the Scriptures, and coming to John 3:16, they encountered a roadblock.  Their Greek text read, “…whoever faiths in Him…” but that doesn’t make sense in English, as we have stated.  After looking over all the likely words to translate the verb form of PISTEWO, they settled on the word “believe.”  Hence, the way we have always recited this passage since toddlers in Sunday School – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

 

But is ”believe” adequate to open the full meaning of this rich Greek word?  More importantly, is belief alone adequate for eternal salvation?  James certainly challenges that notion with the revelation – “the demons also believe, and shudder.” (James 2:19).  Rest assured, there is not a single demon in the caverns of darkness who does not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God!  Even Satan knows precisely who Jesus is and believes everything about Him. Still, his fate is sealed for eternity despite that belief – “eternal fire (hell) has been prepared for the devil and his angels (demons).” (Matthew 25:41).  If belief in Christ alone is not sufficient for Satan and his legions of demons, it is not sufficient in and of itself for you or me either.  What more, then, is necessary?

 

I attended an enriching Bible conference on the campus of Ouachita Baptist University in 1979, enthralled by the teaching of Dr. Jack MacGorman (1920-2021), professor of New Testament at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, as he explained the three-fold meaning of this unique Greek word.

 

BELIEF

 

Just because belief alone is insufficient doesn’t mean it is unnecessary.  One day, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13).  They gave him answers based on the buzz on the streets, but Jesus then directed His question in a very personal way, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15).  May I suggest that it matters not what other people believe about Jesus when it comes to the question of your eternity; it only matters what you believe.  Peter responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:15).  We must believe nothing less!

 

To experience genuine salvation, we have to believe certain things.  We all have to grasp the inarguable belief in the fact that we are lost sinners destined for an eternity separated from God – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).  Along with that reality comes the staggering truth that – “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a).  We are all sinners, and we all have to pay the penalty of our sin; we all have to die both physically and spiritually!  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).  Therefore, even though “the wages of sin is death, the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b).

 

Jesus willingly became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins by taking our death penalty on Himself and dying in our place on the cross.  In so doing, He made it possible for you and me to be forgiven and our broken fellowship with God restored.  To prove the power and authority of that provision, Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father in Heaven, where He is preparing a place for His followers and interceding on our behalf.  By the promise of His word, He is coming back again to “receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:4).

 

Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through Him.” (John 14:6), and “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).  It is God’s will “for all to come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9).  Accordingly, “It shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21).  It is essential that we wholeheartedly embrace all these beliefs, but to faith in God requires another necessary step.

 

COMMITMENT

 

We have to make a commitment of our life to Jesus Christ based upon our belief about Him.  Think about it like a chair.  I can set a chair before you and tell you what I believe about the chair.  I can observe that it is made of solid material, well-crafted, and strong & sturdy in its construction.  I can also assure you that I believe that the chair would be able to hold me securely if I were to sit down in it.  We could end the conversation right there, and all you would know is what I believe about that chair.  It is not until I sit down in the chair that I prove to you that the chair will do what I believe it will do for me.  I make a commitment of my life to the chair based on what I believe about it.

 

In the book series, I illustrate this same concept with a couple who meet, date, fall in love, and desire to spend the rest of their life together in marriage.  They believe all the things necessary in each other that will bring mutual joy and happiness in life, but they will never be married until they stand before God, family, and friends and officially say, “I do.”  They make a commitment of their lives to each other based on what they believe about one another.

 

The same is necessary to secure your eternal salvation.  You must have an official starting place with God, a moment and place in time where you make a personal commitment of your life to Him based on what you believe about Him.  With all your heart, you say to God, “I do. Lord Jesus, I give you my life.  From this moment on, I want to love You, serve You, and walk with You throughout all the days of my life until I can be in Your presence in eternity.”

 

That place and time for me was September 11, 1963, during the second week of a two-week revival at the Range Hills Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee.  Where is that place and time of commitment for you?  If you genuinely believe in Jesus and sincerely commit your life to Him, a natural outcome will be the third element of faithing in Him.

 

LIFESTYLE

 

Your life will be a living manifestation and demonstration of saving faith.  Paul declared, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold new things have come.” (II Corinthians 5:17).  When we genuinely commit our life to Jesus Christ, a miraculous transformation takes place in us.  Jesus said, “He who abides in Me and I in Him, he bears much fruit.” (John 15:5).  The Spirit of Christ who indwells us in salvation changes us.  We are not the same person we were before.  We think differently, talk differently, behave differently, have a different perspective about life, and above all, we have a passionate desire and determination to live each day of our life in obedience to God’s Word, will and ways.  We love His church.  We find joy in worshipping with His people.  We long to share with others what Christ has done for us and engage in the work & service of His Kingdom.  By this, Jesus says, “You will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16).

 

I’m afraid many people today are playing “Russian Roulette” with their understanding of eternal salvation.  They have a head knowledge about Jesus (belief) but lack a heart knowledge of Him (commitment).  Accordingly, one sees little, if any, evidence in their life that a genuine spiritual transformation has really taken place.  They think as long as they believe something good and noteworthy about Jesus, all is well, and it matters not how they live their life otherwise.  True faith is a personal commitment to Jesus Christ based on a confident belief about who He is and what His completed work on the cross provides, the life-changing result of which manifests a genuine transformation and sincere walk of obedience to God’s Word, will, and ways.

 

I hope you have made that act of commitment.  If not, knell or bow wherever you are at this very moment and make it the personal time and place where you and God nail it down.  Don’t wait until your life collapses in death to find out your belief alone about Jesus was not sufficient to keep you from the everlasting torments of hell.  Those Wallenda performers might have survived the mishap had they kept the safety net firmly in place beneath them.  A personal commitment to Jesus Christ based on all your beliefs about Him is your secure safety net for eternal life.  Faithing in God involves three interworking spiritual dynamics:  belief, a commitment based on the belief, and a lifestyle that demonstrates that commitment.  Those are the marks of genuine spiritual transformation, and I pray that characterizes your personal testimony.

 

Blessings,

Rick M. Smith

 


114 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


rick m. smith

For any inquiries, please contact Rick M. Smith:

479-857-1117

P.O. Box 1541, Russellville, Arkansas 72811

© 2022 by Rick M. Smith Proudly created with Wix.com

  • White Twitter Icon
  • White Facebook Icon
  • YouTube
bottom of page