To Believe or to Believe
Romans 9:30-33 … “What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.””
The word believe is cumbersome. There should be two different words to describe what I see as the two very different meanings. One meaning of believe is to accept something as true. For example, some might say, “I believe in God”. Essentially, they might simply be saying that they accept that there is a God, as a true statement. This is the more academic meaning of the word believe. By extension, these people might believe there is a God, but rely on their own righteousness (works) for their salvation. This person might consider their efforts of kindness toward others and their good deeds as their salvation, but God calls us to believe in him.
The other meaning of believe is much weightier. It is to say you are putting your trust in something or someone. For example, if I say to my son “I believe in you”, I am saying that I see the good in him and put my weight on the fact that he will make good decisions and ultimately succeed in life. To say “I believe in God” in this context, is to say that you see the goodness in him and are putting all your weight on him in faith that he will substitute his righteousness for your unrighteousness and in so doing, he will be your salvation. There is a dramatic difference between the two meanings in how one would walk through life.
The truth is that none of us who can walk through this life and earn our salvation. Not one of us is sinless, and our good works are not what makes us righteousness. Only by recognizing that we cannot live sinless lives by our own efforts, and making that awareness known to the Lord, can we come clean before him. It is not that believers do not sin that qualifies them, but in humility they realize their failings and acknowledge that they require God’s righteousness to cover their unrighteousness. This is why the Christian faith places so much emphasis on asking for forgiveness.
God calls us to believe in him in faith—not just to believe that he exists, but to put all our weight on him for spiritual direction and salvation. That is not to say we don’t have to live according to his commands but remember that we are to live by the spirit of the law and not the law. Jesus is quoted in Matthew 22:37-40, “He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.””
The spirit is love. God is love. We require his Spirit to lead us both in life and in death.
