What it means to believe in Jesus

Examples of what it means
to believe in Jesus

1. A Chair - You may believe that a chair will support your weight, but until you sit on the chair and commit yourself to the chair for support, you have only expressed intellectual assent, not true faith.

Just as true faith sits on the chair, so to truly believe in Jesus means you commit yourself to Him.

2. A Lifeboat - In 1912 the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank. Hundreds of people drowned because there were not enough lifeboats. Some of the available lifeboats had room for more people but some Titanic passengers drowned anyway because they didn't get in the lifeboats.

Jesus is your lifeboat on the sea of life. But its not enough to view Jesus as your lifeboat. You have to get in the lifeboat if you want to be saved.

Just as true faith gets in the lifeboat, so to truly believe in Jesus means you get in Christ by receiving Him into your heart by faith.

Jesus is our Bridge
3. A Bridge - If you're driving along the highway and you come to a bridge, how do you know its safe to cross?

Do you stop your car at the edge of the bridge or do you drive across? Experience tells you that thousands of cars and trucks have crossed this bridge safely. You may believe the bridge is perfectly safe but your belief is meaningless until you have enough faith to drive across the bridge yourself.

Just as true faith crosses the bridge, so to truly believe in Jesus means to trust Him.

4. An Elevator - You're visiting the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You may believe that the elevator will carry you safely to the Sky Bridge observation deck but until you step into the elevator, your belief is only theoretical. You are not really trusting the elevator to carry you to the top until you get on the elevator.

Just as true faith gets on the elevator, so to truly believe in Jesus means you trust His finished work of salvation instead of your own efforts.

5. An Airplane - You may believe an airplane can take you to Los Angeles but until you actually get on the airplane, you're not going anywhere.

Just as true faith gets on the airplane, so to truly believe in Jesus means you're relying on Him instead of relying on yourself.

6. A Parachute - Now let's say you're on the airplane and both engines quit. There's a parachute on the seat beside you but just believing in the parachute will not save your life. You have to put on the parachute if you want it to save you.

Just as true faith puts on the parachute, so to truly believe in Jesus means you put Him on or in plainer words, accept Jesus as your Savior.

Will simply believing facts about the parachute save your life? Of course not. And simply believing facts about Jesus will not save your soul.

Just as you have to actually put on the parachute for it to be effective, so, you have to put on Jesus Christ. The belief that saves your soul puts on Jesus Christ instead of just believing facts about Him.

Mental assent (mere intellectual knowledge) does not save you but believing in your heart does save you.

The Bible says, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." -Romans 13:14, ESV

To believe in Jesus, what is sometimes called saving faith, goes beyond just believing facts with your head. Belief that saves actually "puts on Christ," trusting Him in your heart by faith alone.

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