Because we live in a day when the wordsfaith and believe are used so loosely, it’s vitally important for the serious Christian to biblically examine such words. The basic meaning of pisteuō (G4100 pronounced pist-yoo’-o) is “to have faith in, trust; to be firmly persuaded about something.” Many today teach “mental consent” is all that it means. They teach that all a person must do to be saved is mentally subscribe to some facts about Jesus.
It must be understood, however, that in Greek, pisteuō also very clearly carries the idea “to obey.” As in the OT, Heb. 11 stresses that to believe is to obey. In Rom. 1:8 [and] 1 Thes. 1:8 Rom. 15:18; Rom. 16:19; 2 Thes. 1:7-8 Paul shows that believing also means obeying. He speaks about the obedience of faith in Rom. 1:5; Rom. 6:17; Rom. 16:26, and Rom. 10:3; 2 Cor. 9:13.” Without a doubt, lordship is the immediate and fundamental demand of this word because its underlying foundation is obedience, commitment, and submission.
Regardless of what it is, when someone believes something, that belief changes them and results in some action or behavior that is attributed to that belief. Every single one of the persons listed in Hebrews 11 had faith, but that faith without exception, always resulted in an obvious action. Noah’s building of an ark was the end result of believing what God said because his action was the evidence of and not the basis of his salvation. Since faith is a verb, it’s always an action that must have an object.
From a practical point of view, our belief in gravity prevents us from jumping from heights to our deaths. Being fully persuaded about something, by truly believing it and trusting in it, as a reflex action demands behavior that conforms to the belief.
When this is applied to salvation, the term, “believe in Jesus” means as follows:
First, it means believing in Who He is - God incarnate, Savior, and sovereign Lord.
Second, it means to believing in what He did - He died for our sins and rose again from the grave three days later.
Third, it means to believing in what He says - placing trust in Him and His Word unreservedly and desiring to obey Him in every way. Obeying Him means recognizing His lordship and submitting to His authority.
Any attempt to present the Gospel without these three core elements is to declare a false Gospel.
Review and Meditation: Read Hebrews 11 and note the action that accompanied faith (noun, pistis G4102 pronounced pis’-tis) in each case then meditate on it.
It must be understood, however, that in Greek, pisteuō also very clearly carries the idea “to obey.” As in the OT, Heb. 11 stresses that to believe is to obey. In Rom. 1:8 [and] 1 Thes. 1:8 Rom. 15:18; Rom. 16:19; 2 Thes. 1:7-8 Paul shows that believing also means obeying. He speaks about the obedience of faith in Rom. 1:5; Rom. 6:17; Rom. 16:26, and Rom. 10:3; 2 Cor. 9:13.” Without a doubt, lordship is the immediate and fundamental demand of this word because its underlying foundation is obedience, commitment, and submission.
Regardless of what it is, when someone believes something, that belief changes them and results in some action or behavior that is attributed to that belief. Every single one of the persons listed in Hebrews 11 had faith, but that faith without exception, always resulted in an obvious action. Noah’s building of an ark was the end result of believing what God said because his action was the evidence of and not the basis of his salvation. Since faith is a verb, it’s always an action that must have an object.
From a practical point of view, our belief in gravity prevents us from jumping from heights to our deaths. Being fully persuaded about something, by truly believing it and trusting in it, as a reflex action demands behavior that conforms to the belief.
When this is applied to salvation, the term, “believe in Jesus” means as follows:
First, it means believing in Who He is - God incarnate, Savior, and sovereign Lord.
Second, it means to believing in what He did - He died for our sins and rose again from the grave three days later.
Third, it means to believing in what He says - placing trust in Him and His Word unreservedly and desiring to obey Him in every way. Obeying Him means recognizing His lordship and submitting to His authority.
Any attempt to present the Gospel without these three core elements is to declare a false Gospel.
Review and Meditation: Read Hebrews 11 and note the action that accompanied faith (noun, pistis G4102 pronounced pis’-tis) in each case then meditate on it.
Faith (Believe) - (Greek pisteuō)
Pronounced - pist-yoo’-o
Pronounced - pist-yoo’-o
ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ
"It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" - Jesus Matt. 4:4
Glorifying the Triune God by creatively declaring the relevancy and practicality of His timeless Word.