Belief is "a feeling of being sure that someone or something exists or that something is true, a feeling that something is good, right, or valuable, a feeling of trust in the worth or ability of someone" (Meriam-Webster Dictionary).There are several aspects to "belief":
- truth
- goodness
- trust
It appears then that if one is to "believe in ________", (you fill in your god's name) that the person trust that it is truth and goodness on which they depend! After all, anyone who would intentionally follow deception and evil can't trust it, because "evil" has no "trust" component. "Evil" and "trust" are dichotomies! If a person has trust in what's untrue and evil, then what they believe in is false and they are living a lie! In the context of Christianity, which is a person's belief in Jesus Christ, there is a requirement:
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
- Sincere belief (heartfelt without doubt) that Jesus was resurrected and still lives!
- The sharing of your sincere belief (which convinces others of your sincerity to the extent that you want others to share your belief and the assurance of your hope).
As a result of your belief (trust in the goodness and truth of Jesus) then "thou shalt be saved"! There are two "works" you must do to be saved: believe and share. If you do neither, then you're not saved! The keyword in the definition of belief is "trust". Scripture tells us that even the demons believe.(James 2:19). Demons believe in the first two components of the definition: truth and goodness of Jesus. However, they hate his truth and goodness! What they fail to do is "trust in Jesus"! If we trust in him we shall share what we trust. That's "confess with out mouth".
When I became a Christian, I believed, but never confessed. I didn't want my friends to ridicule me! I put my personal comfort over the eternal hope of my friends! What's wrong with that? I was still my own god and never presented myself as a "living sacrifice"!
Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."When I was "born again" I was to bury the old creature and become a new creation. That is to be my "living sacrifice" and is the reasonable thing Christians must do! By telling others about Jesus (confessing my belief), that is trading my pride for the eternal life of others. One of the greatest sins a Christian can do is one of omission; failure to tell others about their hope!
Baptism is part of the "confess with thy mouth" part, the belief you claim. It's imperative that before baptism, a Christian testify to their belief in Jesus Christ. The hard part of that confession is to really trust in him. Otherwise, a person is merely a wet sinner! If a demon who believes in Jesus is immersed, without trust, he is still a demon!
John the Baptist confessed Jesus Christ. He told us how to believe:
John 1:6 "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same (John) came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him (Jesus) might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light (Jesus)."John confessed Jesus and was beheaded for it! He became a martyr for Jesus. He was baptized by the blood! He was the ultimate "living sacrifice" because he gave up his physical life because of his belief!
What did John believe? That he was to "bear witness to the Light". "Light" is the removal of "darkness". Theologically, "darkness" is truth concealed. You see, part of his belief, was to believe so strongly that he must tell others about his own faith! Faith in what? Truth! That Jesus is truth which is described symbolically as "light". However, it's capitalized because that's important: "Light"!
John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."This "belief" is imperative! Jesus IS the Light. His ministry was to take mankind out of darkness and proclaim truth to the world. The gospels are all about "the light" which he came to proclaim!
There are, according to other religions, many paths to heaven. Jesus says that he is "THE way", and adds to that: "no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." That statement closes all other paths. It shuts down "the self", other gods, Satan, and any "ism" with Utopian claims! Coming to the Father is entering the kingdom of God. It's when Christians, through faith (living their belief), become citizens under God. In God's Kingdom there is life... eternal life to be exact!
"Belief" is crucial to ever have eternal life! In life we all have beliefs of some sort. Some believe that existence just happened! "Chance" is their God. That belief is not "the way".
Sometimes people have false beliefs. Evolution is the most obvious. Since our awareness of truth is limited sometimes we err about "what is true". My contention is that we must always err on the side of "security" and "goodness". For instance, it's more "safe" to be a Christian than it is an atheist because atheism is without a reward and Christianity has an eternal promise. It's nicer to believe in "goodness" because "goodness" includes love. As a Christian "hate" has no part in our belief system, but with no God, we rely merely on our own "self". Atheists believe they have no god. Indeed their god is their self!
In our daily activities, belief comes into play. People have ideas about the character of others. They base those beliefs on their senses; what they see and hear mainly. However, following one's senses leads to darkness. I always say "Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see!" because Satan uses our senses to deceive us.
It's unfair to believe, for instance, that a person did a wrong, based on circumstantial information from the senses. In fact people create myths because they fill in the blanks and add to what they saw, heard and smelled. The myth they create is sincere and real enough to them to become truth (sic) in their own heart. However, what they falsely believe is darkness and is damaging to others. That's not how people demonstrate love for one another. People need to err on the side of truth. We need to ask things as "Am I sure or is what I saw or heard a mere perception?" "Was what I believe I saw or heard scatomas?" "Will 'good' come out of this or will 'bad' prevail?" It's important to understand that darkness and false perceptions are of the devil, not of God!
Mark 9:23 "Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."If we believe strongly in a person or a position, then it's possible that what they say or stand for is true. For safety's sake, we need to be generous in trusting others!
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