Daily devotion – sincerely wrong…
Many Australians today will tell you that they are ‘spiritual’ people but just not into organised religion. They are sincere about their beliefs, but they are sincerely wrong!
What does it mean then to believe in Jesus Christ? What should we believe about Him who said He was the Son of God? The answer is found in John 20:30-31 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
John wrote his Gospel to encourage his readers to believe. But John wanted to make sure they believed in the right thing!
First he wanted them to believe that Jesus is “the Christ”. The word ‘christos’, properly translated “Anointed One”, is a title, not a personal name. It refers to God’s promised “Messiah” anticipated by the Old Testament prophets – Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; Micah 5:2.
This is the One who bore our sins on the Cross, died a criminal’s death, and rose again.
The miracles of John’s Gospel are designed to show that Jesus is indeed the Messiah – the promised One of God who fulfils Old Testament prophecy.
Secondly, John wanted his readers to believe that Jesus is “the Son of God”. This term emphasizes His deity. In John’s Gospel Jesus calls God His Father over one hundred times, and He appealed to His miracles to prove His claim to deity (5:18;10:25, 38; 14:11). Even Jesus enemies understood His claim to deity, though they rejected Him.
To wrap it up, believing in Jesus involves personally trusting in Jesus, God’s divine Messiah, welcoming Him into your life, and relying on His redemptive work. Those who truly believe in Jesus Christ are not merely standing around expressing their intellectual agreement that Jesus can save.
No, they place their lives in Christ’s care, trusting that He will carry them safely from this world to Heaven. They with obedient faith step out each day into a fallen, dangerous, sinful world, with nothing to keep them from eternal destruction except Jesus Christ.
All those who take this step of faith experience a spiritual birth – John 3:5-8 – and enter into the family of God as His beloved children – John 1:12.
Their sins are forgiven, and they are cleansed from their former way of life – (how thankful I am of this!) – Titus 3:5; 1 John 2:12.
On the basis of their faith they are “justified” or declared righteous (Romans 5:1) and can rightly be called ‘saints’ – 2 Corinthians 1:1.
Their names are written in the Lamb’s book of life – Revelation 21:27 and their eternal life is guaranteed by Christ – John 10:28.
What blessings are our ours in Christ, graciously made available to all who simply receive the gift by faith!
Being sincere is not the answer, it is about what and who you sincerely believe in – and there is only One who is the answer to this question. His name is Jesus!