[ Note: This post appeared in the Lawrence Journal-World. I was asked to write it for the Faith Forum section. ]
“What’s the difference between belief in God and faith in God?”
You know airplanes take off every day.
All around the world people fasten their seatbelts and let a complete stranger take them 32,000 feet in the air. You also know the vast majority survive.
With your feet on the ground, you say, “I believe I would survive if I flew on an airplane.” Is this how you define “belief”?
Many people “believe” Jesus Christ really exists. Many believe He is who He claimed to be—God Himself and the Savior of the world. But that’s not Biblical faith. That’s just mental assent. An acceptance of the facts. The Bible says demons “believe” in this way (James 2:19).
Biblical “faith” is very different. Biblical faith goes beyond mental acceptance of the facts. Biblical faith is like actually buying a ticket. Biblical faith is like boarding a plane. Like fastening your seatbelt and trusting that pilot to take you up and back down again.
Biblical faith is trust. Putting your eternal destiny in the hands of this Jesus who claims to be the only Savior of the world.
Jesus said in John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” One who believes in this way is trusting Jesus Christ with his eternal destiny.
More than 60 times, the New Testament tells us “eternal life” is given to those who put their faith (trust) in Christ alone for salvation.
So, the real question is, Do you simply accept the facts as true or are you trusting Christ with your eternal destiny?
