Artwork by Daniel Venturo
The Definition
God defines faith for us in Hebrews 11:1:
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
In other words, faith means to believe in something you cannot see! So, true faith believes that God exists (see v. 6) and trusts that God’s Word is true.
Believing the Gospel
Believing the Gospel, then, means believing what God’s Word says about the Gospel. Believing the Gospel is believing the Good News (“Gospel” means “good news”) about Jesus, or believing in Jesus:
1. Jesus died to take your place. We deserve wrath, but Jesus took God’s wrath when He died on the Cross.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. II Corinthians 5:21.
2. Jesus was buried and rose again.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day. I Corinthians 15:3-4.
3. Jesus’ sacrifice is the only way to have a right relationship with God.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.
Believing in Jesus means not only believing that Jesus died for you but continually trusting that His sacrifice alone can cleanse away your sin. The Bible says to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14)—belief in Him becomes your only hope for salvation from God’s righteous anger, because you are clothed in His righteousness.
Furthermore, the Bible says that true faith manifests itself in right actions (Jas. 2:14-17). If you truly believe the Gospel, your life will show it (II Cor. 5:17). You will obey God because you believe His Word, and you will confess that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:9-10). When you do mess up, you will be sorry for your sin and trust that Jesus cleans away your sin because He has already been punished for that sin (I John 1:7, 9).
Jesus commands everyone, “Repent and believe the Gospel!” (Mark 1:15). Faith and repentance are two aspects of the same picture. True faith in the Gospel involves turning away from sin, because you know that Jesus died to take away your sin.
The Thing to Get
How did Jesus take away your sin? God can extend mercy to guilty sinners (and we all have sinned) because Jesus, God in the flesh, died in the place of sinners, was buried, and rose again. You must ask God for mercy, trusting
in Jesus and turning from your sin. Once you do this, you'll become a new person who now desires to do God's will.
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.