Are You a Believer?

We find this amazing promise in the Bible, that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

If you believe… If you have faith.

What Is Faith?

Many think faith is believing something your gut tells you is true or something you want to be true even though you have no evidence that it is true. Christian faith does include the conviction that certain things we cannot see are true and certain things we hope for will come true (Hebrews 11:1). But as Christians, we do not believe something simply because our gut tells us it is true, but because God told us it is true.

God has told us the truth about himself, the beginning of the world, the creation of mankind, the origin of evil, the way of salvation, and the end of the world in that book of sacred books from ancient Israel that we call the Holy Bible.

Now listen, there are many people who know what God says in the Bible but who do not believe God is the one saying it. They believe that since the books of the Bible were written by men, they are just a collection of human opinions, and quite outdated and contradictory opinions at that. These folks only believe what they can see with their eyes or what can be proven to a high degree of certainty by the brightest human minds.

Doubting Thomas

There was a man in Bible times named Thomas, a disciple of Jesus, who famously doubted the resurrection of Christ. When the other disciples claimed that they saw Jesus alive after his death on the cross, he said that unless he saw the holes from the nails in his hands and feet, he would not believe. Well, Jesus later appeared to him, and said, Thomas, you believed because you saw me. Blessed are those who have not seen me, and yet have believed (John 20:29).

A Certain Conviction

Christian faith is the certain conviction that the things God has told us in the Bible are true, even the things we cannot see, or prove by the scientific method. We believe it is God who speaks in the Bible because we are given eyes of faith to see his masterful handiwork in the creation, we read his prophecies and their fulfillments in the Holy Bible, and we hear him speak to us personally through the Scriptures as well.

“My Lord and My God”

That brings me to my next point. Christian faith is more than a set of convictions about the unseen God, the origin of the world, and so forth. It is a deeply personal knowledge of God as my God and a wholehearted confidence in Christ as my Lord and Saviour.

When Jesus appeared to Thomas and showed him the holes in his hands and feet, Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). That captures it. As Christians, we see the living Jesus on the pages of Scripture and we hear his voice when our pastor preaches the gospel. We respond by the power of the Holy Spirit, “My Lord and my God!” We believe he is not only alive, he is not only the Saviour of others, but he is my Lord and my Saviour.

In Christ Alone

Faith in Christ means we detach our faith from everyone else as our Lord and Saviour and attach our faith to Jesus alone for our salvation. I do not believe there is any other god who can save me from my sins and the punishment I deserve for them. I do not believe there is any creature in the whole universe who can save me, whether human, angel, or otherwise. I do not believe that I can do anything to save myself.

I am a sinner in the hands of a holy God who has every right to punish me, but I believe he is also a merciful God, and I trust in his Son Jesus Christ to save me now and forever.

Faith in Christ means I believe that Jesus died for me too, and not only for others. I believe he thought of me and loved me on that cross. He suffered what I deserve for my sins in order to save me from them. He paid for every one of my sins on that cross, and now as I believe in him, he gives me his own righteousness, so that although I am a sinner, it is just as if I never sinned. In Christ, I will stand before the judgment seat of God on the last day and hear the sweet sound of the judge saying “not guilty, you are free to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The Trust of a Child

Faith is like the confidence of a little girl in her trustworthy parents. She not only knows facts about them, but she knows them personally as the people who brought her into the world, the people who love her and care for her. She not only knows that they exist, but she is also sure that they are her true father and mother. She not only believes they have the ability to provide for her and save her from danger, but she also trusts in them to do that.

What a terrifying thing to doubt that God exists or to fear that, if he does exist, he might be against me. But how precious and comforting to have this gift of faith, to know and be sure that God is my God and Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, my Lord and Saviour.

Has God Given You This Gift?

Has God given you this precious gift of faith? Jesus said that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Paul wrote that we are not justified by the works that we do but by faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:16). He also wrote that we are saved by the grace of God through faith, and that faith is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8).

Put your faith in Christ, come to church to hear his word, and follow him in your life.

Did You Know?

It is only by faith that we as God’s people are able to see the glory of our Lord and who He is as our Lord and Saviour.
The word “faith” is mentioned approximately 250 times in the King James Version of the Bible.
The word “believe” and the others in that word family appear more than 300 times in the King James Version of the Bible.

James 1:2–6

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

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The Wingham Protestant Reformed Church warmly welcomes you! Please feel free to browse our website for more information about our congregational life, denomination and doctrines.

Wingham PRC
292 Edward St., Wingham, Ontario, Canada
Sunday services: 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM
www.winghamprc.org

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