You asked for it, and I’m so glad you did! Belief is a hot topic these days—is belief in Jesus enough or do we need to pair it with works (things like social justice—caring for the poor and marginalized)? Are we redeemed simply by a feeling we have about God or by the life we live because of that feeling?
Therefore they said to Him, “What are we to do, so that we may accomplish the works of God?”
“Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:28-29)
The Word: Believe
In the New Testament Greek (KJV), believe is translated from pisteuō 239 times. It is also translated as “commit unto,” “be put in trust with,” and “committed to one’s trust.”
Strong’s G4100 | pisteuō (pist-yoo'-o)
this comes from the word, pistis (G1402) meaning “to have faith”
to credit, entrust, to be convinced of
“not just to believe but to be [completely] persuaded of, and hence, to place confidence in”1
There is no belief in God if your life shows no trust or confidence in God or His faithfulness. Some may consider that God exists, but that’s the extent of it—if your life doesn’t reflect the action of trust, then, according to the writers of Scripture, you really don’t fully believe the way God invites us to.
Here’s where things get interesting.
There are three Greek words in the New Testament that are translated to believe—pisteuō is the most common. The other two—pistis (G4102) and pistos (G4103) are more often translated as faith and faithful.
G4102 | pistis is the “conviction of truth” whereas G4103 | pistos is “worthy of trust” or “faithful.”
So, if believe means to be convinced of/entrust and faith means conviction of truth that God exists—what’s the difference?!
I sought the help of Google and found an interesting definition.2
This website I found declares that belief is just “a general idea we think about someone or something,” while faith implies more of an action-packed trust and reliance upon. But that’s not how the Greek language lays things out for us…
Consider when you use these words in non-biblical settings.
To a coworker advocating for raises for the entire company:
”I believe in you! You got this!”
”I have faith in you.”
There’s a twang of exceeding confidence in the latter that I think actually attaches the one saying it to the statement/person. I’ve gone a step up from just a pat on the back to actually participating in the moment with the person and relying on their actions because I trust them and know they will work things out for good.
When we imply the active faith part of belief, we have more skin in the game, and therefore, we “commit ourselves unto” the person or the cause. In Scripture, that’s exactly how Jesus uses the word believe.
I listened to a podcast recently where a progressive Christian host discussed the premise of hell with a conservative Christian theologian. The host said something to the effect of, “I just don’t understand how someone who didn’t believe in God per say but dedicated their lives to the service of others—feeding the poor, caring for the widow, and advocating for the neglected—could go to hell while someone who claims they believed in God but never went out of their way to love their neighbor in very practical ways gets to heaven?!”
Is faith without works dead, as James claims? Are works more valuable in kingdom currency than belief? Consider James 2:14.
”What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith [G4102] but he has no works? Can that faith save him?”
The Pharisees were caught in this conundrum, especially while Jesus was preaching something so opposite to what they were raised to believe.
What are works? they asked this rabbi, Jesus. What are we to do to accomplish the works of God?
Jesus replied, The work of God is this: believe in me as you believe in God.3
Belief is not just a feeling. It requires unity of heart, mind, and soul—an emotive connection, cognitive recognition, and wisdom of committing oneself to the One who is trustworthy and faithful.
What does belief require? Similar to what Peter Pan said Wendy needed to use Tinker Bell’s magic: Faith, Trust, and [Reliance on God is a Must].
Our works don’t sign the deal at the gates of Heaven, but they are a natural reflection of our true belief and therefore an outpouring of faith in Christ throughout our life.
John the Baptist reminded people that we ought to “produce fruit consistent with repentance.” Repentance is a response to belief in God—when we have that whole heart, mind, and soul understanding, we see our shortcomings for what they are and welcome God’s grace to redeem us and turn us around, toward His glory. Therefore, our belief does and should produce works or “fruit”.
A simple reminder of what that fruit should look like:
”By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.”4
So, if this is “belief”—what does Scripture have to say about unbelief? And how do we connect our heart, mind, AND soul on this matter? Stay tuned!
Scripture I’m Meditating On
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB)
Song On Repeat
Saying I Can’t Stop Thinking About
“Quit trying to witness to people. Just go add value to people. When you add value to people, you’ll have a relationship with those people and soon they’ll want to know what makes you so wonderfully different.”
—John Maxwell (on The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast)
As always, you can comment or reply with a different word you would love to see dissected and you can refer back to the previous words here.
Hebrew Greek Keyword Study Bible, NT Greek Dictionary, PG 202
https://langeek.co/en/grammar/course/1214/faith-vs-belief
John 6:28-29; John 14:1
John 13:35 | See further in my blog post about Being Known by Our Love
Shared with my staff for our devotion this morning. Great conversation after!!