Have you ever noticed how one question leads to another?
For example, how do you answer the question, “Why are we here?” Or, “What is the purpose of your life?”
Do you ever think about these questions?
We should, because the Bible tells us clearly what the purpose of life should be.
Here’s how the Apostle Paul answered the above questions.
8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
2 Corinthians 5:8-10 ESV
The aim or goal (NIV) of the Christian life is to please the Lord.
Knowing that, we must then address the question, “What does it mean to ‘please’ Jesus?” How do we do that?
God has an answer to that question, too.
5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:5-6 ESV
Enoch made it to the Hall of Faith because he pleased God. And how do we please God? Through faith, because “without faith it is impossible to please him” (v. 6).
This leads to yet another question: “What is faith?”
God is ready to answer that question, too.
God’s Definition of Faith
Fortunately, God has not left us without a clear explanation of the meaning of belief. Hebrews 11:1 provides what is arguably the best teaching on the meaning of faith in the Bible:
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain about what we do not see.” (NIV 1978)
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (NIV 2011)
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (ESV)
By looking at these three translations of Hebrews 11:1, we can enhance our understanding of faith, for here we find for several synonyms for faith: sureness, certainty, confidence, assurance, and conviction.
Words used in conjunction with “believe” (the verb form of “faith”). Throughout his Gospel, the Apostle John uses several words in close proximity to “believe.” These, too, can be added to our list of synonyms for faith.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (1:12).
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (6:35).
“My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life” (6:40).
“We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (6:69).
“Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him” (9:38).
“But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father” (10:38).
These verses show us that to believe in Jesus, or have faith in Jesus, means to receive Him, come to Him, look to Him, worship Him, know Him, and understand Him.
Faith in what? These verses also make it clear that Jesus must be the object of our faith, for in John’s Gospel the issue is whether or not we believe in Jesus. The benefits of faith are only given to those who are certain about Him. This is one of John’s main points: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).
Biblical faith must have the right object. This is why we find the Apostle using the same words repeatedly to communicate that Jesus must be the One in whom we believe. The phrases “believe in Him” (3:16) or “believe in me” (5:46) appear at least 27 times in John. Other phrases along this line include “believe in the Son” (3:36), “believe in his name” (2:23), “believe in the name of the only Son of God” (3:18), “believe in the Son of Man” (9:35), and “believe in the light” (12:36). Faith in anyone else or anything else is not biblical faith.
Biblical faith is to come to a Person, namely Jesus of Nazareth, with the confident conviction that He is everything the Bible says He is. For starters, as taught in John 4, believing in Jesus means we are sure that He is the Savior of the world (4:42), the Christ/Messiah/King of the world (4:26), and the Life (Living Water) of the world (4:14).
In other words, the “what” of biblical faith is the certain assurance of who Jesus is. John’s gospel is packed with statements about the identity of Jesus. He is not only Savior, King, and Living Water, He is God Himself. Believing in Jesus is to accept the truth that He is God, the Creator of the universe (1:1-3). To believe in Jesus is to believe in Him as God’s “one and only Son” (3:16), and to believe in Jesus as the Son of God is to believe in Him as God the Son, an unmistakable reference to His deity and the main reason why Jesus so infuriated the Jewish religious leaders. This was the legal charge against Him that ultimately led to His crucifixion. It is why the Jews told Pilate, “We have a law, and according to that law [Jesus] must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God” (19:7).
It is unlikely, of course, that when a person first believes in Jesus, he/she is even aware of all that Scripture says about His identity. But as the new believer spends time in the Word, the Person of Christ will be revealed in all His blazing glory. The Gospel of John is a wonderful place to start learning about the splendor of Jesus. Mature believers, too, would do well to read John’s account repeatedly for years to come, because believing in Jesus is to see Him in all His glory. In John 6:40, Jesus described a believer as one who “looks to the Son” (NIV) or “looks on the Son” (ESV) and “believes in Him.”
This is what it means to “believe in Him.” Without this kind of faith, it is impossible to please God. And if we are not pleasing God through faith in his Son, we are missing the point of our existence.
Do you find this explanation of how to please God helpful? If so, let me know by leaving a comment below. I welcome your feedback.
Also, who do you know who needs to hear this message about the aim of life and the meaning of faith in Jesus? Why not do them a big favor and sent them a link to this blog post.
NOTE: The above is an excerpt from my book, Jesus: Savior, King, Living Water (A Bible Study for Believers & Skeptics, Part 2), available on Amazon.
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