Does It Matter What You Believe?

With so many different beliefs and practises, even within Christianity, does it really matter what you believe – or if you even believe at all? The answer to this depends essentially on one thing: what matters to God? This is what the Bible invites us to find out. “This is eternal life, to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ who you have sent” (John 17:3). Here’s why belief matters from a Biblical perspective.

Belief in God matters because salvation is about coming to God, and we can’t genuinely turn to a God that we don’t believe in (Romans 10:14, Isaiah 45:22). It’s easy to see why many people take the approach that if they live a good life, God, if he exists, will look after them. But this approach ignores what God really wants from us, which is a relationship. “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). God loves us and he wants us to love and trust him too. This is the first and greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).

Loving God goes beyond simply believing that he exists to believing in who God is.

“He who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

To believe that God is a rewarder is to believe and trust in his goodness. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). God wants us to trust that what he asks is for our own good, even when we don’t fully understand (Proverbs 1:9, 3:5-6). Adam and Eve sinned because they doubted God’s goodness (Genesis 3:4-6) and the Israelites were afraid to go into the promised land because they didn’t believe that God would or could help them overcome their enemies (Deuteronomy 1:19-33). It wasn’t that they didn’t believe God existed, but that they didn’t believe God’s wisdom or power was greater than what they faced. God wants us to get to know him personally and have confidence in his love, mercy and power to save us (Romans 8:39, Hebrews 4:16).

These examples also illustrate that salvation requires our active participation – but what we believe about God will influence how we act. In the parable of the talents, the man with one talent was afraid of his master, and this prevented him from doing what his master actually wanted (Matthew 25:24-25). Similarly, Saul sacrificed to God out of fear, rather than trusting in what God had asked him to do, which was to simply, wait (1 Samuel 13:6-14). It’s important to know the God and the reason behind any religious practises for them to be meaningful and acceptable. Many of the religious leaders in the New Testament believed that God required his laws to be followed to the letter and treated others harshly when they did not live up to their high expectations. When Jesus returns our service might also be rejected if it is based on a wrong understanding (Matt 7:21-23, Matthew 25, James 1:26).

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)

The religious leader’s incomplete beliefs even led them to reject the one that God sent – many will make the same mistake when Jesus returns (Matthew 12:9-14). The good news that Jesus is the one that God has sent to be our king is the power of salvation to everyone who believes it (Romans 1:16, John 3:16-17).

Of course, no one will have perfect understanding of everything - even the close disciples of Jesus misunderstood what Jesus would do (Luke 18:31-34). The difference for them was that they were able to be persuaded by the evidence (Luke 24:13-35) and this is also what God wants from us.

“He who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Many people claim to believe in God, but how many are prepared to diligently seek him? Seeking, in and of itself is possibly the most important attitude we need to have because this is how we find out what we don’t know. Searching means remaining humble enough to accept that our understanding might not be quite complete. Even one of Jesus’ closest followers, Peter had to make a radical change when he learned that God intended for all people to know him, not just the Jews (Acts 10:28).

This doesn’t mean that we should hedge our bets and join multiple religious groups. It simply means that whenever we hear a different perspective, God wants us to consider it – just like the Bereans who searched the scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was true (Acts 17:11). They didn’t blindly accept it, and they also didn’t blindly reject it. They searched it out.

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

If there is a God, then this is an incredible and amazing thing to find out more about. This starts with believing in the possibility and goes beyond believing in theory to developing a personal relationship with God that transforms us from within. Belief matters because God doesn’t reward us just based on what we have done, but on what direction we are growing spiritually.

If you are keen to explore further, Take Heart is a beautifully illustrated book with short, practical reflections about faith, purpose and growing in God. Packed with snippets of wisdom for bringing God’s word into your everyday life, it is an uplifting and encouraging read whether new or old to the faith. Use this code to get 50% off at livinginkbooks.co.nz: T4KEHE4RT