What Does It Truly Mean To Believe?
What does it truly mean to believe? Believe is a tricky word. Sometimes our beliefs are based on evidence and experience. For instance, we believe the sun is at the center of our solar system, that it is vital for life, and that the closer we are to it the hotter it gets. Is it the same as believing in God? No, if I only mean that I believe God exists, what have I gained? As James 2:19 reminds us, “Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” While scientific belief is based on observation and empirical evidence, Christian belief involves trust in the unseen hand of God without any empirical evidence.
Believing in God is different. Unlike scientific beliefs based on knowledge, God’s existence cannot be academically or rationally proven, and His presence is not always tangibly felt.
It helps to put another word in the mix. Faith. What is believing faith?
Believing faith abides in Jesus as a person, follows His teachings, trusts in His presence, yields one’s life to Him as Lord, and embodies His power with confidence and dedication.
The early Church understood this depth of faith well. Faustus of Riez, as quoted by Berard Marthaler in The Creed: The Apostolic Faith in Contemporary Theology, describes belief as an active movement of the whole person toward God:
To believe in God is to seek Him in faith, to hope piously in Him, and to pass into Him by a movement of choice. When I say that I believe in Him, I confess Him, offer Him worship, adore Him, give myself over to Him wholly and transfer to Him all my affection.
Throughout Scripture, believing faith is shown to be deeply transformative. It is not passive but a dynamic force that brings salvation, healing, forgiveness, empowerment, and righteousness.
Salvation and righteousness are directly tied to belief in Jesus Christ. Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel, adding, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). The Gospel of John says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son (John 3:18). The Apostle Paul reminds us that righteousness “is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22). And further, “know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16).
Jesus also connects believing faith and healing and miracles. Two blind men came to Jesus for healing. He asked them, “Do you believe I am able to do this?” They responded, “Yes, Lord.” Jesus then touched their eyes and restored their sight saying, “According to your faith let it be done to you (Matthew 9:27-29). Conversely, Jesus rebukes His disciples when they fail to perform miracles due to their own lack of believing-faith.
There are many other connections between God’s action and our believing faith. Specific passages are provided below. But we close with asserting that God’s power to do all things in us and through us depends on our believing faith.
There were times when the disciples failed to do what Jesus knew they could do. An example is that right after descending the Mount of Transfiguration they could not cast a demon out of a young boy. When they asked why, he said it was because of their lack of faith. But then he added, “...if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:14-20).
Let’s strive for true believing faith, a life lived in deep trust, surrender, and devotion to Jesus. To do this we need to seek God wholeheartedly, trusting in Christ’s work for salvation, living in obedience to His commands, walking by faith, not by sight, and acting in the power and authority granted by the Spirit.
Believing faith shapes every aspect of a vibrant Christian life—our salvation, prayers, actions, and hopes. It calls us beyond intellectual assent to a lived reality of worship, obedience, and transformation. Like the saints before us, may we fully surrender to God, choosing to trust Him with our whole being.
For further study and contemplation
II Corinthians 5:6-10
Ephesians 2:1-8
Colossians 2:9-12
Hebrews 11:1-6
James 5:13-16
1 John 5:1-5
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