Biblical Belief

This is another exceptionally important topic for anyone wishing to please the Lord and spend eternity in heaven.  In John 8:24 we read the words of Jesus:  "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."  Earlier in the same chapter Jesus said unto the Pharisees, "I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come."  (John 8:21)  Jesus tells Mary in John 20:17, "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."  Where was His Father?  Matthew records, "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."  (Matthew 18:19)  So without belief, one will die in their sins.  If one dies in their sins, they cannot go where Jesus is.  Jesus is with His Father, who is in heaven.  Therefore, one who does not believe in Jesus as the Son of God cannot enter heaven!  But what does it mean to believe in Him?  Does it mean to simply believe that He was born of a virgin and did live some 2000 years ago, or is a belief in Him which is capable of washing us of all sin and opening the gates of heaven to our entry something more?  The purpose of this study is to answer this question.  Please open your Bibles and your hearts to the word of God as we consider Biblical Belief.

A common understanding of the definition of the words we are considering is essential to our study.  I will begin by defining belief, believe, and faith.  Next, we'll consider the scriptures dealing with these concepts and determine the meaning within them.  We'll then undertake a detailed study of the "chapter of faith", Hebrews 11.  Finally I'll close the study with a summary.