Are You Just Saying You Believe in God?

"I believe in God," says the Christian, the Agnostic, the Muslim, the Mormon, and practically every other religion on the face of the planet.

What are we to do with this statement? We, as Christians often want to stand on this foundational statement without realizing that a huge portion of the world would agree with us, but perhaps not in the respect that we would like.

When we say "I believe in God," we desire to not only proclaim our awareness of God as creator and ruler of the earth, but also the salvation from our sins offered through Jesus Christ.

But is even this ambitious enough for the Christian's intended meaning of "I believe"?

We know that James 2:19 tell us "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe -- and shudder!"

No, it is not enough to believe in God. For even the demons are very aware of God and Jesus. And not only are they aware, but they tremble in fear!

The demons have such an awareness of his power that they shudder at the thought of it.

And here the American Christian sits, in luxury at home without a second thought of God's supreme ability to bless and to remove blessings, to give life and to end life, to accept offerings and to reject offerings. The hours go by without a moment of introspection, without a moment of desire for God's people, without a moment of pity for the weak and dying, without a moment of fearing God when sin has clouded our judgement.

But tomorrow, you will say, "I believe in God."

You do not flinch before God's hatred of sin, you do not do as he commands in his Word, you do not give to the poor, love the hurting, and accept persecution freely.

But tomorrow, you will say, "I believe in God."

I hope for the sake of these people that our God is of the utmost ignorance.

Do you think you can fool God? Do you think he doesn't know the intentions of your heart? Do you really think God is that blind?

What then, is belief? Or better yet, what then, is faith?

Faith is feeding the hungry because you are existentially aware of God's commands and his power to punish those who don't follow his will. Faith is accepting persecution freely because you are so aware of God's love that you know other's approval isn't necessary. Faith is saying, "yes, I believe in God" when the consequences are real, and your life, your dignity, or your paycheck is on the line.

So...

Do you believe in God?