Believing in Jesus

This morning we’re going to deal with one of the basics of following Jesus. This morning we’re going to deal with believing. There is a lot going on in that little phrase, and what John has written in our text will help you get a handle on some more of that. My hope is that understanding better what it means to believe in Jesus will lead to following Him better. Now, please listen as I read our text, John 1.11-13.

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Let’s start with this. To believe in Jesus is to receive Him. Did you notice how John ties together ‘did receive’ and ‘believed’? ‘But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name…’ It’s two ways of describing the same group of people. Someone who believes in Jesus is not someone who decides to be religious in a Christian way. Someone who believes in Jesus receives Him. To use once-popular language, this person has a personal relationship with Jesus. It’s like getting married. What’s included when two people marry? There’s a party to celebrate it. The legal status of these two people changes. And they can fill out their 1040 income tax form differently. But none of that gets to the heart of what marriage is about. Marriage is a person‑to‑person relationship. At the wedding the man receives the woman as his wife and the woman receives the man as her husband. And the point of it all is that this person‑to‑person relationship develop until, in so many ways, it is obvious that the two really have become one. Here’s where you need to remember God’s purpose in creating marriage. It was to teach us how we are to believe in Jesus. We receive Him as a spouse. The Bible describes Jesus as the husband and the Church as His wife. That’s the point of this ‘believing in Jesus’. It is something very personal. You need to be careful here. There are many distractions to and substitutes for a personal relationship with Jesus. And be aware that these distractions and substitutes don’t have to be things that are evil. Satan uses good things to try to turn us away from Jesus. So, a question. In a good marriage, the one is getting to know the other better and better. As the years pass on, one result of that is a deeper love and affection between husband and wife. Here’s the question. How is your ‘marriage’ to Jesus going? Are you seeing a deeper love and affection for Him developing in you? So, here is the first thing from our text. Believing in Jesus is not a religious thing. It’s a personal thing.

Now, to the next thought. This one has to do with John’s phrase, ‘believed in His Name’. Most of you are familiar with the Bible’s take on names, but review is always good. A person’s name is a big deal in the Bible. It is much more than just a label to identify this person as opposed to that one. A name was a description of the person. And that’s why God sometimes changed people’s names. So, there’s Abram which means ‘exalted father’. When God promised him more children than he could count, He changed his name to Abraham, ‘father of a multitude’. Peter wasn’t given that name at birth. He was born Simon. But Jesus changed it to Peter, which means ‘rock’, ‘And on this rock I will build My Church.’ And then, there is Jesus’ name which means ‘The Lord saves’. How appropriate. The name describes an aspect of who that person is. So, when John wrote, ‘believed in His name’, he was pointing to different aspects of who Jesus is, aspects that he will describe in the rest of his Gospel. And the different names that He is given in Scripture highlight this. Jesus is Savior, Lord, Son of God, Son of Man, Rock of Offence, the I Am, the Anointed One, the Firstborn of the Dead and on and on. So, having a personal relationship with Jesus means relating to Him in terms of who He is, believing in His name.

Let’s take this further. So, believing in Jesus means believing in His name, believing in who He is. But, a person does not need to know and believe very much about who Jesus is to have a relationship with Him, to be saved. So, last week I mentioned what is needed for someone to become a Christian. (1) I am a sinner in rebellion against God. (2) Jesus promises to rescue all rebellious sinners like me who trust Him to do that. (3) I choose to trust Him. There isn’t a lot of content about Jesus in those three sentences, but it’s enough content. Consider the Philippian jailer in Acts 16. What does he say to Paul? ‘What must I do to be saved?’ And what is Paul’s reply? ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.’ The jailer knew pitiful little about Jesus, but he believed that little bit, and Paul baptized him as a Christian. He believed in what little he knew of the name of Jesus and began his relationship with Jesus that night. You don’t need to know a lot about Jesus to become a Christian. You just need to believe what you know and thus receive Jesus.

However, it doesn’t end there. This person‑to‑person relationship with Jesus does not stay the same. In fact, it cannot stay the same, just as a marriage cannot stay the same. The husband needs to get to know his wife better, even as the wife needs to get to know her husband better. And if they work at that, over time they actually do get to know each other better. That’s what a good marriage is about. It’s the same with someone’s relationship with Jesus. It’s something that a Christian needs to work at. And, over time, as he does that, he gets to know Jesus better. He gets to believe in more of His name, more of who He is. The relationship grows. A Christian may begin his relationship with Jesus knowing pitiful little but it does not stay that way. It cannot.

Let me tell you about when I was converted. I was at a weekend retreat for the youth group of my church. Friday evening there was a speaker. I have no recollection of what he talked about. But I do remember going to my bunk afterward. I pulled out my old King James Bible and read John 3.16. And then I prayed, ‘Lord, I don’t know what this is all about but whatever it is, I want it.’ And then, I went outside to enjoy the bonfire with the rest of the group. At that point, this is what I knew: I needed saving and Jesus would save me if I believed in Him, John 3.16. Pitiful little. And as best as I understand things, that’s when I was converted. It was 23 September, 1967.

Now, that all occurred when I was a junior in high school. It wasn’t until I was a freshman in college that someone told me, ‘You realize that Jesus is to be your Lord, don’t you? He is to be the one in charge of your life.’ Actually, until that point, I didn’t know that. But at that moment, Jesus’ name got bigger in my understanding. Now, His name included two aspects of who He is, Savior and Lord. It’s at that point that I had a choice. ‘Will I believe in Jesus as He really is? Will I believe in Jesus as Lord over my life?’ I didn’t say those words, but that was what was going on. Because of His kindness, I chose to believe that aspect of Jesus’ name also. And since then He has revealed more and more of His name to me. And each time there was the same question. ‘Will I believe in Jesus as He really is?’ And thus far, by His grace, I have always answered with a yes.

Sadly, though, it doesn’t always turn out that way for everyone. What you will see in John’s Gospel are examples of people who were faced with the same choice. Some of them believed in Jesus’ name as that name was filled with new content. But some did not. Some refused and rejected Jesus. They no longer believed in the name. When faced with a new aspect of who Jesus really is, they turned away. So, in John 6 Jesus told the crowd, some of whom were disciples of His, people who believed in His name, that He is the Bread of Heaven and He explained some of what that means. He revealed more of who He is. And this is what happened. ‘After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.’ They had believed, became disciples, and then they chose to believe no longer. They could not accept this new aspect of who Jesus is.

This explains an important aspect of our relationship with Jesus. A relationship with Jesus cannot stand still. In fact, a relationship with anyone cannot stand still. Relationships are either growing or they are dying. So, this is what happens. Jesus reveals more of who He is, that is, He fills in more content to His name, and then we have a choice to make. ‘Will I believe in Jesus as He really is?’ Now, it is helpful to note something else that happened when so many turned away. ‘So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Peter and the rest of the Twelve chose to continue to believe in Jesus’ name, even with this new content. So, this is what happens to you. Jesus reveals more of Himself to you, and then you get to choose.

It is important that you understand why it is that Jesus reveals more of His name to you. The goal is not to make life hard for you by requiring difficult choices. Rather, the more that you know and believe of Jesus the more you will enjoy Him. Do you remember from last week the reason God created you? He created you so that you could enjoy Him as He enjoys you. Jesus reveals more of Himself to you so that you can enjoy more of Him. So, when Jesus revealed Himself to me as Lord, and I chose to believe in Him as such, I got to enjoy His Lordship in my life. So, for one thing, I have come to see that I don’t have to figure it all out. You have no idea how helpful that has been to me. Instead of feeling this necessity to always figure things out so that I will get it right, I’ve learned to pray. ‘Lord Jesus, what do You want me to do in this situation?’ He, as my Lord, guides my life. He has to get it right, not me. And He always gets it right. So, how can I be anything other than optimistic? Jesus reveals more of Himself to us so that we can understand better who He really is and, as a result, enjoy Him more. And do you know what comes out of all of that? Christians who shine!

We’ve talked about what it means to receive Jesus and what His name has to do with believing. Now, the last part of the text that we will look at today. John tells us that those who believe in the name of Jesus are given something. ‘But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…’ We’ve all heard the phrase ‘children of God’, and there are parts of that which are very familiar. But there is always more to enjoy. So, let’s take a moment to meditate on this together.

What does it mean that someone is a child of God? Let’s get at that this way. Let’s talk about Bill Gates, someone who is very wealthy. What does it mean to be Bill Gates’ child? Imagine this scenario. Gates’ son goes to his dad and says, ‘Dad, the teacher said that I have to buy this book for school’. What would his reply be? ‘Well, I don’t know, son. I guess you’ll have to save up for that.’ Really?!? A doctor in the ER comes to Gates and tells him that his daughter needs a very expensive operation. What do you think? Would he give that two thoughts? In either situation, he would quickly spend the money so that he would care for his children. What does it mean to be God’s child? God spends what He has so that He could care for you, His child. Bill Gates has lots, when it comes to money. What does God have lots of? I suspect that it would be easier if we adjust the question. What is it that He doesn’t have lots of? Whatever He has, He gives to you so that you would be well cared for. That is astounding. But that’s what it means to be a child of God.

And it gets even better when you look again at what John wrote. According to John, Christians are people who are born of God. What is the most important thing that a parent gives to his or her child? Life. The father and the mother each contribute some of their own life to give to their child. God, our Father, gives life – His life – to His children. You have the life of God because you are children of God, born of God. That is what that phrase ‘eternal life’ means. It’s the life of God given to His children. And this life is yours, says John, by right. You are children of God by right. The point of this right is all about assurance. Being God’s child is not some fleeting thing that comes and goes. It is sure. It is certain. It is yours. If you travel abroad you will take a passport. You do that so that, if your identity is challenged, you can say, ‘I am an American, and as proof here is my passport.’ Identity established. Case closed. There will be times when your identity as a Christian will be challenged. There may be doubts, a lack of confidence or other things. And behind whatever it is, you will find Satan being quite busy. When that happens, this is what you say. ‘I am a child of God by right and as proof, here is my baptism.’ Identity established. Case closed. That is something that you tell Satan and at the same time tell yourself. You are God’s child by right, a right given you by the Father.

Let me close with this. What have I done this morning? I’ve described to you some more of what it means to believe in Jesus. In doing that I’ve tried to explain, to challenge, to warn and to comfort. In a minute or so, I will have completed the work God has called me to do with this sermon. At that point, He will call you to do some work with this sermon. And it is work that needs to be done. There is something in the sermon for each of you, something that the Spirit wants you to deal with. So, first identify it. Then, deal with it. Is there some comfort that your soul needs to embrace? Is there some aspect of Jesus’ name that you need to believe? Do you need to evaluate your relationship with Jesus to see if it is developing like a good marriage? Is there a warning that you need to take to heart? What is it from the sermon that you need to spend time on? Whatever it is, there is work for you to do. And bear in mind that this will not be something that you do on your own. That will lead only to failure of the worst kind. Your ability to deal well with the sermon will be a matter of God’s grace. The change that needs to happen is change in your soul. You cannot change your soul. Only the Spirit can do that. So, discern what it is that He wants you to deal with, and then start to deal with it by asking for His grace, His ability to make some more progress. And then watch as, more and more, you shine as Christians.