“Just Believe”

Is That Enough?

Many people say if you just believe- you will be saved; but is that what scripture says?  

You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

                                                                                                   James 2:19

Let’s look at some scripture passages that pertain to salvation.

³⁶ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.   –Acts 2:36-38

²⁷ And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”
²⁹ Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
³¹ So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴ Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household. –Acts 16:27-34

Although these passages refer to believing in Jesus as the way to be saved, we cannot ignore that there is more to it than just believing. We have to repent of our sins, confess Jesus is Lord and through Him alone comes salvation, and we need to be baptized. A person can be saved without “physical” baptism (see the thief on the cross Luke 23:39-43), but baptism is a public profession of faith. Jesus said “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38.

To accept Jesus as the Savior means to submit to His authority. This means we do not accept Him on our terms, but on His. One thing that jumps out at me in many passages is a complete change in character. The jailer was clearly transformed (Acts 16:33-34), the men in Acts 2:37 cried out “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” This sounds like a desperate cry for help. I can only believe they were willing to do whatever they had to.

Then there is the account of the demon possessed man in the book of Mark.

 ¹ Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. ² And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, ³ who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, ⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. ⁵ And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.  –Mark 5:1-5

¹⁸ And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. ¹⁹ However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” ²⁰ And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.   –Mark 5:18-20

I believe it is to the detriment of others that we assure them of their salvation if they “just believe.” One can believe in a parachute or life preserver but if they don’t accept it and use it in faith, it will not save them.

What we can know for sure is that God loves every single one of us. (see John 3:16). He desires that none perish and to that extent, He sent His Son Jesus to bear our sins upon himself and suffer and die in our place. If He did that for us, what great thing is it for us to live for Him? When we consider not only this, but that we will receive eternal reward, we would be crazy not to.