Defining Faith

Today's sermon is going to be pretty basic, and it's something that you already believe. The reason for me giving... it's actually a series of three sermons. The reason for me giving these sermons are... even if you already believe them, is to help you explain them, to have the answer for the hope that lies within you.

So yeah, you believe it, but can you explain it? And so I'm going to give a series of three sermons. The title of the sermon today is, Defining Faith, Part 1 of 3, Defining Faith. What does it mean to believe? Today's topic is going to be belief. And John 3 16 may be one of the best known verses in the Bible, but there is a really important question that's hidden inside that... it's in one of the words. And that word is so misunderstood. And I'll read you a quote how misunderstood it is. I mean, people just completely miss the point. And once they've missed the point, it's really difficult to help them see...

what Jesus' point actually was. Because they're so convinced that they're right. So what I'm going to do today is I'm going to help you by telling you the story that Jesus told. Actually, that John told, quoting Jesus. So John... in John 3 16, people pull that out of context, like it's a standalone verse, like it's a theological, massive theological statement that's not connected to a story. But it's actually part of a story. And so I'm going to tell you that story today. I want you to try to learn the story so that when you're discussing John 3 16, you can tell the story too. Because the story answers the question. Okay? So it's super basic, super already believed by all of you. But can you explain it? Okay. What did Jesus mean by the word believe? It's such an important question. When we read, whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Most of us have heard that since childhood. What exactly does it mean to believe in Christ? There are Christians today, many Christians today, who understand that the word primarily means being persuaded that something is true.

And that's it. Being persuaded that something is true. There's a theologian named Bob Wilkin. He is the executive director of Grace Evangelical Society. And he is very clear about this. In a 2022 article entitled, What is the Free Grace View of Saving Faith?, he writes, In him for that gift. You can't get more clear than that. Wilkin argues that saving faith does not require an additional act of commitment, of surrender, or of repentance. He refers specifically to John 3 16, and he says there is, quote, no additional step. End quote. So that raises an important question. Is that what Jesus said? And if it's not, which it's not, can you explain it? Is being persuaded that something is true, all that Jesus and the apostles meant by the word that's very often translated, faith, and sometimes translated, believe? That's what I want to examine in the next few sermons. And I know you've heard me say it all the time. And I think that you don't find it that interesting, because I say all the time, the words for faith, the verb and the noun, mean belief, trust, and loyalty. And nobody asks me about it. So I figure you either take my word for it, or you couldn't care less, one of the two.

But the point is, can you explain it? Because I know you already believe it. So what we're going to do is today we're going to look at the word belief and the concept of belief. And what does it mean? You know, what does God really say? And then the second sermon, we're going to look at the next layer, trust.

What happens when you believe God, but the circumstances in your life make it really difficult to understand what God is doing right now. And finally, we're going to look at wrapping it all up with faithfulness itself. What does faith look like when belief and trust are put to the test? And we have to remain loyal to God.

Okay, and we're going to do this through stories. The New Testament words, pistis and pisteio, will help us understand those ideas, but I don't want this to become a lesson in the Greek vocabulary. So we're going to do a little Greek vocabulary today, but mostly we're going to walk through the story. Because the story is what answers the question, not the vocabulary. Because you can argue a dictionary all day long, but you can't argue the story. Okay, the best place to begin in this biblical narrative is before John 3 16. Because John 3 16 is right at the end of the story, actually. It's not even in the middle of the story, it's at the end of the story. And we usually start there. Okay? John has already started showing that belief can be real and be incomplete in the story by the time you get to John 3 16. So I want to begin today in chapter 2, where he starts the story. And this will set the context for what John 3 16 really means. So I want to begin with the passage that I think most of us would read right over, not noticing something really unusual because we read it in the English language. And John is doing this wordplay in the story, and we miss it because the wordplay is not in English, but it is in the original Greek. And he doesn't just do one wordplay, he does two wordplays, which is really interesting. So let's notice what's going on in the story. Let's go back to the beginning of the story, where John starts it in John chapter 2 verse 23.

Almost to the end of chapter 2. John chapter 2 verse 23. It says, now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in his name. They believed! Well, that ought to be enough.

According to what we just read, they're good to go. They're saved. They don't have to do anything else. They're done. Oh, nay, nay. Listen to this. Now when he was in Jerusalem at Passover during the feast, many believed in his name. When they saw the signs which he did. Well, that sounds good. They saw Christ, what he was doing. They believed in his name. In other words, they believed he was the Messiah. He's the one we're looking for. Is that wrong? Were they wrong? No. They were correct.

They saw those signs, and they correctly assessed, he is the Messiah. According to many theologians today, that should be enough to form a relationship with Jesus. When you are persuaded that Jesus is the Messiah and will save you, then they would expect that Jesus would come to them and be their Savior. Is that what Jesus did? Notice what John explains. If we didn't read any more from what John wrote, in other words, if John had stopped in verse 23, we would probably assume those people had responded exactly as they should have.

They believed! But John didn't stop there. Verse 24. But Jesus did not commit himself to them, because he knew all men. He knew them.

He knew, verse 25, that he had no need of anyone should testify of man. For he knew what was in man.

There is something here that you don't see very easily in English. Verse 23 says that these people believed in Jesus, and the Greek verb there is pisteo, the verb or the action word for faith.

In this instance, the word is believed because of the context of the passage. It actually does mean believed. That's all it means. We know that because of context. I'll explain that in just a moment. However, in verse 24, John says that Jesus would not commit himself to them.

Do you know John uses the same Greek word, the same Greek verb? They pisteo Jesus, but Jesus would not pisteo himself to them. He wouldn't go to them.

They believed him, but he would not entrust himself to them. That's interesting, and an absolute contradiction of how people view John 3.16. It raises the question that I want to spend time on today, and not only today over the next few sermons. What does the Bible actually mean when it talks about faith? We use that word all the time. We say, we have faith. We tell someone else to have faith. We read that we are saved through faith. We read one of the most verses in the Bible, John 3.16, which says, whoever believes in Christ should not perish, but have everlasting life. But what does it mean to believe? What did John mean when he used that word?

What did Paul mean by faith?

If you lived in the first century, and you read the actual letter that John wrote, what would you have believed when you read the word, they passed away Jesus, but he did not pass away them?

What would you have thought? That's what I want to look at in this series. And I want to begin with the concept of belief itself. In this message, these people believed, and yet something wasn't right. Something wasn't there. Something was incomplete, and Jesus didn't go to them.

So I don't want to turn this into a Greek class, but, and I am certainly not a Greek scholar, sometimes our English words do not quite give the entire range of the original word. Right? So, I think we need to slow down and just take a little quick Greek lesson. There are two closely related Greek words that we're going to encounter throughout this series. The noun for faith is pistis, normally translated faith, and the verb is pisteo, which is normally translated believe. Now, remember, the noun is the thing that you have. You have faith. And the verb is the thing that you do, the action. So you believe, or you trust, or you commit, or you are faithful, or you are loyal. That's the verb. Depending on the context of how the word is used. So there's a couple of really good Greek dictionaries that we need to go to, to get careful definition of these words. And the first one is Bill Mounts' Greek dictionary that gives this definition for pistis, which is the verb, the thing you have. Quote, faith, faithfulness, believe, trust, with an implication that actions based on that trust may follow. So yes, it's faith or trust, but action is implied according to Mounts. Okay? He defines the word or the verb pisteo as believing, or putting your faith in, or trusting. But he also gives another meaning to the verb. He says, quote, in trust, commit, to the charge, or power of.

And Mounts here in the dictionary actually lists John 2, verse 24, as an example of this word meaning to trust. John 2, 24 was the one that said Jesus would not commit himself to them. He would not trust himself to them. He didn't trust them. And he didn't trust them for good reason, because he knew what was in their heart. Okay? Now we need to be careful here. That doesn't mean that every time we see pistis or pisteo in the New Testament, we should take every possible definition and put them all into the verse. Doesn't always work that way. And here's how, that's not how language works. So let me give you an example in English, one you will automatically get. You will automatically understand this because we all know the context of this word. If I say, I'm going to run to the store, and then I say, later I'm going to run a meeting. It's the same word, but you would not think I'm doing the same action. Why? Because you understand the context. If I'm going to run to the store, then I'm going to go to the store. If I'm going to run a meeting, then I'm going to operate the meaning. It's the same English word, but the context sets the meaning. Same in the Greek. Okay? Context sets the meaning. So John's play on words here assumes that the reader will know the context of the sentence, because John doesn't bother defining what he means. He just says it as though you should understand what he means. The problem is, then, the Greek got translated into Latin. The Latin got translated into German and English. And something got missed along the way. And I'm not even implying, I'm not saying nor implying, that they did it on purpose. That's just how language works. Sometimes you lose something in translation, so you have to go back to the original. Context tells us what a word means in a particular passage. Same thing is true here. The Greek words have a range of meaning, and the context tells us which part of that range is in view. So in John 2 and verse 23, belief was in view. And in verse 24, trust was in view. Okay? There is a really great other dictionary that I rarely use, primarily because it's expensive. It's called the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. And we usually call it Kittle. It has a very, very long article on this word family, Pistos and Pisteo. It was written by Rudolf Pultman. And he is discussing specifically how these two words are used by the apostles. By Christianity, in other words. And he says this, quote, this is what these words mean, according to Kittle.

Obedience, trust, hope, and faithfulness are also implied. Obedience is implied in these words. Which, what does that mean? It means that's how they would have read it. Not how, in 2026, modern English-speaking theologians would have read it. How the original audience would have read it. That's so important. Whatever else biblical faith means, this major theological dictionary does not reduce these words to how American theology does. We reduce the words to meaning that all you have to do is agree that something is factually true and you have salvation. That's what we in America have reduced the meaning of John 3.16.2. All you have to do is intellectually think, yeah, that's right. Jesus is my Savior. And you're good to go.

Okay, is belief involved? Is the intellect involved? Absolutely yes. We're going to get there. Yes. But there's more going on in this word. One more nerdy theological quote and then we'll move back into the story. Bear with me. We've got to do the nerdy stuff first. One of my favorite historians of the first century Greek language is a British fellow called N.

T. Wright. One of our elders over in the UK actually knows him, has met him so many times in conferences, he calls him Tom. He's the author N. T. Wright. And he approaches the question from the world of early Christians.

And N. T. Wright was an Anglican bishop of Durham. I don't know if he still is. He may have retired. I don't know. But he is a major New Testament historian. Now, I don't agree with everything that N. T. Wright teaches, and I'm not using him as a doctrinal authority. I disagree with him all the time, especially on what he says about the Apostle Paul. But why does he get the first century in language and context? Okay. So, he spent a lifetime studying their language, and in a book that he wrote called Simply Christian, he says this, quote, The word the early Christians used for faith can also mean loyalty or allegiance.

End quote. It wasn't a religious term. It was just an everyday word that they used. If you had a job, and that job was your livelihood, you were loyal, pisteo, to your employer. It wasn't a religious term. It just meant loyalty. Okay? And in a paragraph just before that, he says that our English word belief can sometimes be inadequate or misleading, because early Christian belief involved not merely believing that God had done something, but believing in the God who had done it.

And there's a big difference between those two things. It's an important distinction. There's a huge difference in believing the fact about someone and placing your confidence in that person. Right? There's a huge difference in saying Jesus is my Savior, and actually believing what Jesus said. Major difference.

Okay. But you can use the English word believe, and you can reduce down what John said in John 3 16, because of the English meaning of the word believe, to simply being intellectual agreement. And you can't do that in the Greek. Okay, enough nerdy stuff. So, for today, I just want us to see that when we read the English word believe, we should be careful not to automatically reduce it to intellectual agreement.

I hope you hold on to that fact, because that would be important if you ever have to explain John 3 16 to somebody who is convinced that they can do whatever they want to do after they've gone up and said, Jesus is my Lord. Now, they can go walk in darkness. They can go do anything. They can just drunk in debauchery and be in the kingdom of God. We're going to address that from Jesus' own words in just a moment.

So, let's go back to John. We're in the middle of this story, and they believed because of the signs. And John tells us exactly why they believed. Let's go back to verse 23. Many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did. Okay, they had evidence. They weren't believing for no reason. They had seen something Jesus did, and from what they saw, they reached some conclusion about him. I mean, Jesus did some pretty amazing things.

He even brought somebody back from the dead. That's someone from God. Okay? There's nothing inherently wrong in what they did. They looked at all the miracles Jesus was doing. They drew a correct conclusion. That is the Messiah. They weren't wrong. In fact, much later, John tells us why he recorded the signs in his Gospel account.

Let's hold our place in John 2. Move all the way to John 20. All the way towards the end of the book. John 20. And read verse 30 and 31. John 20. Verse 30. And truly, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book. But these, in other words, these signs are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Okay. Signs are not the problem. Don't get the wrong idea. Signs and evidence are a good thing. John recorded signs exactly because they provide evidence concerning who Jesus is. So what's the issue? Well, the challenge is in John 2 that these people hadn't gone far enough. They just believed intellectually. They hadn't committed anything yet. They believed something because of what they saw. But Jesus knew what was in them. And he wasn't going to trust them.

Craig Keener, who wrote a commentary, made a very helpful observation in his commentary on John. He says, quote, this is Keener's commentary on John, quote, signs faith, signs dash faith. In other words, faith that's based on seeing something. Okay. Signs faith unless it progresses to discipleship is inadequate, end quote. That's the conclusion. You can't say that just because you see and you believe, that's enough. That Keener says it's inadequate. Inadequate. I think that is a very good way to state the problem.

He's not saying that they didn't believe anything. They did. John says they believed. The problem is that the belief that they had was incomplete. The inadequate belief, as Keener wrote. This is the main direction I'm going in the sermon today. This is what the story tells. And the story gets better. It doesn't stop here, even though it looks like it does, because there's a chapter break.

Right? So what does it actually mean to believe? There's a bit of a challenge we face because of the chapter divisions in the Bible that were actually put there many, many years later. John didn't write. End of chapter 2. And now we're going to begin chapter 3. Okay. And these chapters get in our way. So at the very end of John chapter 2, he writes that he knew what was in man.

Right? Chapter 3 begins, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus. If you remove the chapters, you see exactly what John wrote as one account. So the story of Nicodemus flows directly from the story of the people who believed. So the Greek word translated man is repeated. It's a second play on words. The first play on words was back in the latter part of John chapter 2, when the people pisteo Jesus. But Jesus wouldn't pisteo them. Now, the second play on words is John says there that Jesus knew what was in the heart of man.

And then John says, and here's a man. In other words, now let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. Notice that this story of Nicodemus matches the crowd exactly. Exactly what the crowd was doing wrong, Nicodemus is doing wrong. It is the same story continued. Alright, so John says in effect, Jesus knew what was in the heart of man, and here's a man. Let me show you an example of a man. And this is John chapter 3. This is where John chapter 3 verse 16 resides. It's in this story of Nicodemus.

Okay, so remember the chapter divisions were added much later. John didn't write. End of chapter 2, beginning of chapter 3. He just wrote straight through. And he says, Jesus knew what was in man, and the very next words were, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus. So, John just told us that Nicodemus is going to have a problem. Nicodemus, who is this guy? Is he the villain of the story? No. Do you know who Nicodemus represents?

Me. When I'm reading this story, Nicodemus is me. When you're reading the story, Nicodemus is you. He's not a villain. He doesn't get chastised or put down here. But he doesn't get congratulated either. There's no attaboy for Nicodemus. Okay? Listen. Remember, Nicodemus is you.

And it's not disconnected from the other story. John 3, verse 1. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man, verse 2, came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God.

For no one could do these signs. Remember the crowd? Why do they believe Jesus? Because of the signs. Now here's a man who believes Jesus. Why? Because of his signs. That you do unless God is with him.

There are the signs again. Verse 23, the people believe because of the signs. Now Nicodemus comes to him and says, we know! We have intellectual belief. In other words, I believe you are from God. Was that enough? Was intellectual belief enough? Now I know you believe this, but can you prove it? From the story.

That's what we're doing today. We're learning the story of John 3, 16. Notice something important. Nicodemus wasn't wrong. Jesus, of course, did come from God. God was with him. The signs really did prove that. He was correct.

And all the evidence that he saw, he reached the right conclusion. But it was an incomplete conclusion. He says, Rabbi, we know you are a teacher that comes from God. And Jesus doesn't congratulate him.

This is an important part of the narrative that we started back in chapter 2. Jesus doesn't say, hey, Nicodemus, you got it! You believe the right thing! And buddy, that's all I was looking for. That's all you needed to do. Was just intellectually believe that I am the Messiah. No. Instead, Jesus gave him a major redirect that he did not understand. Nicodemus was not expecting what Jesus said in verse 3.

He cannot see the kingdom of God. Say what? Nicodemus was so confused. He wants to know how a man can be born when he's old. Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb? And Jesus is trying to take him beyond the conclusion that he had already reached. Okay. You can see that God has created the world. You've got evidence that the Bible is his word. You read the word, what it says about you, and you intellectually believe. Is that enough? Jesus is saying, no. That's not enough. You have to be born again. This is just before John 3, 16.

Jesus is taking him beyond what he could see. And he tells Nicodemus that there needs to be a change in him. Nicodemus has come to discuss what the signs prove, but that was not enough.

So instead of giving Nicodemus approval, he redirects the conversation. And there's another little detail in the conversation I think is worth noticing. He begins by saying, Rabbi, we know you are a teacher that comes from God. We've looked at the evidence. We've seen the signs. We've drawn the conclusion. Drop down to verse 11.

Because Jesus, in his answer, answers that we know statement directly. And this is enough to silence the critics that say all you have to do is intellectually believe. Notice the direct response from Jesus to Nicodemus saying, we know you are from God.

This is what Jesus actually rejects that statement. Listen. John chapter 3 verse 11. Most assuredly I say to you, we speak what we know and testify of what we have seen, talking about those signs.

And you do not receive our witness. Just because you know doesn't mean you accept me. That isn't enough. Nicodemus began by saying we know because he'd seen the signs and he was correct.

But it wasn't enough. Jesus' point is that just reaching the correct conclusion is not the same thing as receiving his testimony. That's not what he's looking for. That's not what verse 16 means.

So he knows something about Jesus. You and I, remember, he represents me. He represents you. You know something about Jesus. Good for you. That's not enough. Okay. This is where we start to see the difference between simply reaching an intellectual conclusion and the kind of belief, the kind of pisteo that John was talking about in verse 16.

Okay. So let's not go from one ditch, from one extreme, saying all you have to do is intellectually believe, to jumping all the way across the road into the other ditch and saying you don't even need to believe, because that's a bridge too far. You've gone to the other extreme, and you're just as wrong. What we believe about God matters enormously. Christian faith is not believing something that isn't true because we would like it to be true. Evidence is very important. Indolect is important. So Nicodemus was using evidence, right? That's good. But biblical faith doesn't stop when the mind says, yes, I think that your proposition is correct. Yes, Jesus, I agree with you. You're not done. But the belief is important.

So let's read what else Jesus says about belief. He's telling Nicodemus to receive his testimony. What does he mean? He illustrates his invitation to believe with a serpent being lifted up in the wilderness. Now, there's no way when he told Nicodemus this he would understand it. But you and I will get this immediately because we're our centuries, millennia later. We know Jesus was lifted up. We know he was crucified, and he bled, and that blood covers our sins. So when we read Jesus' answer, we immediately recognize what he...but put yourself in Nicodemus' place. Nicodemus walks up, all encouraged, like, hey, I've seen your signs, and I know you're the Messiah.

And Jesus doesn't congratulate him. Jesus doesn't say, yeah, that's enough. Verse 14. Here's his response. Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. Huh? Yeah. Jesus has to die in your place, and you have to do something as well. Verse 15. That, why must the Son of Man be lifted up? That whoever pisteo in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now, we've already very well established that that doesn't mean to intellectually believe. But Jesus puts the nail in the coffin of that concept at the conclusion of this matter. Let's read through the chapter, and not just stop in verse 16. Everybody knows this next verse. Verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes pisteo in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

So, what's the context? Does it mean intellectual belief? Does it mean trust? Or does it mean loyalty? Well, let's let Jesus tell us. How about that? How about we let Jesus' own words explain it? That verse is not a stand-alone verse. It's in the context of a story of, first, a crowd who believed in Jesus for his signs and was followed by an example of a man, Nicodemus, who did the same thing. They believed because of the signs, and Jesus said, yes, but you need to do more. You need to be born again.

A change has to happen. Intellectual belief is not what Jesus was talking about.

But now I want us to hear that word in the context that John has given us. Just a few verses earlier, John has already said, or described people who believed in his name, and Jesus would not entrust himself to them.

And then Nicodemus came because of the signs, and he knows that Jesus came from God, and yet Jesus said, not enough.

He didn't receive Christ's testimony. And then he said he has to be lifted up. So when we reach verse 16, we cannot treat belief as though John simply dropped some isolated theological word in the middle of nowhere.

John has been preparing us for this verse for quite a while, and he's been asking us, what does it mean to believe? Don't stop at verse 16. Drop down to verse 18. In Jesus' own words. Notice this awesome conclusion to Jesus' point and John's point here.

Verse 18, He who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe, Pestello, is condemned already. Then he goes on to define Pestello. Listen.

Notice the discussion. Verse 19.

And this is the condemnation, that the light that has come into the world, Jesus is that light.

The light that has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light. And how do you show that you love darkness rather than light?

Because their deeds were evil. Action.

Verse 20. For everyone practicing evil hates the light.

So if I say I intellectually agree with Jesus, but I do what is evil, then I hate the light. And what's the light? Jesus is the light.

So if I have evil deeds, I hate the light. Simple.

Lest his deeds should be exposed. Let's read verse 20 again.

For everyone practicing evil hates the light, and does not come into the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

Verse 21. But he who does the truth, action, comes into the light, and that his deeds may be clearly seen, and they have been done in God.

That's huge! That is a huge conclusion to John 3, 16.

You don't read that at the football game. You see the sign John 3, 16, and that's it.

You don't read verses 19, 20, and 21. Jesus ends his discussion of having eternal life with doing righteous deeds.

You cannot draw any other conclusion in this passage.

That Jesus meant something just like intellectual belief. He meant more than intellectual belief.

Okay, I want to transition to the next logical conclusion before we end the sermon today.

And I want to end the sermon with a strong point on the importance of belief. So, like I mentioned, we don't jump into the other ditch.

There is another picture that Jesus draws that puts belief in the right place.

And it's actually found in the book of Mark, most poignantly. Mark 10.

For time's sake, we won't turn there.

People were bringing little children to Jesus, and the disciples rebuked them. And Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them.

For of such is the kingdom of God.

And then he said, Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God, as a little child, will by no means enter it.

Now, this is very related to the narrative we read in John chapter 2.

Okay? Very related.

There's something very basic about a child's belief.

A young child begins life by believing what his parents tell them.

His parents tell him that that's a bird, and he believes that's a bird.

The parents say that this is a chair, and he believes that's a chair.

The sky is blue, and he believes the sky is blue.

All the things around him he learns from his parents.

And he accepts what they tell him, because he believes them.

He's a little child.

And unless we become like a little child, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

This places a huge importance on belief.

There is something we need to come back to in our relationship with God, just like we did when we were little children. Before faith can grow into anything else, we have to believe God.

So in John's narrative in chapter 2 and 3, faith starts with intellectual belief.

Notice that Jesus never once said that belief was wrong.

Right? He just said it wasn't enough.

He redirected Nicodemus to change.

He told them that you would be condemned if you didn't come into the light.

If you didn't stop the evil deeds.

That's what I want to spend the balance of the sermon on today.

We have to be willing to hear what Jesus and God the Father say, and accept it is true because they said it without question.

That's going to be challenging when we go to the next sermon, the next topic.

Faith begins with belief.

John has shown us that you can't stop with belief, but belief is important.

So faith cannot exist without belief. Before I can trust God, I have to believe God.

I have to hear what God says and accept that it is true just because he said it.

That's where faith begins.

Belief is essential.

Let me make this dogmatic statement. I know it's dogmatic, but it is true.

There can be no biblical faith without first believing God.

It is important. It's just not enough.

So, to wrap this up.

When someone says to you, well, John 3 16 says, all you have to do is believe.

Okay, it's a tough one because they're reading it in English, and they're not reading the original Greek, pisteo.

And so they don't get the context.

But all you have to do is go back and read the whole account.

Start towards the end of chapter 2 and bring it all the way to almost the end of chapter 3.

Don't stop at verse 16.

Verse 16 just begins the conclusion.

Isn't the conclusion.

Okay?

Show them the crowd. Show them Nicodemus.

And show them Jesus' objection to them.

That he didn't reject them, but he didn't accept them either. It wasn't enough.

We begin like little children.

We believe our Father and our older brother Jesus Christ.

And the challenge that I want to leave you with today is, do you really believe God? Not simply do you believe he exists, but when God speaks, do you accept what he says is true simply because it comes from him?

That's where faith begins. And once we truly believe him, the next question becomes, will we trust him when believing him becomes difficult?

And that's where we will begin next time.

Thank you.