Thursday, August 28, 2014

BELIEVE AND CONFESS JESUS IS YOUR LORD

Two words in the Bible express God's will for mankind:  "trust" and "believe."  I am not sure of all the nuances which make the two words differ from each other, but my guess is, we "trust" a person, and because of that, we "believe" what he or she tells us. 

The word "trust" appears 134 times in the KJV of the Bible; 107 of them in the Old Testament, and 27 in the New Testament.  The word "believe," on the other hand, is found 143 times in the Bible; 17 times in the Old Testament, and 126 times in the New Testament.

Perhaps the reason the Old Testament stresses one "trust" God, is because much of what His Word promised Israel had not happened yet.  With the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, over 300 of God's promises were fulfilled.  With the Lord's First Coming, God proved He could be trusted, that His Word was truth.  Today, we look back on the Lord's First Coming and His Ascension and we are being asked to "believe" what Christ has already done for us.  We also "trust" that the remaining prophecies, those which address the Rapture of the Church, the Tribulation or Daniel's Seventieth Week, and the Millennium Kingdom, will be literally fulfilled!

If you "trust" God, and "believe" what He has done and will do for you in the future, then call upon Jesus Christ as your Lord, and begin confessing to one and all that He is your Lord and Savior!  Paul wrote: 

"But what saith it?  The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the Word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach, except they be sent?  As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!  But they have not all obeyed the Gospel.  For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:8-17).


You can trust God, and believe what He has told us in His Word!

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