Jesus says in John 8:24, “For if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”  In order to do the will of the Father, we must believe in God and in Christ, otherwise we will die in our sins and be lost.  If we don’t believe in God and in Christ, we will certainly not do what They tell us we must do.  If God is to be believed at all, He must be believed fully.  Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.“  We must diligently seek to know all that God wants us to do and then gladly do it.

     Do you believe in God and Christ with all your heart?  Do you believe in Them to the point that you have all the confidence in the world in Them and you will do anything and everything They tell you to do?  Not what we choose to do, but what God tells us to do.  If we will not, then we are no different than those people that we read about in John 12:42-43, “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”  These people believed Jesus, but they were not saved, because they would not confess and obey Him.

     Many people falsely believe that redemptive faith is merely a willing disposition to trust in Christ as their personal savior, independent of any further acts of obedience.  This notion is completely alien from the truth found in the Bible.  A belief that will not accept and do all God tells us to do is not enough.  If this is the case, then we are no better than the devils in James 2:19, “You believe that there is one God.  You do well.  Even the devils believe and tremble!”  The devils believe in God and they tremble, but this does not save them.  So “faith only” does not save anyone, or otherwise the devils would also be saved.  God’s word says, “You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only” (James 2:24).  Man’s doctrine of “faith only” is foreign to the Bible. 

     Our belief is a work of God that God requires of us.  John 6:29, “Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”  Our belief must be an obedient belief in all the things that God tells us to do.  When our faith in God and in Christ has caused us to do what they tell us only then can we be saved.  We do not earn our salvation but we qualify for it only when we have done what God has told us we must do.  

     Satan is trying to tell people today they do not have to do anything to qualify for God’s gift of eternal life.  Satan is successful with many people.  We cannot have selective obedience and be pleasing to God.  Our obedience is how we show our love to God and Christ.  Jesus says in John 14:21, “He that has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved of My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”  If we love Christ we will abandon all we do religiously that is not found in the Bibleand then do all things that Christ wants us to do. 

     Just before Jesus ascended back into Heaven, He commanded His apostles in Matthew 28:19-20 to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.”  Our faith in Him must lead us to observe all things the Lord has commanded us to do in order to be pleasing to Him.  We cannot select just certain commands of God to obey.  We cannot ignore or rationalize away any of His commands we don’t like and expect to be saved.  To believe in Him is to obey Him fully.  

     In speaking of Christ, Hebrews 5:9 says, “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”  If Christ is to be the author of our eternal salvation, He must be obeyed with an obedient faith.  Respect for Jesus as our Lord means doing all He says and for the reason He says.  In Luke 6:46 Jesus says, “But why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say?”  Jesus is not our Lord if we do not do what He says.  Are you willing for Jesus to be your Lord?