Category: What it Means to Believe

Acts 16:30-31 (NKJV) 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.

In Wednesday’s devotional, we referred to the word believe, and what is inferred by that word in verses such as the one above, and in other verses like John 3:16.

We mentioned that “believe” in these contexts means more than just believing that something is true.

We stated that the type of belief referred to in these verses is much deeper, implying a deep trust.

Today, we’d like to do a little deep dive into this word, believe, so we can all understand it better.

To truly understand “believe” in the context of these verses, let’s look at the Greek word that is used, and see what we can glean from it that will help us grow in our understanding.

In English, “believe” often suggests a cognitive agreement or simple acceptance that something is true.

πιστεύω (pisteuō) is the Greek word used for “believe” in these verses. πιστεύω carries a much deeper meaning than just believing something is true.

πιστεύω suggests a deep-seated trust, reliance on, and adherence to the person being believed.

It is relational (significantly meaningful) vs. transactional (casual, social in nature, or based on reciprocal give & take).

When we get this understanding, it changes us. And it changes our walk with God because we now see clearly what it means to believe from a Biblical perspective.

This causes our relationship with Him to become deeper and more intimate.

So, let’s remember that it is not enough to simply believe that something is true. But that our belief must be one that is rooted in a deep trust that spawns a deeper intimacy with Him. 🙏

If you’d like to get a deeper understanding of this, please Click Here to watch a video that we recently recorded on this topic.

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