My friend believes in the benefits of exercise. Her commitment is stunning; she runs every day, regardless of the weather, the temperature or how busy her life is. She has made a life style commitment because she believes in the benefits of exercise.
We say we ‘believe’ in many things. The things we really believe in are obvious because our actions reflect that belief. If we believe traffic is heavy this morning, we leave a few minutes early to allow for the extra time needed to deal with the traffic.
According to recent surveys, 83{03cfc460ee471696895095d15914aa94e2affa08ca8863622c4ab45d0198dbc7} of Americans say, without hesitation, that they believe in the Bible. Yet, an independent Barna survey taken in 2003 found that 8 out of 10 protestant Christians, by their OWN admission, did not apply the standards of the scripture to their personal lives.
If ‘we’ truly believe the Bible, then we believe what scripture says; that our choices have consequences. The Bible says if you don’t receive Christ, you will be eternally lost. If I really DO believe this, I would be telling my friends, neighbors and loved ones that if they don’t receive Christ, they are destined to spend eternity in Hell (Mark 16:15).
The Bible says that if we love God, we care about each other. Do I give generously to the poor and needy, do I visit the sick, encourage the hurting(Matthew 25:31-46)? If I really believe the Bible, I do. If not, then I must not believe what the Bible says.
According to scripture, there are consequences to both action and inaction (Matt. 25:37-40, Matt. 25:41-46). So, if I believe the Bible yet don’t do as it says, don’t I, in knowledge, choose to rebel against God (James 4:17)?
Believe is an action word. If I don’t believe something, I do nothing because I don’t see any consequences in my inaction. If I do believe, I take whatever life action is needed to support my belief because I acknowledge the consequences of doing nothing.
As I go about my busy day, I must ask myself a question. DO I believe the Bible? If so, what am I going to do today as evidence of that belief?
James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.