What is "Believe"?

Churchgoers love to quote John 3:16 which states, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Most people would assume the word “believeth” in this scripture simply means acknowledge, or accept as true, but that assumption would be incorrect. Instead, it means something much deeper.

The Greek word from which “believeth” has been interpreted is “pisteuo,” the root word of which is “peitho” with the meanings “to suffer one’s self to be persuaded” and “to listen to, obey, yield to, comply with.” So, anyone who chooses to believe in Jesus for the sake of their salvation must heed and apply everything He said about the kingdom of God and eternal life. The emphasis is on regarding and then obeying Jesus’ instructions as a loyal follower. This is clearly pointed out in Hebrews 5:9, which states that “being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.”

Although the word “pisteuo” has been translated as believe, it goes far beyond mere intellectual belief. It also signifies a commitment to act upon the belief, involving reliance and entrusting one’s whole self and life to Jesus. The reality is that we worship what we trust. There are all kinds of things, people, and systems in this world that we can be tempted to trust above Jesus. Jesus wants all of us, not because of ego, but because He wants what is best for us. He knows He is our lifeline, so for our sakes He draws us to the kind of true belief and worship that will lead to blessings now and eternal life following our bodily death (John 10:9-10).

Given the above, you can see how dangerous it is to base your salvation on just one verse – or even a handful of verses – from the Bible. Rather, it’s imperative to consider the fullness of the message Jesus proclaimed, and we’ll get to that very soon.