BELIEVING CHRIST
It is written that the Philippian jailor “fell down before Paul and Silas, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house” (Acts 16:29-32).
Hear the words of our Savior to Nicodemus, “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” (John 3:16). What does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?
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To believe on Christ is to realize the glory of His Person. The One
Who died for our sins is God manifest in the flesh. He is Immanuel, God
with us. He is not a god, or one among many gods, He is the
everlasting Son of God. Per His assignment in the covenant of grace, He
took into union with His deity a real human body and soul so as to
suffer and die for our sins. We therefore read that, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). To deny either the reality of His deity or humanity is to rule out any possibility of salvation.
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To believe on Christ is to trust the power of His blood to satisfy the
demands of justice which required death for our sins. The Savior’s
blood atoned for the guilt of His people. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans
6:23). The blood of the Savior was shed to His death in order to
legally purchase the people given to Him in covenant mercy before the
foundation of the world. To add anything to the blood of the Savior is a
deadly addition. “It is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11).
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To believe on Christ is to rest in the merits of His imputed
righteousness. By His obedience in life and death, the Son of Man
obtained and established an everlasting righteousness for the people in
whose stead He lived and died. This is the garment of God’s salvation;
it is that which is credited to our account. The Savior is “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 23:6). To add personal obedience or righteousness to that of Christ’s righteousness will result in condemnation.
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To believe on Christ is to bow to His sovereign rule. The Redeemer is
the Lord, the Sovereign of the universe. Though already Lord because He
is God, as the Son of Man Who put away the sins of His people and
brought in everlasting righteousness for them, He merited the right to
be the Lord. All who come to Him in faith, submit to His authority.
They acknowledge His right to save or damn and in essence cry out, “If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean” (Matthew 8:2). Rebels who refuse to surrender to His authority cannot be saved.
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To believe on Christ is to rely upon the power of His intercession; He
is the only Mediator between God and men. He represents us before the
Father and deals with us on the behalf of God. He prays for us and
this gives us confidence to approach His throne of grace (Hebrews
4:16). He is our Advocate; John called Him, “Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
-preacher Jim Byrd of Thirteenth Street Baptist church located in Ashland, Kentucky USA
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