Believe in God or believing in His existence?

Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

A lot of people I know believe that salvation is easy to obtain. Salvation is a precious gift that should not be taken for granted. It is not easy to be saved. A lot of people also read the scriptures that states that to be saved we must believe in Jesus. They misinterpret the scriptures and conclude that to be saved you must simply believe that Jesus is God and that God exists. That is incorrect.When you look in any dictionary you will find that the word belief has many meanings. The one that most people associate the scriptures with is "to believe as true." That is the most common and most known meaning of the word believe. However, there are many other meanings to this well-known word. Before you can understand what this scripture (Acts 16:31) and others mean you need to understand what the word believe means.

   To believe means to trust someone, to have assurance that the person can do something for you, to have confidence in someone or something, to have faith in someone according to the dictionary. In my own personal words I would say that to believe in God means to trust wholly in Him. To be obedient to His will and to follow Him where ever He leads you. To have a personal relationship with Him knowing that He is your Father and you are His child.

  Acts 16:31 is speaking about these things, ALL of them, as part of obtaining salvation. All of those definitions of the word belief is what we need to be saved. The scripture says " Believe in the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved." I want you to note the word "shalt." That word is very important in this passage. In other words, the scripture says "... you will be saved." As most people profess, once they believe in God they are saved. They are incorrect. The scripture says "believe in the Lord Jesus and you WILL be saved." That means that you are on the correct road to salvation but you have not yet been saved.

   That shows us that we must do something else to be saved. Many people would say to me that "salvation is by grace through faith." They are correct but as James said "faith without works are dead." How can you believe that Jesus can save you, and when He tells you to to do something for your salvation, you say that you will not? Jesus is saving you by His grace and you need your faith to be saved. But when He tells you to get up and do something you must do it for your salvation! Saul was on his way to Damascus when he was knocked off his horse by Jesus and blinded. Saul (Paul) immediately believed that Jesus was God but he didn't profess to be alright. He said, "Lord what wilt though have me to do?" We need to be like Paul and ask God what He wants us to do.

   Be available to do whatever God wants you to do. Read His Holy word so that you may know what you need to do to be saved. Never let anyone tell you that salvation is just believing that God exists. It is just a part of it. When Nicodemus spoke to Jesus (John 3) he asked Jesus what he could do to be saved. Jesus answered him (and you!) and said that you must be born of the water and of the Spirit. Hearken unto His word and do His will so that you may be saved. Study to show thyself approved unto God. If you don't know what it means to be born of the water and of the Spirit, study your Bible so that you will know what it means and you will be saved.