Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved ~ Acts 16:31
Recently, as he is wont to do, David came home with a selection of used bibles. One of which was an original edition of the first Amplified New Testament, a translation I’ve always valued and used.
As I was reading the introduction to this bible, written by Francis E. Siewert, she noted the difficulty in expressing many Greek words to an understandable English language. The above verse is one such difficulty, and I quote ~
…twenty two New Testament verses out of twenty-four (note this was written in 1954) consulted render ‘believe’. Yet they do so because there is no single better word in the English. The Greek word is ‘pisteuo’ and means, “to adhere to, cleave to; to trust, to have faith in; to rely on” - which summed up in, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” means an absolute personal reliance upon the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour.
What a better time and season than Christmas to examine what our trust is actually in. Websters dictionary today defines the word believe ~ ‘to consider to be true or honest’, which doesn’t necessary contain the same demand.
Let us consider now this Greek word salvation from HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 4991 sōtēría (from 4982 /sṓzō, "to save, rescue") – salvation, i.e. God's rescue which delivers believers out of destruction and into His safety. See 4982 (sōzō).
Strongs Concordance shows sótéria: deliverance, salvation
Usage: welfare, prosperity, deliverance, preservation, salvation, safety.
Psalm 107:20 tells us, He sent his word and healed and delivered them from their destruction, more in a moment on that thought. Today, there is much temptation to be our own saviour. The prophet Jeremiah warned the trust placed in anything other than the name of the Lord was guaranteed failure. Peter and John stand before the council in the book of Acts and testify, “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved”, chapter four, verse twelve.
The infirmity of man is to trust in himself. I’m not suggesting that there are not things we are responsible for in the place of care, protection and provision. Please don’t read that, but always our eyes must be looking to Him in every situation as the one who is our Saviour and this only comes through the ‘believing’ process.
Again, Peter and John from the book of Acts, chapter three, encounter the lame man and bring salvation to him. Testifying before the crowds that it was not by their own power of holiness that produced the miracle, but rather the name of Jesus and faith in that name had given him a ‘perfect wholeness’ before them all.
We all desire to have ‘perfect wholeness’ in our lives, spirit, soul and body. We all have many things, when examined, we could find a greater trust in than what is supposed to be given them. Unfortunately we don’t always see it on the good and comfortable side of life. It shows only when these things are removed, that the heart of man is exposed ~ again, the infirmity of man.
How much better we would be to examine issues daily in order to move ourselves to a place of pure and holy thankfulness for what He has given and provided. To be always mindful that He is the one that daily feeds us with the needed manna to be delivered from all destruction.
Taking the time to sit at his feet and listen to our word for the day guarantees us strength to walk in a place of life, liberty, joy and peace, found only in Him,
There is no other name, and we must believe on His name to be saved.