John 3:12-18 Believing_

If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John‬ ‭3:12-18‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Believing is powerful. It is not the same as “confessing” or acknowledging. One is done with the heart, the other with the head. Although believing results in acknowledging what I believe, acknowledging does not result in belief. Why the distinction? Because there is living faith and dead faith. One manifests in a transformed value system and behaviors that speak of the reality of that faith. The other is like a check box on a form, something I say is true, but there is nothing that comes from my life which indicates that it is. James digs into this saying:

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. James‬ ‭2:14-17‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

He continues this line of thinking through verse 26, with the goal of showing that real faith results in real action.

The Greek word for faith from pistis, carries the meaning: “to put in trust with,” to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. Credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well-being to Christ).

Paul discusses faith in Hebrews:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

There are many things to be said about what faith is, or isn’t. But in John 3, it was at the root of Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus. He was knocking at the door, but something was stopping Nicodemus from opening it and walking in.

What precisely was Jesus asking Nicodemus to believe? John writes, “whoever believes in him.” The choice was not a question whether Jesus was real or not. He was standing right there! Nicodemus could pinch him. And he wasn’t encouraging him to believe in a movement, a system, or even a way of life. There were already plenty of extreme choices available to Jews. The request was simple: believe that Jesus was the “anointed” one, the Christ, the Messiah (translations for “anointing”). The one the nation had heard through the prophets that God would send to redeem. Push aside the misinformation, the creativity and wishes about him constructed throughout the ages, the fantasized redeemer that the Jews had manufactured in their mind, and accept the flesh and blood that is standing before you. When Jesus passes through your personal burden of proof — embrace him for who you can clearly see him to be — the anointed savior.

Is faith something that may be turned on an off like a light switch? Every person has a threshold of proof that must be met when told something. And the more impact that believing a particular thing has on my personal life, the higher that threshold is. But believing something that intellectually aligns still doesn’t settle the matter – Nicodemus saw the signs, heard the teaching, understood that Jesus could be the Messiah, yet he still had difficulty believing. The heart is complicated and wants many things. The more one has, the higher position, the broader social standing, the value or “love” I have for something outside of a preeminent love, affection, and honoring of God, the more difficult it is to see and believe.

The ability to see and believe something relating to the kingdom of heaven is a gift. It starts with the recognition of who I am. Sounds deep, I know. Look what Paul said about it:

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. ‭Romans‬ ‭12:3‬ ‭NASB‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

There is a “self attitude” that people have that regulates the ability to see (spiritually). At it’s core is the disposition of the heart. Whether wealthy and influential, or poor and avoided, it makes little difference. Pride does not pay attention to status when it blinds our eyes. In Matthew 13 Jesus explains this principle in detail in the parable of the sower. He makes it clear that faith is regulated by the condition of our heart. The soil represents the heart, and its quality and preparation determine the number of crops produced. For the soil that is not prepared, the seed, although freely given and fully able to produce, is actually snatched away by none other than – the evil one.

So faith, or belief, is the result of many things: the seed being freely sown, the values I’m currently holding in my heart, the willingness I have to let it take root, and the cost I’m willing to pay to nurture and grow it.

I love how Jesus frames this up:

Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. Matthew‬ ‭13:11‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Being able to believe is a gift.

There are many things to believe about the kingdom of heaven. Just like seed on earth is extraordinarily abundant, so are the seeds of the kingdom. But it all begins with recognizing the identity of our Savior. Step one: believe that Jesus was sent for my well-being (John 3:16). Sometimes the soil needs to be dug up, the weeds need to be pulled and land prepared for this to happen. And in my own heart, He encourages me to count all as lost, even as far as hating my own life. Why? So that there is room in my heart for something better.