Jesus and Belief

The word or variation of the word "believe" is used 280 times in the Bible.

It is used 236 times in the New Testament alone.

Jesus used it 68 times in the first 4 books of the New Testament.

Here are the verses where Jesus specifically says "believe" or "belief" or some variation thereof :

Matthew 8:13
And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

Matthew 9:28
And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

Matthew 18:6
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Matthew 21:25
The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

Matthew 21:32
For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

Matthew 24:23
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

Matthew 24:26
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

Mark 1:15
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 5:36
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

Mark 9:23
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

Mark 9:42
And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

Mark 11:23
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Mark 11:24
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Mark 16:16
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Mark 16:17
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

Luke 8:12
Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

Luke 8:13
They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

Luke 8:50
But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.

Luke 22:67
Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:

Luke 24:25
Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

John 1:50
Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

John 3:12
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

John 3:15
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16
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 3:18
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 4:21
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

John 4:48
Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

John 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 5:38
And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

John 5:44
How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

John 5:46
For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.

John 5:47
But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

John 6:29
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

John 6:35
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

John 6:36
But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

John 6:40
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:47
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

John 6:64
But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

John 7:38
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

John 8:24
I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

John 8:45
And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

John 8:46
Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

John 9:35
Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

John 10:25
Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

John 10:26
But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

John 10:37
If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

John 10:38
But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

John 11:25
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

John 11:26
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

John 11:40
Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

John 11:42
And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

John 12:36
While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

John 12:44
Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.

John 12:46
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

Continued in next post...

...Continued from previous post

John 12:47
And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

John 13:19
Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

John 14:1
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

John 14:10
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

John 14:11
Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake

John 14:12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

John 14:29
And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

John 16:9
Of sin, because they believe not on me;

John 16:27
For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

John 16:31
Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?

John 17:8
For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

John 17:20
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

John 17:21
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

John 20:29
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

My point in all of this should be clear :

Believe in God, and believe in Jesus, and you shall have the free gift of eternal life.
Unfortunately, some STILL won't get it.

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

reply to post by graphuto

In the Greek of the John references, it's possible to see a distinction between "believing in" and "believing that".
Believing that is about accepting the truth of a statement.
Believing in is about trusting a person.
If you look through these references, you see that believing in (i.e.Jesus) is the most important feature of Faith, while believing that is secondary, and follows on from the first.

I'd rather believe in myself and those that I have in my life that give me through our interaction reason to believe in them; Believe in an idea of your christ and your shepherd God which both exist as constructs of other religious ideas and beliefs just because they say "believe" a lot? No.

reply to post by Strayed


Everyone is free to do and believe as they please. This is MY belief.
MY belief tells me that there is something bad in store for those that don't believe, and I don't want this for ANYONE. My belief tells me to spread the good news of the Gospel : Believe in/on Jesus and the Word of God.

If I'm wrong, no harm, no foul. No harm or hurt will come to someone who believes in God and Jesus.
If I'm right, why risk it? It's such a simple thing to do.

Not to say that this is the reason that I chose to believe, but this is the way my brain works when trying in earnest to convince someone else.

reply to post by graphuto


It is because you quote a book that is simply someone else's interpretation.

If you want to find the TRUE God, look for it in yourself, don't follow someone else's lead.

Too many issues with the Bible, it's creation and alteration for it to be used as any form of evidence what-so-ever. Main stream religions destroy spirituality and seem to only help close minds to an infinite series of possibilities.

reply to post by iRoyalty


The more vehemently people protest Jesus and the Bible, the more it strengthens my resolve.

reply to post by graphuto


There are many different religions in the world, all followed by many intelligent educated people. Isn't it simply arrogant and narrow-minded to suggest that all of them apart from Christianity are wrong?

reply to post by graphuto


I'm not protesting Jesus, I genuinely believe he existed and I believe he was an infinitely wise man who's message should be taken to heart.

However following the bible down to the letter is not something I could condone. The Bible is written by MEN and men have corruptable hearts.

If you believe yourself to be a good human being then you should know what God has in store for you, and having doubts are natural, you should always analyse any doubts.

I have never been a Christian and nor will I ever, but I do nothing but good on this earth and I do all I can to help where I can. I do not need a book to tell me to be good and I would not tell others they have it wrong, everyone finds God in their own way, and that is smarter than following a herd of people.

What you have to realise is that a lot of money has been made out of Christians, people will continue to profit from religious people, put themselves in positions of management of the faith to help capitalise from them. This has happened for the past two thousand years, especially in the 8th century.

All I'm saying is that there is a possibility that the Bible has been corrupted by men with sinful hearts, it is best not to conform to mainstream religions and worship God in your own way.

reply to post by flammadraco


What other religions claim exclusivity? In how many places in the other religions "holy texts" do they prove themselves time and time again?

reply to post by iRoyalty


I don't know if you know much Bible, but just about all of it is contrary to "mainstream religious doctrine." In fact, the Word and the Gospel divides, and teaches against most of it. In numerous interactions, Jesus time and time again rebukes the Pharisees because of their ways and their doctrine.

reply to post by graphuto


Christians believe in Christ largely for psychological reasons: because it comforts them, because they were brought up that way or because they are afraid not to believe in case they go to Hell.

graphuto
reply to post by iRoyalty

 

I don't know if you know much Bible, but just about all of it is contrary to "mainstream religious doctrine." In fact, the Word and the Gospel divides, and teaches against most of it. In numerous interactions, Jesus time and time again rebukes the Pharisees because of their ways and their doctrine.

edit on 22-2-2014 by graphuto because: (no reason given)

Yet the church has fully embraced a mainstream role.

Does that alone not tell you that the way the mainstream churches are taking the faith, is not the path to salvation?

reply to post by flammadraco


The Bible itself states :

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

First one must put away their pride, and realize that they aren't their own Creator.

iRoyalty

Yet the church has fully embraced a mainstream role.

Does that alone not tell you that the way the mainstream churches are taking the faith, is not the path to salvation?

It tells me that the mainstream churches are deceived, and haven't read much Bible.

reply to post by graphuto


God, particularly as depicted in the Old Testament, is a vengeful, genocidal, pestilential megalomaniac who does not act morally. Furthermore his restrictions on such things as sexual behaviour, abortion and euthanasia are undermining of human autonomy.

Christianity has been responsible for a huge amount of killing and wars throughout history and the newspapers are full of supposed Christians who are paedophiles, liars, adulterers, murderers and abusers. If Christianity were true it would make people better.

Christians do not consistently apply the Bible’s commands but pick and choose what they want. For example they forbid sex outside marriage but are happy to eat shellfish and wear polyester although these are forbidden in exactly the same books of the Bible. Furthermore Christians disagree profoundly amongst themselves about what is right and wrong.

Many events in the Bible, such as the creation narrative, the flood, much Old Testament history and the Gospel accounts are not backed up by science or archaeology and much of the history is not even internally consistent. They were also written long after the events they claim to describe are are in the main just 'stories'.

If God is omnipotent, omniscient and wholly benevolent then he would eradicate evil and suffering but the world is full of it. Therefore he is either not all powerful, not all knowing, not benevolent or (most likely) does not actually exist.

graphuto
It tells me that the mainstream churches are deceived, and haven't read much Bible.

Me too, which is why I will not convert to Christianity. It has been used and abused by power hungry men, God is something you should discover on your own terms, not on someone else's.

reply to post by flammadraco


Please go read the "Religion, Faith, And Theology 101" sticky and please kindly stop from trying to derail my thread.

We aren't here to discuss whether God is real or not.

reply to post by flammadraco


Yes, very good point. If I wrote a story now about something that happened in Victorian times and tried to state is was true, I would get laughed at.

This is why I believe that these stories were written to control people who are religious, control their actions so as to not achieve the full potential of spirituality that human beings are capable of.

iRoyalty

Me too, which is why I will not convert to Christianity. It has been used and abused by power hungry men, God is something you should discover on your own terms, not on someone else's.

Who said anything about Christianity in the terms you're thinking of? The way Christianity is PRACTICED and the way Christianity is PREACHED is quite a bit different and off base from the way it SHOULD be.

Obviously the Catholic Church in the Dark Ages killing and torturing people were NOT following the golden rule...
Obviously the pedophiles and money grubbers are not following the golden rule...

Etc, etc, ad infinitum