What does the word “Believe” mean in
the Bible?
John 6
28Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God
requires?"
29Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
The work God requires is to believe
in the one He has sent. What does this
type of believing entail?
The conclusion of this document is
this: In regards to initially and
continually receiving salvation through Christ, true believing, like true
faith, is accompanied by actions, and synonymous with obedience. I use only
scripture and biblical dictionaries to prove this definition below.
Nelson's Illustrated Bible
Dictionary defines it this way:
BELIEVE,
BELIEVERS
To
place one's trust in God's truth; one who takes God at His word [in their life]
and trusts in Him for salvation.
Mere assent to God's truth is not
saving faith,
according to the Bible <John 8:31‑46; Acts 8:13‑24; James 2:14‑26>.
(from
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
(Copyright
(C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
John
8:31‑32
31To
the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my
teaching, you are really my disciples.
32Then
you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
(NIV)
Acts
13Simon
himself “believed” and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere,
astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
(NIV)
However,
Simon later he tried to buy the Holy Spirit!
James
2:14‑17
14What
good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can
such faith save him?
15Suppose
a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
16If
one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well
fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
17In
the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
(NIV)
John 6
28Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God
requires?"
29Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
Many read this scripture with a
falsely incomplete definition of the word believe in mind. They think that belief is nothing more than
“mere mental assent”. But if Jesus had
intended this modern definition, then He would contradict himself and other
Bible writers. Yes, mental assent is
required for salvation, but that is not all that Jesus is referring to when he
uses the word “believe”.
In other places, belief is not the
only word prescribed to receive salvation through Christ.
Mark
1:15
"The time has come," he said. "The
(Whole Chapter: Mark
1 In context: Mark
1:14-16)
Romans
16:26
but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command
of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey
him–
(Whole Chapter: Romans
16 In context: Romans
16:25-27)
1
Corinthians 15:2
By this gospel you are saved, if you
hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed
in vain.
(Whole Chapter: 1
Corinthians 15 In context: 1
Corinthians 15:1-3)
Hebrews
10:39
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe
and are saved.
(Whole Chapter: Hebrews
10 In context: Hebrews
10:38-40)
So in regards to initially and
continually receiving salvation through Christ, true believing, like true
faith, is accompanied by actions, and synonymous with obedience.
Here are some examples of the Greek
word for believe (“pisteuo”) in places where it was not translated as
“believe”, but as other English words.
It means trust (for your life), follow, obey, and ‘give in to”.
Hebrews
3:18
And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those
who disobeyed[
(Whole Chapter: Hebrews
3 In context: Hebrews
3:17-19)
Luke
11:22
22But
when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in
which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.
(NIV)
Acts
37After
this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much
people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed
him, were dispersed.
(KJV)
Acts
21Don't
give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in
ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have
killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their
request."
(NIV)
Rom
2:8
8But
for those who are self‑seeking and who reject the truth and follow
evil, there will be wrath and anger.
(NIV)
Gal
5:7
7You
were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying
the truth?
(NIV)
James
3:3
3When
we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we
can turn the whole animal.
(NIV)
Here are examples of true belief
being accompanied by action on the part of the believer:
Psalm
78:32
In spite of all this, they kept on
sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
(Whole Chapter: Psalm
78 In context: Psalm
78:31-33)
Jonah
3:5
The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from
the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
(Whole Chapter: Jonah
3 In context: Jonah
3:4-6)
Mark
16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized
will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
(Whole Chapter: Mark
16 In context: Mark
16:15-17)
John
16
8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt[1]
in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard
to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no
longer;
Acts
4:32
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of
his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
(Whole Chapter: Acts
4 In context: Acts
4:31-33)
Acts
19:18
Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil
deeds.
(Whole Chapter: Acts
19 In context: Acts
19:17-19)
Acts
21:20
When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: "You see,
brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are
zealous for the law.
(Whole Chapter: Acts
21 In context: Acts
21:19-21)
Vine's Expository Dictionary of
Biblical Words defines the term this way:
BELIEF,
BELIEVE, BELIEVERS
1.
pisteuo ^4100^, "to believe," also "to be persuaded of,"
and hence, "to place confidence in, to trust," signifies, in this
sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere credence. It is most
(from
Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
(Copyright
(C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
BELIEF,
BELIEVE, BELIEVERS
A.
Verbs.
1.
pisteuo ^4100^, "to believe," also "to be persuaded of,"
and hence, "to place confidence in, to trust," signifies, in this
sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere
credence. It is most frequent in the writings of the apostle John,
especially the Gospel. He does not use the noun (see below). For the Lord's
first use of the verb, see <
2.
peitho ^3982^, "to persuade," in the middle and passive voices
signifies "to suffer oneself to be persuaded," e. g., <Luke 16:31;
Heb. 13:18>; it is sometimes translated "believe" in the RV, but
not in <Acts 17:4>, RV, "were persuaded," and <27:11>,
"gave (more) heed"; in
<Acts 28:24>, "believed. See AGREE, ASSURE, OBEY, PERSUADE, TRUST, YIELD.
Note:
For apisteo, the negative of No. 1, and apeitheo, the negative of No. 2, see
DISBELIEVE, DISOBEDIENT.
B.
Noun.
pistis
^4102^, "faith," is translated "belief" in <Rom.
Note:
In <1 Cor. 9:5> the word translated "believer" (RV), is
adelphe, "a sister," so <
C.
Adjective. pistos ^4103^, (a) in the
active sense means "believing, trusting"; (b) in the passive sense,
"trusty, faithful,
trustworthy." It is translated "believer" in <2 Cor.
Notes:
(1) The corresponding negative verb is apisteo, <2 Tim.
(2)
The negative noun apistia, "unbelief," is used twice in Matthew <
(3)
The adjective apistos is translated "unbelievers" in <1 Cor.
6:6>, and <2 Cor. 6:14>; in <v. 15>, RV, "unbeliever"
(KJV, "infidel"); so in <1 Tim. 5:8>; "unbelieving"
in <1 Cor. 7:12‑15; 14:22‑ 24; 2 Cor. 4:4; Titus 1:15; Rev.
21:8>; "that believe not" in <1 Cor. 10:27>. In the Gospels
it is translated "faithless" in <Matt.
(4)
Plerophoreo, in <Luke 1:1> (KJV, "are most surely believed,"
lit., "have had full course"), the RV renders "have been
fulfilled." See FULFILL, KNOW, PERSUADE, PROOF.
(from
Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
(Copyright
(C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
John
1:12
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave
the right to become children of God–
(Whole Chapter: John
1 In context: John
1:11-13)
John
3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[
(Whole Chapter: John
3 In context: John
3:15-17)
John
3:18
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of
God's one and only Son.[ 3:18 Or God's only begotten Son]
(Whole Chapter: John
3 In context: John
3:17-19)
John
3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the
Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."[
(Whole Chapter: John
3 In context: John
3:35-37)
John
5:24
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who
sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from
death to life.
(Whole Chapter: John
5 In context: John
5:23-25)
John
5:38
nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.
(Whole Chapter: John
5 In context: John
5:37-39)
John
6:40
For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes
in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
(Whole Chapter: John
6 In context: John
6:39-41)
John
6:47
I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.
(Whole Chapter: John
6 In context: John
6:46-48)
John
8:24
I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I
am ,[
(Whole Chapter: John
8 In context: John
8:23-25)
Luke
8:12
Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes
away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be
saved.
(Whole Chapter: Luke
8 In context: Luke
8:11-13)
Luke
8:13
Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it,
but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of
testing they fall away.
(Whole Chapter: Luke
8 In context: Luke
8:12-14)
Luke
12:46
The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and
at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place
with the unbelievers.
(Whole Chapter: Luke
12 In context: Luke
12:45-47)
John
8:31
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my
teaching, you are really my disciples.
(Whole Chapter: John
8 In context: John
8:30-32)
John
10:26
but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.
(Whole Chapter: John
10 In context: John
10:25-27)
John
12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me
should stay in darkness.
(Whole Chapter: John
12 In context: John
12:45-47)
Acts
10:43
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him
receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
(Whole Chapter: Acts
10 In context: Acts
10:42-44)
2
Thessalonians 2:12
and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but
have delighted in wickedness.
(Whole Chapter: 2
Thessalonians 2 In context: 2
Thessalonians 2:11-13)
1
John 5:5
Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is
the Son of God.
(Whole Chapter: 1
John 5 In context: 1
John 5:4-6)
Here, believers can also be
translated as “faithful”:
Ephesians
1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus,[
1:1 Some early manuscripts do not have in Ephesus.] the faithful[ 1:1 Or believers who are] in Christ Jesus:
(Whole Chapter: Ephesians
1 In context: Ephesians
1:1-2)
James
1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres
under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has
promised to those who love him.
(Whole Chapter: James
1 In context: James
1:11-13)
Revelation
2:10
Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will
put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten
days. Be faithful, even to the point
of death, and I will give you the crown
of life.
(Whole Chapter: Revelation
2 In context: Revelation
2:9-11)
So, when we say that someone is a “believer”,
their actions should validate this testimony.
How can you really know who your Christian brother is and who is
not? Click here to find out.
Acts
18:27
When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to
the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those
who by grace
had believed.
(Whole Chapter: Acts
18 In context: Acts
18:26-28)