Benefits of Our Belief

Obviously one benefit of believing in God is to avoid dying in our sins. Jesus states:

“I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).

There is little doubt that our faith must be in Jesus if we are to have any hope of salvation. All of us want to avoid spending an eternity apart from God. But as we mature, I believe our faith lies much deeper. There are also certain positive motivational factors that should serve as an impetus for our belief in God to become stronger and stronger as each day passes.

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

The more we put our trust in Him as our Savior, the more we will seek to please Him, hopefully. That we are rewarded and because our love for Him increases as a result should be more of a motivator for our belief than merely seeking to avoid hell. This should come as we mature spiritually. There are a lot of rewards that come with our faith, as the Hebrews writer suggests. Salvation is certainly something that we look forward to in the next life that has far more to offer than this life. However, let us never forget how much we can enjoy our status as citizens of God’s kingdom in the here and now also. Jesus and His apostles, throughout His ministry, in preaching on the kingdom, promoted it as a citizenship to be gained and enjoyed in this life. Salvation is something we can relish today. And this in turn, should effect how we choose to live.

Obviously there are many passages that suggest that we can lose this status as citizens when we cease to live in such a way that confesses Christ (Matthew 10:32-33). Paul implies that when our heart is not set on serving Him, we no longer make Him our Lord (Romans 10:9-13). We "call on the name of the Lord" by living in such a way that reflects Jesus as our Lord. So, as we become a part of God’s family, when we know we are walking in the light (1 John 1:7), we have every reason to rejoice with confidence that we are in God’s grace. And man cannot take this away (Romans 8:31-39).

Because of God’s grace, in addition to the ultimate reward of an eternity in Heaven, we can enjoy the benefits that come with our belief now. Our faith in God allows us to cope with the evil, pain, and suffering in this world. It allows us to not fear our own death. It gives us the security of rejoicing when a loved one leaves this life and goes on to a much better one. Our belief in God hopefully changes our entire perspective on life. It allows us to look at things differently so as to not be so tied to this world. It gives us every opportunity to put our stock in the “bigger picture,” a much greater citizenship than what this world has to offer. Our belief helps us to see that this world was never intended to be our home.

Thank God I can live a life of rejoicing, with a positive mindset rather than focusing on all the negative in this world. I am so happy that I can enjoy a life where I can optimistically look forward to the next one.