For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.   John 3:16-18 NKJV

Many of us learned to recite John 3:16 in Sunday School while we were still in grammar school. But do you believe it? I want you to re-read our Scripture passage. We can memorize Scripture all day long and be well versed in what the Bible teaches, but it does us no good unless we truly believe it.

We live our lives according to what we believe. If we believe the sky is falling, we will live always looking for cover. If we believe the earth is flat, we will be afraid to venture out very far. If we believe our sin goes unpunished, we will spend our lives fulfilling our fleshly desires.

If we believe the Bible, we will believe that every word in it is the true, infallible word of God. We will believe 2 Timothy 3:16-17 which tells us that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. If we believe the Bible, the way we live our lives will reflect that. We will take Ephesians 5:1 seriously when it tells us that we are to be imitators of Christ.

We will believe that God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die a horrible, humiliating death on the cross. We will believe that all of us sin and are in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23). We will believe that our sin will not go unpunished. Romans 6:23 tells us the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So, what do you believe? Do you believe the Bible? Do you believe it’s God’s Holy Word? Do you believe you are a sinner? Do you believe you need a Savior?

Now consider how you answered these questions. No one knows but you, unless you chose to share your answers. Are you living that way? Are you living like you believe in God? Are you living like you believe in His almighty power? Are you living like you believe what the Bible tells us about His being a just God and punishing our sin?

Many people claim to believe in God, but live their lives as though He is something from a fairy tale, like a fairy Godfather. Many people claim to believe the Bible, but live their lives as though it is some kind of bedtime story book.

We live our lives according to what we believe. I encourage you today to take a good look at your life. Do you have unrepentant sin in your life? Maybe it’s because you think you are so special that God will just give you a free pass. I told myself that lie for quite a while. But, the Bible tells us God is no respecter of persons, He treats everyone equally. We are told in Acts 10:34 and Romans 2:11 God shows no partiality. Galatians 3:28 tells us there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and female for we are all one in Christ.

We can look at someone who thinks the sky is falling and think they are a few fries shy of their happy meal. But my friend, if you are living like God and His Word are not real you are worse off than they are. You are in for a huge disappointment. There will come a day when you will stand in judgment for your beliefs.

If you don’t know what you believe, then I encourage you to get down on your knees and talk to God about it. Ask for wisdom and guidance from Him. We are told in James 1:5 that anyone who lacks wisdom can ask God who gives freely and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Those who know you, know what you believe because it is represented in the way you live your live. If the way you talk and behave and treat others reflects anything other than a strong belief and relationship with Jesus Christ, you may want to rethink that.

Have a great day!