Faith in Jesus Christ

Faith in Jesus Christ
If you are familiar with the person of Jesus Christ, it is likely that you’ve also heard the phrase faith in Jesus Christ. What exactly does the phrase faith in Jesus mean? And, does this issue have any relevancy to life as we know it today? In this article, we will briefly explore this phrase with a goal of better understanding what it means and its implications.

Faith in Jesus Christ: Historical Context
To understand the phrase faith in Jesus Christ, it’s important that you first understand the historical context for the person of Jesus and his foundational teachings. Jesus Christ lived some two thousand years ago in the region of Israel. His biographers suggest that his birth was not of the usual nature. Instead, they propose that he was conceived through the supernatural efforts of God and that he was born of a virgin.

The next key element in understanding faith in Jesus Christ begins when Jesus was reported to be 30 years of age. At this point in his life, Jesus is reported to have chosen a group of 12 men to become his disciples (followers). In the 3 and a half years between this shift and his death, Jesus is reported to have done a great many miracles such as walking on water, healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, casting out demons from people, multiplying a handful of food to feed thousands, commanding the weather and it obeying, and even raising people from the dead. Besides these incredible acts, Jesus is reported as having taught many controversial things about the meaning of life, God and eternity. These teachings flew in the face of the religious traditions of the culture in which he lived.

Faith in Jesus Christ involves another critical element. Besides his controversial teachings, Jesus is reported as having made some profound claims that took his controversy even further. His biographers say that he claimed to be none other than God in human flesh (see John 10:25-42). He claimed that his purpose for coming into the world was to voluntarily give his life to pay for people’s wrong deeds and the judgment that was coming to everyone as a result of those wrongs. He claimed to have come to live a perfect life as God among us. Further, he is reported to have claimed that his sacrificial death was God’s way of restoring us back to God so that we could spend eternity with him in the life beyond this one.

The next element involved in understanding faith in Jesus surrounds his death. His biographers repeatedly tell how Jesus predicted his death and the manner in which it would happen (see John 3:10-15, 8:21-27, 12:20-36). Jesus indicated that he not only came to die on behalf of the human race but that the means of his death would be one of the cruelest and most gruesome of them all. He indicated that he would be executed by means of Roman crucifixion (being nailed to a wooden cross and hung to die a slow and painful death involving the loss of blood and suffocation). Hence, his biographers suggest that Jesus willingly and intentionally gave up his life. True to his word, Jesus was reported to have been crucified at the age of 33.

Another aspect of faith in Jesus Christ surrounds what happened in the days following his death. Not only had Jesus predicted his death but he also predicted that he would overcome the power of death and return back to life on the third day following his crucifixion. Here too, his biographers say that true to his word, his tomb was found empty on Sunday morning, the third day following his death. In the 40 days following his reported resurrection, over 500 of Jesus’ followers were reported to have seen and interacted with him. Then, Jesus is reported to have ascended into heaven.

So, the phrase faith in Jesus Christ first refers to someone who chooses to believe the historical evidence surrounding the supernatural conception, the virgin birth, the perfect life, the miraculous deeds, the teachings, claims, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus also involves choosing to believe his declarations for his purpose in coming. Jesus is reported to have defined his purpose in this manner, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 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." (John 3:16-18)

Faith in Jesus Christ: Personal Application
So, the phrase faith in Jesus is used to define people who choose to believe that Jesus Christ is who he claimed to be. His followers and biographers reported that on the third day following his execution, Jesus raised from the dead because he was God in human flesh. Are their reports enough to convince us to put our faith in Jesus? Well, his followers and biographers exhibited faith in Jesus themselves. They believed the things they reported about Jesus to the extent that they were willing to give their lives defending those beliefs. So, this presents a strong foundation for others to put their faith in Jesus too.

If Jesus Christ is who he claimed to be, there are many implications for what this means to us today. If all these things are true about Jesus, it means that God loves us, that God came in human flesh to save us and therefore we can trust that he has our very best in mind. That being the case, it means that we can put our faith in Jesus not only to save us from our mistakes but that we can trust him to guide us and lead us in all aspects of life. This means that we can worship him as our God and trust all aspects of our life to his leadership and direction.

An important question that needs to be considered is whether faith in Jesus Christ is simply an intellectual acceptance in the accuracy of historical documents (head knowledge). It's apparent that Jesus wasn't satisfied with his disciples (followers) simply making an intellectual decision about him. He told them to leave everything behind in order to follow him. The kind of faith he required of them is where he told them to go out and do the same kinds of things he did. So, when we use the phrase faith in Jesus, we are talking about something more than head knowledge. It's the kind of faith that changes how we live our lives. So, Faith in Jesus is a very practical thing changes the way we think, live and love.

Faith in Jesus Christ: Key References to Explore

1. Matthew 8:5-13 – Jesus tells of the greatest faith he has observed
2. Matthew 21:28-32 – Jesus talks about belief and obedience
3. Mark 2:1-12 – Jesus witnesses the faith of a group of friends
4. Luke 7:36-50 – Jesus tells a story about forgiving debt to illustrate forgiveness
5. John 10:25-42 – Jesus describes his relationship with his Father God

Faith in Jesus Christ: Launching Points

1. Have Faith (Trust) in God - Jesus
2. The Faith of the Centurion
3. The Faith of the Canaanite Woman
4. Does faith save us?
5. What is faith?