Lesson 5: We believe in Jesus by faith as we read about Him in the Bible.

Here is lesson five.

Lesson 5: We believe in Jesus by faith as we read about Him in the Bible.

References: John 20:31, Hebrews 11:1-11, John 3:36, Romans 1:5

The entire Bible was written for us, so that we might believe in Jesus and be saved. The Bible is a beautiful love story of God and His people. John 20:31 says, “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Believing in Jesus means that we have faith in Him. Trusting that He is who He says He is. To have faith is to have a confidence in something, to trust in it and to believe it as truth. So if we have faith in God then we believe Him and trust Him with everything. We can see in the Bible lots of people who trusted God; there are also lots of people who did not have faith in Him too. But God wants us to believe in Him. In Hebrews it talks about many people in the Old Testament that believed in God and how God took care of His children. Faith is hoping in God even though we do not see Him. Listen to this Scripture passage and see some of the people who had faith. It is not all of the people in the Old Testament, but a few. (Read and explain as you go) Hebrews 11 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 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. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.”

God wants us to believe in Him through our faith. Hebrews 11:6 said that without faith it is impossible to please God. We have to have faith in God to please Him. But believing is the first part. Then out of our faith we have to obey God and follow Him. All of the people that were spoken about in Hebrews had faith, but they also obeyed what God told them to do because of their faith. In John 3:36 it says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” That means that we need to obey what He has commanded us, or we do not believe in Him. The Apostle Paul said that his mission was to "bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations" (Romans 1:5).

God has made Himself known to us through the Bible, through His creation, and through other people. God has given us the Bible, so we might know Him. We can read about Jesus and see all the things He did in the Gospels. All of this was written down, so that we might believe in Him and have eternal life. Eternal life means that we will never die. Our body will die, but our spirit will live forever with God if we believe in Jesus and put our faith in Him.