Every Day Is Another Day to Believe in Jesus – Words of Grace – August 20, 2021

Every Day Is Another Day to Believe in Jesus – Words of Grace – August 20, 2021

Sometimes when we are trying to make a point, we end up undoing another point that needs to remain. I really don’t want to do that. So, let me say up front that the point I want to make about ongoing, growing, deepening faith is not meant to undo the reality of initial, saving faith.

Saving faith, placed in Jesus Christ, his atoning work on the cross and his resurrected life, results in salvation (Romans 10). This is a gracious truth worth believing and protecting.

Now, here’s another point about faith. Faith grows and deepens in response to Jesus as he reveals himself to us in Scripture. We see this clearly in John 1 and 2.

In John 1, the first followers of Jesus hear the testimony about him from John the Baptist. They come to see him as the Messiah, the One sent from God to save his people. Their faith in Jesus leads them to make this confession and to follow him.

Then we come to John 2. John tells us that three days after these first followers start their journey with Jesus, that Jesus performs his first sign. He turns water into wine at a wedding feast. This sign shows the glory of Jesus.

The difference between a sign and a mere display of power is that the sign points to something significant. Turning the water into wine was significant because it communicated the glory of Jesus. Jesus performed this sign to show that he is the fulfillment of all that came before him, that he is the final Word, the sure Way, the complete Truth, and the gift of Life.

When the disciples, who already believed in Jesus as the Messiah and started following him, saw the glory of Jesus in the sign, they “believed in him” (John 2:11).

The point to take away from this statement of belief is that every day is another day to believe in Jesus. The point is not that we must be saved again and again, or that we need to secure our salvation over and over. That would be a miserable way to live. The point is that as we see more and more of the glory of Jesus, our faith grows, deepens, and is confirmed as being alive.

Along the way in the Gospel of John, Jesus Christ is revealed. And as he is, his disciples deepen in faith. John even tells us that the purpose for writing the Gospel and recording the signs of Jesus is that we would believe and continue to do so (John 20:30-31).

Today, tomorrow, and Sunday when we gather as a congregation, may we see the glory of Jesus in Scripture and believe in him.

Join me this weekend in prayer for saving and growing faith among the people at Grace Community Church.

-Scott