Belief THAT or Belief IN?
All the cadets have graduated, and everyone has left the briefing room now except for you and Jason. He is paging through Detective Jeffries’s Bible, waiting for an opportunity to ask a question.
By now you should have completed the activity sheets and fill-ins, so be sure to watch the last video and print out the graduation certificate (or use the one at the end of this book)!
“Based on the evidence, I believe the Bible is telling me the truth about Jesus. Does that mean I’m a Christian?” Jason asks.
“Not necessarily,” replies Jeffries as he opens the Bible to the gospel of John chapter 3. “Jesus said there’s a difference between belief that and belief in. Listen to this:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Then Jeffries explains, “If you search through the Bible to see what it says about Jesus, you’ll eventually end up believing that Jesus lived, worked miracles, preached sermons, rose from the dead, and is the Son of God. In other words, you’ll have ‘belief that.’” Jeffries continues, “But Jesus said that ‘whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.’ There’s a difference.” Jeffries points to the open Bible. “To have ‘belief in,’ you need to search through the Bible to see what it says about you.”
“What do you mean?” inquires Jason.
“Jason,” asks Detective Jeffries, “are you a good person?”
Jason thinks about it a minute. “Yes, I try to be.”
“Ever make a mistake? Are you perfect?” Jeffries asks.
Jason understands what Jeffries is talking about. “No, I’m not perfect.”
Jeffries smiles. “Neither am I. But if there is an all-powerful God who can create everything from nothing, do you think a God like that could be perfect?”
“Yes, that seems reasonable,” says Jason.
Jeffries’s expression becomes more serious. “Then there’s the problem. If God is perfect, then how can we ever live with Him in eternity when we are not perfect? Our imperfection would spoil God’s perfection. The Bible says we are all imperfect, and worse yet, our mistakes, whether large or small, must be punished.”
Jason looks a bit worried.
“But here’s the good news,” adds Jeffries as his serious face turns soft. “The Bible also says God came to us in the form of a man named Jesus. You know, the same one we have been investigating. He lived the perfect life you and I could never live. Then He willingly accepted the punishment we deserve. If we accept what Jesus did for us on the cross, God will forgive us since Jesus paid the price for us. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we finally have ‘belief in.’ See the difference?”
It’s time to investigate the gospel. Read Romans 10:9 and think about what God says:
“Yes, I think I get it,” answers Jason.
“Great,” remarks Jeffries as he gathers up his Bible and the skateboard. “Putting your trust in Jesus is a decision each of us has to make on our own. Give it some thought and then tell God what you’ve decided. In the meantime, I expect to see both of you here at the station once in a while.”
“You will!” you say, as you think deeply about what you’ve learned from Detective Jeffries.