What You Believe

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Your beliefs drive your actions. Consider John the Baptist, who believed that God called him to “give people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins” and would prepare him to do so (Luke 1:77, NASB). As a result, John lived a rather austere life in the deserts until it the time came for him to appear publicly as God’s prophet to His people (v. 80). Even though his was a lonely voice proclaiming the word of the Lord, he believed the message and spoke it boldly as he led people to repentance through baptism. After his ministry gained momentum, many people vocally wondered if John was the anticipated Messiah, but he believed in One greater than him, so he refuted any claims that he was the One. John baptized people with water in preparation for the One to come who would offer spiritual cleansing because he believed what God told him (Jn. 1:33). John didn’t believe himself worthy to baptize Jesus, so he balked a little at first, but because he believed God had a plan, he agreed to baptize Jesus when He asked. Because he believed, John had eyes to see the Spirit rest on Jesus and identify Him as the One who had come to baptize with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33). Because he believed God sent him as a prophet, he reproved Herod for sinning flagrantly even though it came at great personal cost (Luke 3:18-20). Because he believed God should be obeyed, he lost his life at the whim of a foolish, sinful woman (Mark 6:25); however, because of the same belief, he gained everything. This is what John believed in his own words: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (Jn. 3:36). John’s belief in Jesus drove his actions, just as your beliefs drive yours. The question to ask would be, “What do you believe?”

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