How Do We Believe?

Do people become Jesus-followers because someone presents an argument, in a series of logical steps designed to convince them? Why do people begin to believe? Some of us are actively praying for others to believe, and some are actively involved in helping others believe, as best we can. So what is our part, if any, that we should be careful to follow?  Let's look.

In Mat. 16:15-17 "Jesus asked 'But who do you say I am?'  Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.' Jesus replied, 'You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.'"

How did Simon Peter come to believe? As I read Matthew's gospel, it appears to have been a process. Jesus did "show and tell" with his followers. He walked with the disciples, taught and performed miracles. But even then, Jesus says here, Peter didn't begin to believe Jesus was the Son of God because he was smart enough to figure it out. Instead, it was by revelation:  Peter's statement "the Son of the Living God" is a major change of thought from "one of the prophets" as the multitudes said, or the first-century teaching about the Messiah being an exalted human.

Saul the Pharisee didn't believe either -- not until Jesus broke into his world on the way to Damascus. Saul, called Paul in his Greek ministry, wrote these words in Romans 10:13-15: "For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, 'How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!'"  Paul insists on the "foolishness of preaching" (1 Cor 1:18-21) but also says that God's goodness, kindness and patience is intended to "lead you to repentance" (Romans 2:4) and that it is God who works in us " to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose" (Phil. 2:13).

There's not enough space here (and enough expertise in the writer!) to be more thorough. But we can say this:  We can, and we should, know the good news of who Jesus is and what God has done for us, in a way we can give it to someone else. We can, and we should, be in loving relationships with others who don't know this good news, so God can sow the seeds of the Gospel in them. But when it's time for conviction to land on them, it's completely the Holy Spirit's work, not anything we've done or can do.

Who does the work: God or us? Both. Who makes it work out? He does. So it's our job to show up, and his to create the results. Let's be doing our job, so we can watch him do his!