You Can Believe
Listen to a message entitled, "Religious But Lost"
Have you ever wondered how someone can go from unbelief to faith? You may know the name, the Apostle Paul. Paul is the human author of most of the books of the New Testament. He wrote the books of; Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and probably Hebrews. But, did you know that Paul had previously been an unbeliever?
In fact, Paul had hated Jesus so much, that he participated in imprisoning, persecuting, and killing those who believed in Jesus. Paul's verbal testimony is recorded by Luke in the book of Acts. (Acts 26:9-11 "I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.")
Paul's conversion to faith in Jesus would be like David Attenborough confessing that there is a God who created in 6 days. How could Paul turn from such staunch opposition to Jesus to such strong declarations for Jesus? He went from unbelief to faith because he was confronted by Jesus and heard God's truth which struck him to his heart.
Friend, there is hope for you. God can awaken your heart no matter how much it is bound up in unbelief. Even if your opposition to Jesus is as great as Paul's, there is hope. Paul said that His conversion was to be an example of God's power to bring anyone to faith in Him. (1Timothy 1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.)
Your soul is too precious to be carelessly cast by you into @#!*% . Your destination is determined by your own choice. You will not go to @#!*% because God predetermined that you must go there. You will not go to @#!*% by accident. You will go to @#!*% based on your decision to reject God and His Holy Child, Jesus.
Unbelief is not a sickness. It is not dependent upon your circumstances or intellect. It is dependent upon your choice. If you desire to have faith, that decision rests in your hands. True faith is not a feeling. It is based upon fact. When you sit down in a chair, you accept a position in that chair by faith. You sit down confidently based upon what you know. Soul saving faith accepts it's position based upon the unchanging truth of God's Word. You may say, "Well the Bible is full of contradictions." I have never met someone who could "prove" that statement. Most times they were simply repeating what they had heard from other unbelievers.
God has given you a book to help you to believe in Him.
John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
James 1:21 Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
If you desire to have faith in God, you can only build faith through the reading of God's Word. If you have a Bible, please look up the book of John and read it. If you are a serious seeker after God, please take out a pen and write down or underline every reference to faith or belief. If you have already read that book, you may want to continue your study in the book of Romans. If you can summon a little faith, please pray and ask God to reveal His truth to your heart and to bring you from unbelief to faith. Jesus helped a man trust in Him after he cried out, "Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief." Why not cry out to God in the same way?
If you don't have a Bible, please click on the following link to read God's Word online.
(note: After clicking on the link, you will need to scroll down the page to find the book of John.)
You can also download a Bible to your desktop by clicking on the following link.
(note: This is also very good Bible study software.)