Faith and Hope in God
A devotional thought from Ken Fentress for “Jesus Redeems”
Our faith in Christ is faith in God. Our hope in Christ is hope in God. If we are trusting Christ, we are trusting God.
First Peter 1:21 says that through Christ we are believers in God. This reminds us of one of the most fundamental truths of the gospel: “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Salvation has come from God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.
In John 14:6, Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” God has chosen to save us through His Son. There is no other way to God. There is no other path to salvation. There is only one way—Christ. By trusting Christ, we are trusting God. If we do not have faith in Christ, we do not have faith in God.
In 1 John 5:11-12, the apostle John stated, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have the Son of God does not have life.” If any person believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins and that God raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, that person is a believer in God.
Those who are adherents to the teachings of Islam and Judaism believe in one God, but they do not believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Without Christ they cannot have true faith and hope in God. Anyone who claims to believe in God but not in Christ cannot believe in God.
Pause and Reflect
• Do you truly believe Christ is the only way to God?
• How is this truth reflected in your attitudes and actions throughout the week?