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Believe in Me | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to reform thinking today we are taking a deep dive into
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one of the most direct commands Jesus ever gave believe in me
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Now this command it sounds simple, right?
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Just three words, but what I found digging into our sources,
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particularly John Piper's work on this, is that it opens up
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this, well, huge theological landscape.
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It really gets into humanity's peril, our danger, and God's
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rescue plan. So we're going to look at what
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it means for us, you know, right here and now.
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It is a fascinating command. Yeah.
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What really jumps out at me is how Jesus presents this
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invitation to believe. It's not just like, one good
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idea among others. It's framed as the only way out
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of what the sources described as it the truly desperate
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situation. The material we're looking at
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makes a really strong case for why this isn't just a suggestion
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it's presented and necessity, something every single person
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needs. So we'll try to unpack not just
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the words believe in me, but why he said it and what this belief
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actually, you know, involves. Right.
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That's the goal for this deep dive, to kind of distill the
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essence of this call to believe, to understand the condition it
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addresses, this peril we mentioned and the solution there
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offers the rescue and also that well, the rich experience it
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leads to. So get ready to have some maybe
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familiar ideas about faith and salvation looked at in a maybe a
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sharper focus. OK, let's start with the tough
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part, the situation itself. Our source is paint a pretty
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stark picture of where humanity stands.
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Jesus uses words like perish, condemned, even being under the
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wrath of God, which let's be honest, most people today
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probably don't feel. They don't wake up feeling
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condemned or under God's wrath. So what exactly is this
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desperate situation that the sources say only Jesus can
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deliver us from? And why don't people generally
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feel this need for rescue? That's, yeah, that's the crucial
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starting point, isn't it? You can't appreciate the rescue
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if you don't see the danger. The core issue, according to the
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material, is that all human beings are, by nature and by
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choice, under the wrath of God. And this isn't presented as like
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a future possibility, but a current state.
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It's a direct result of our sin. Now, sin here isn't just, you
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know, breaking rules on a list. Piper's exposition defines it
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very pointedly as human attitudes and behaviors that
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belittle his worth and treat him as insignificant.
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Think about that. Belittling God's worth, Treating
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the infinitely valuable 1 as unimportant, Putting ourselves,
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our desires, anything else really ahead of Him.
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Diminishing His glory in our hearts and actions.
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Belittling his worth. That's a searching definition.
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It really is. And the source of stress.
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This isn't just, you know, Adam and Eve's problem way back when.
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It's an ongoing reality. It says all of us have done
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this. In fact, we do it every day.
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So it's universal. It's constant, which explains
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why the need for rescue is so pervasive, even if we don't
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always feel it. I think maybe we don't feel it
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because, well, we tend to compare ourselves horizontally
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to other people instead of vertically to God's perfect
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standard, His infinite worth. That's a sobering thought, daily
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belittling God's worth. OK, so if that's the root
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problem, this ongoing devaluation of God, what are the
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consequences? What happens if this situation
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just continues if it's not addressed?
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Well, the consequences described are frankly severe, very
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serious. If someone does not believe, the
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outcome is that they perish and perish here suggests well
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ultimate ruin, a complete spiritual loss.
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The sources quote John 3 point on Inc, which says whoever does
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not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in
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the name of the only Son of God. Notice that phrase condemned
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already Already. Not just potentially condemned
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later. Right.
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It implies a present state of judgement for those apart from
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belief their current spiritual reality is one of existing under
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condemnation, separated from God who is the source of life.
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That really changes the urgency, doesn't it?
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It's not just about avoiding a future sentence, but escaping a
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present condition. And for anyone hearing that and
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thinking, wow, that sounds harsh, or how can a living God
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condemn people already, the perspective here is that it's
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the inherent consequence of choosing to belittle infinite
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worth. God's justice can't just
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overlook that. And there's more.
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Those who does not obey the Son, it says, shall not see life, but
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the wrath of God remains on him. So it's not just missing out on
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true life, but also the active presence of God's righteous
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anger. And this anger isn't portrayed
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as like God losing his temper. It's described as rightly
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kindled against our belittling of his worth, a just holy
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response to the ongoing disregard for who he is.
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OK, rightly kindled wrath condemned, already perished.
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It's it's definitely a desperate situation being described.
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The material uses a really vivid illustration to help us get a
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handle on this danger and our helplessness in it.
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Tell us about this fireman analogy.
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What does it communicate about our inability to save ourselves?
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Yeah, it's a powerful image. It compares our situation to
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being almost unconscious in a burning building that is about
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to collapse. Right away, you get this sense
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of extreme, immediate danger and total inability to get out on
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your own. In that scenario, you cannot
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rescue yourself. You're helpless, lost, really.
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Then the fireman comes, the rescuer, the one with the
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ability to save. He throws an insulated tarp over
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you, picks you up and essentially says hold still
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while I carry you. Don't move.
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Don't try to help me. I will get you out.
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You must let me do it. Trust me.
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Don't try to help me, just trust me.
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Exactly that part is key. It paints this picture of our
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utter helplessness. Any attempt on our part to help,
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to struggle, to direct things, would be useless, maybe even
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counterproductive. The instruction to hold still,
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don't move, don't try to help really points to the complete
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reliance that's required. It highlights that we must look
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entirely to him for help. Total dependence.
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Our only constructive action is to stop striving and just trust
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the rescuer. It sets the stage for
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understanding why Jesus's command is believe in me.
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It's a call to that kind of radical, exclusive trust.
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It's a frightening picture, isn't it, to realize that might
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be our spiritual state without intervention.
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It really is helpless in a collapsing, burning building.
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So if let's our state utterly help us, the next most urgent
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questions Well, how do we get out if we're in that deep
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trouble? How does Jesus actually solve
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this? The sources are clear.
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Only Jesus can rescue us. So how does God step in?
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What specifically does Jesus do to achieve this rescue, given
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the severity of the wrath and condemnation we've talked about?
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And this is where the the good news really breaks through the
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Gospel message. The material highlights John
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3.12. God did not send the Son into
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the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world
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might be saved through him. So God's intention in sending
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Jesus wasn't condemnation, it was salvation, rescue, and
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Jesus's method. How did he rescue us?
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By taking the condemnation on himself, dying in our place.
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That's the absolute heart of it. It wasn't just a nice gesture,
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it was substitution. He took our rightful place.
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He absorbed the penalty we deserved.
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Jesus himself said I am the Good Shepherd.
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The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
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The shows. It was intentional, it was
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purposeful, it was a sacrifice. Laying down his life.
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Willingly. Willingly.
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It wasn't an accident, not a tragedy from a human perspective
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only. It was the divine plan, the
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specific means God ordained to deal with sin and wrath justly
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and provide salvation. His death was the rescue
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mission. OK, so he takes our condemnation
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by dying in our place. This idea of him laying down his
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life, it feels like it echoes something older, something
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prophesied. Does the material connect
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Jesus's death to earlier prophecies showing this was
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God's plan all along? Oh, absolutely.
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And this is critical for understanding the significance
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of the cross. Jesus himself understood his
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death as the fulfillment of that amazing prophecy in Isaiah 53,
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which, remember, was written something like 700 years before
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Jesus was even born. That passage clearly foretold a
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servant of the Lord who would suffer and die not for his own
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sins, but for the sins of others.
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The sources quote parts of it. He was wounded for our
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transgressions. He was crushed for our
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iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement
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that brought us peace. And with His stripes we are
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healed. And then all we, like sheep,
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have gone astray. We have turned everyone to our
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own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
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The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
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That's staggering. It is.
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It shows Jesus acting as our substitute.
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He literally stepped into our place under judgment.
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He took the legal and spiritual consequences of our sin, our
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transgressions, our iniquities, our straying onto Himself so
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that we wouldn't have to bear them.
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When you think about the weight of the iniquity of us all, it's
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almost unimaginable for one person to bear.
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It's truly unimaginable, the weight of all human sin, past,
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present, future, laid on him. OK, so if Jesus became our
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substitute, taking all that iniquity, what is this amazing
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exchange? I think the sources call it
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that. What does it actually mean for
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us stuck in that burning building?
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How does it change things? Yeah, amazing exchange is a good
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way to put it. It's like a divine transaction
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rooted in God's perfect justice and his incredible love.
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It means that Jesus endured what we deserved so that we might
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enjoy what he deserved. Eternal life.
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Pause on that. What we deserved?
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Condemnation. Perishing God's wrath because of
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our belittling him. Jesus endured that.
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He took the full force of it and what he deserved.
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Perfect standing with God, eternal life.
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That's what's offered to us. It's a core theme in Piper's
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exposition. Grace and Justice, Meeting at
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the cross and the sources really hammer this point.
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There is nothing we can add to this rescue from the wrath of
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God. Our sins, which justly led to
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condemnation, were placed on Jesus by God.
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This just highlights the complete sufficiency of what
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Jesus did. Our efforts, our good works, our
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religious observance, none of it adds anything to the rescue.
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It's done. Finish.
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Nothing we can add. Nothing.
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It's a fully accomplished work for us.
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It only requires our receiving it through belief.
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The debt is paid, the condemnation removed.
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We're offered His righteousness. It's more than just being
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forgiven. It's being declared righteous,
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justified because of His substitution.
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How does that challenge our tendency to try and, you know,
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earn God's favor or feel like we have to keep doing more?
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It really reframes everything, doesn't it?
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Our good works become a response to grace, not an attempt to earn
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it. It absolutely does.
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Liberating, but maybe also humbling because we contribute
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nothing to the core rescue. OK, so Jesus rescues us.
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It's a finished work. We had nothing, but how do we,
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you know, appropriate this? How do we receive it?
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Jesus commands believe in me, So what does that actually mean?
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To believe in him is just just knowing stuff about Jesus.
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Green with historical facts. That's a really common question,
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and a vital one. What is saving belief?
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The material is clear that believing in him definitely
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includes believing certain historical facts to be true.
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It's not presented as like a leap in the dark wishful
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thinking. No, it has foundations and
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content. It is based on what really
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happened in history. Belief has substance.
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A key example of the sources use is Jesus with Thomas after the
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resurrection. Remember Thomas was doubting and
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Jesus didn't just say have faith.
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He said put your finger here, see my hands, Put out your hand,
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place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.
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He pointed to evidence, physical evidence.
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Right, He offered proof. Exactly, it shows belief is
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connected to reality, to verifiable events.
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So yes, believing Jesus means accepting as true things like
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his death, his burial, his bodily resurrection.
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These historical facts are foundational.
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That's definitely part of it, the starting point.
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OK, so it includes believing historical facts about Jesus,
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but you indicated earlier there's more to it than just
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knowing true things. What's the deeper aspect of it's
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not just intellectual ascent? What else is involved?
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Yeah, this is where it gets really personal.
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It means trusting him as a living person for who he really
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is. It moves beyond just agreeing
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with historical data points, as necessary as they are.
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The sources state it very directly.
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Believing in Jesus is more than believing about Jesus.
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We trust him. Think of the difference between,
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say, believing that George Washington existed and actually
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entrusting your life savings to him if you were alive today.
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One is historical fact. The other is active trust in a
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person. Believing in Jesus is that act
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of trust. It's a personal reliance on Him
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right now as a living Savior and Lord.
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It's putting your full weight on him for salvation, for your
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standing with God, for everything.
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It's about receiving His person, embracing Him not just as a
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figure from the past, but as the living Christ who offers life a
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deep personal reliance, casting yourself onto Him.
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OK. So believing about Jesus versus
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believing in Jesus. Facts versus trust.
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Head versus heart maybe, or head leading to trust.
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Yeah, maybe head leading to trust captures it.
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The facts provide the ground, the reason why we can trust him,
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but the belief itself is the act of trusting, relying.
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That makes sense. It moves it from abstract to
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relational. And this distinction helps
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explain why that fireman analogy, while useful for
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showing helplessness and rescue, ultimately falls short.
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The sources say it's insufficient.
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Why is that? What is the fireman analogy miss
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about believing in Jesus? Right.
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It's helpful, but limited. It powerfully shows our
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helplessness and Jesus as the necessary rescuer from the
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burning wrath of God. That much is true.
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We need him to carry us out. But here's where it's
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insufficient. The relationship it depicts
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isn't deep enough. Think about it.
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You can trust a fireman's skill to get you out of a burning
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building. You'd be grateful, right?
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But you might not admire him deeply as a person, know
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anything else about him, or want an ongoing relationship with him
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after the rescue. The fireman doesn't ask you to,
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as the sources put it, savor his life to delight in him, to
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receive him for all that he is. OK, Yeah, you trust his
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function, not necessarily his person in a deep way.
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Exactly. But Jesus does ask for more.
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He offers himself as so much more than a rescuer.
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Therefore, believing in him has to be more than trusting in his
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rescue skills. The analogy captions the urgency
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of salvation from something, but not the richness of salvation
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into something, namely into a relationship with Jesus himself.
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So what is this more If he's more than just a rescuer, how
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does Jesus present himself, and how does belief connect to these
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other aspects? What kind of reception is he
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looking for? This more is really where the
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beauty and depth of the relationship come in.
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Jesus uses several other metaphors to describe himself
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and what he offers. He calls himself the shepherd,
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guiding, protecting, providing for his sheep.
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That implies relationship care. He's the bridegroom, suggesting
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intimacy, covenant, love, faithfulness.
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He's the treasure, meaning he is of ultimate value, the source of
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our greatest joy and satisfaction, where our heart
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finds its home. He's the king denoting his
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rightful authority, calling for our allegiance, our glad
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submission which actually leads to our freedom.
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But maybe most intimately, he offers himself as living water
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to be drunk and the bread of life.
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Living water and bread of life. That sounds like sustenance
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satisfaction. Exactly, He said if anyone
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thirsts, let him come to me and drink and elsewhere.
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Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in
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me shall never thirst. The material we're drawing from
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makes a direct link here. Believing in Jesus and drinking
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the water that wells up to eternal life are the same.
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So believing isn't just trusting his rescue skills, it's
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receiving Jesus himself, receiving all the life giving
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grace that flows from God through him.
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You don't just believe about water when you're thirsty, you
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drink it. You don't just believe about
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bread when you're hungry, you eat it.
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Believing in Jesus is like that, actively partaking of him,
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finding our spiritual thirst and hunger satisfied in him.
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Ultimately, the sources say, it means savouring and being
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satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus, finding our
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deepest longings met in him. It's a spiritual delight, not
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just an escape strategy. Savoring and being satisfied,
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that takes belief way beyond just getting out of the fire.
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It's about finding ultimate fulfillment in the rescuer
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himself. OK, so this whole picture,
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belief moving from historical fact to personal trust to the
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satisfying reception of Jesus, it leads us to the outcome.
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What is the dual purpose of Jesus's coming that this kind of
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belief makes possible for us? Right, there are two main
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purposes highlighted, and belief is the key to both.
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They work together. First, as we spent a lot of time
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on, He came to rescue us from condemnation, from the burning
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wrath of God. That's the essential deliverance
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from peril. But his mission didn't stop
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there. It wasn't just about subtraction
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taking away the bad. It was also about addition
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giving us something incredibly good.
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The second purpose is that we might enjoy everlasting life.
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This moves way beyond just not perishing.
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It's about entering a whole new quality of existence, a new kind
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of life altogether. It's what we're saved for.
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Everlasting life again. Something we hear a lot, but
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what does it actually mean? According to the sources, it's
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just living forever. Quantity of time.
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There's more to it. It's definitely more than just
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quantity, more than just endless duration.
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The material points directly to Jesus's own definition.
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In his prayer in John 17 verse 3, he prayed, This is eternal
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life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ
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whom you have sent. So eternal life is defined by
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knowing God and Jesus Christ. And knowing here in this
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biblical sense isn't just intellectual awareness, like
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knowing facts about someone. It means deep personal,
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relational knowledge, intimate communion, fellowship,
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experience. It's a certain quality of life,
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life lived in a close, satisfying relationship with God
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himself through Jesus. That relationship starts now,
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the moment we believe, and continues forever.
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So it has both present and future dimensions.
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Knowing God relationally, intimately, that's the essence
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of eternal life. So wrapping this up, beyond the
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crucial rescue from judgement, what's the ultimate provision?
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What's the deepest human need that Jesus meets through this
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command? Believe in me.
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The deepest need we have, deeper perhaps than even our need for
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rescue from wrath, though that's essential, is a soul satisfying
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relationship with God. That's what we were ultimately
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made for. That's the ache behind so many
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other, and Jesus came to give us exactly that, to restore that
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broken communion. This isn't just a side benefit,
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it's the goal, the culmination of his saving work.
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And the material is emphatic. This whole package, the rescue
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from wrath and the soul satisfying relationship that
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comes to us in one way alone, by believing in Him.
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There isn't another path, no Plan B Jesus knows what we truly
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need even better than we know ourselves.
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He knows our spiritual state and our deepest longing for
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connection with our Creator. And out of that perfect
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knowledge and out of love, he gives this command to the whole
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world. Believe in me.
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It's an invitation, really, an urgent, loving command offering
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the only way out of peril and into true, lasting fulfillment.
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Wow, OK, that really brings it all together.
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This deep dive is certainly unpacked a lot within that
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simple command. Believe in me.
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We started with our desperate situation under God's wrath
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because of our sin defined as belittling His worth.
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Then we saw Jesus as the only rescuer sufficient through His
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purposeful substitutionary death.
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And finally we got into how belief is so much more than just
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mental agreement. It's personal trust.
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It's receiving Him. It's finding satisfaction in
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Him. Yeah, exactly.
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We traced how belief starts with historical facts but moves to
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trusting Jesus as a living person.
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It involves receiving Him like living water, like the bread of
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life, finding our soul satisfaction in all that God is
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for us in Him. It's a complete reliance, but
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also a delightful reception. And the outcome is eternal life,
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defined not just as duration, but is that knowing, soul
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satisfying relationship with God, starting now from judgment
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to communion. So as you, our listener, reflect
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on this, maybe you think about what stood out to you.
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How are seeing? Belief as this.
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Comprehensive reception of Jesus for rescue, yes, but also for
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relationship and satisfaction. How would that shape your own
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Walk your understanding of His invitation.
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Maybe Consider how this view of belief impacts how you will see
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redemption and the kind of intimate, satisfying
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relationship God actually desires to have with you.
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Thanks for joining us for this deep diving as Jesus is divine
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imperative. Until next time on reform
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thinking.