JOHN 14.1: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (ESV)
The word Jesus speaks in verse one when He says, “believe” is the verb form of the Greek root word for the noun, “faith”. It is the foundational expression used in the New Testament when calling people to believe, trust, and put their faith in Jesus.
This New Testament word is loaded with different shades of meaning, some of which describe or call for very intense action. This root word “pistis” (noun), and “pisteuo” (verb), can mean in the New Testament, depending on context, any of the following: (1) to believe, (2) to rely upon, (3) to trust, (4) to believe unto the purpose of obeying, (5) to believe the preaching and teaching about Jesus. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by Gerhard Friedrich, has an extraordinary exposition of these New Testament words written by Rudolph Bultmann.
I believe that the response Jesus wanted from His disciples included a comprehensive understanding of these ideas about faith. Believing in. Trusting. Relying upon. And taking the application further, I believe that “saving” faith in accepting Jesus Christ as Savior includes these ideas.
BUT, I do not believe that the requirement for “saving” faith, or to live out what Jesus is exhorting His disciples to do in verse one above, should be so technically defined and demanding and so rigorous that it is beyond a child’s ability to understand and live it out. Please see Luke 18.15-17. Making demands of works and proofs of righteousness to qualify as genuine New Testament faith takes us into the orbit and gravitational pull of the Judaizers the Apostle Paul responded to in his letter to the Galatians. Such a path, in my opinion, begins to alter the New Testament message of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
As Ephesians 2.8-9 teaches us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — (9) not by works, so that no one can boast.” (NIV)