Believing The Truth

I doubt there are any Christians who do not know that Jesus is the Way. But translating what you know into an actual belief is two different things. We can know Christ, know the Church, know God's plan for us, know His Will, but that does not necessarily mean that we will walk in what we know. There is a straight gate as well as a narrow path. Those who favor the straight gate believe once you pass through the gate that's all there is to it. But beyond the gate is a narrow path which leads to Life, and only a few find it. There is a gate and a path, and we cannot have one without the other. Believing is the transition between Knowing and Living. Some confuse the two and treat them as one and the same, but they are not. For instance, a lot of Christians know that Jesus has defeated the devil, but most of them do not believe it, because if they did they would live their lives differently. They would pray differently, they would talk differently, they would be different. Many people are mistakenly called "Believers" when they do not believe at all. We might call them "Assenters". Do you know that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places? You should know it, for it is found in Ephesians 2. But do you believe it? You may say you believe it, but if that is the case, you will live differently than you did before. If you believe you are seated with Christ in the heavenlies then you cannot continue living as an earthly person. In a thousand such examples we can see evidence of knowing and not believing. If I have already seen the last five minutes of a football game and I know my team wins, I don't have to be concerned with anything else that may happen during the course of the game. Only people who have not seen the end will be worried, afraid, upset, or nervous. If I say, "I know my team will win" because I have already seen the end, then my knowing is translated into believing and I begin to live in what I know. I should behave differently than the ones around me who are still concerned as to the outcome. The slightest bit of hesitation or anxiety on my part only demonstrates that I do not in fact believe in what I say I know. Why do so many know the Truth but do not live according to what they know? Because they mistake knowing for believing. It seems hard to describe the difference in words, but in real life experience the difference is easily demonstratable. Do you know the battle is already won and that Jesus is Lord? Oh yes, we know that. But do you believe it? You say you believe it, but if you aren't living it, then you don't believe it, whether you know it or not.