The massive difference between believing in God vs. believing God

When it comes to belief in God, I’ve got both good and bad news for you.

The good news is, according to Pew Research, “About nine-in-ten U.S. adults believe in God or another higher power, including 54% who say they believe in “God as described in the Bible” and 34% who say they don’t believe in the biblical depiction of God but do believe there is “some other higher power or spiritual force in the universe.”

So, what could possibly be bad about those numbers?  While they initially look good, we need to remember two things.

First, think about the sad state our country is in right now; it sure doesn’t seem like Christian values are large and in charge. So don’t get too proud or excited about superficial professions of belief in God and remember the biblical warning: “This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matt. 15:8; Is. 29:13).  

Second, recall what Jesus said about the number of those who spend eternal life with God: “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt. 7:14).

So, how do we reconcile Christ’s statement with the numbers showing that the vast majority of Americans and others around the world profess a belief in God or a higher power?

The Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas recommended that the first rule any philosopher should follow in pursuing truth was to make distinctions. In our case, it’s this: there is a Grand Canyon difference between believing in God and believing God.   

The twinning nature of faith

As Christians, we talk about “faith” in God constantly, oftentimes never realizing there is a twinning nature to the word. Taking Aquinas’ advice again, when it comes to faith, we find a distinction between faith that vs. faith in.

When we see statistics saying nearly nine in ten U.S. adults believe in God, we see a very loose example of faith that. But the disconnect between it and Jesus telling us only a few find the way that leads to life is faith in.

You see both intertwined in a statement made by the writer of Hebrews when he says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is [faith that] and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him [faith in]” (Heb. 11:6).

We first have faith that “He is,” which applies to God’s existence, but then comes the next part that pertains to trusting God and what He has said. This is what distinguishes the Christian from those who merely say they believe God exists or in a “higher power.” 

As a quick aside, skeptics constantly chide Christians about having “faith” in God, thinking we mean some sort of blind, evidence-less belief that a creator exists when nothing could be further from the truth — there are plenty of rational reasons to believe God is real.

Most times when Christians refer to “faith in” God we mean trusting in what God has said and promised. And there are good reasons for having that side of faith also.

For example, when I say I have faith in my wife, I’m sure you don’t think I’m saying I believe in her existence, but rather I trust and believe in her character and what she says. And you understand that I have good reasons for that faith although I most likely can’t physically show you evidence supporting that trust.

When it comes to the important and practical difference between the two, have you ever encountered someone who said they believed in God but said in the same breath they don’t believe what the Bible says on most subjects? If so, you’ve got a living illustration of the distinction between believing in God vs. believing God.

Scripture is littered with examples and warnings of having only the first side of the faith coin.

James says, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19). So, you believe in God, even the one true God? Great — you’re now only on par with the faith of demons, and that won’t get you far.

This is why James follows up by writing, “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” (James 2:20). In other words, faith that without faith in, which manifests in a changed life, is only half of the story.  

The Pharisees certainly believed in the correct God, and yet Jesus said to them: “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of Hell?” (Matt. 23:33). Why? Because they rejected what Christ was telling them about His Messiahship.

The Bible says that not believing what God says is an indicator of those who are lost. For example, Jesus asked his detractors: “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word” (John 8:43) and followed up by saying, “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason, you do not hear them, because you are not of God” (John 8:47).

What about you? Do you hear and believe the words of God?

If so, Paul says you’re following the model of faith in the Old Testament: “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’” (Rom. 4:3) and “Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7).

But if not, you likely only have faith that God exists, which falls short of saving faith and is exemplified by the awful words that Jesus says some will hear on the day of judgment: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matt. 7:21–23).

Please, don’t be someone who just believes in God, but rather be a person that believes God. According to Jesus, your eternal destiny depends on it.