Do I Choose to Believe in God?

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

Do I choose to believe in God?

We know that we are created with free will. God did not make human beings to be mindless machines or puppets dancing on marionette strings. We make choices every day—what to wear, what to eat, what to do with the time that we’re awake. We make choices with our lives—what to do for work, who to date and marry, what we do with our time here on this earth.

Is believing in God one of those many choices that we make?

Mercifully, no. The Bible tells us that by nature, we’re dead in our sins. Dead people can’t do anything but be dead. By our own thinking and choosing, we can’t believe in Jesus. We can’t accept him into our hearts or make the decision to follow him.

But, dear Christian, that’s a good thing, and here’s why:

God demands perfection in all aspects of our lives if we want to be with him in heaven. As sinful people, we can’t do what the law requires. We can’t even come close to following God and keeping his laws completely. We fail miserably, time and time again.

If you or I played even the smallest part in our salvation (which is essentially what choosing to believe in Jesus would be), we’d mess it up completely because we’re sinful human beings. We doubt, we fear, and we fail to believe perfectly. We need a Savior.

We need Jesus to rescue us completely from our sins, including those of doubt and unbelief. And he did. Jesus rescued us, not only through his innocent suffering and death on the cross but also through his perfect life with unwavering trust, obedience to God’s laws, and faith in his heavenly Father. Jesus earned our salvation because we never could.

Salvation, including our ability to believe in what God has done for us, must come from God and God alone.

So what did God do?

God sent the Holy Spirit to create and strengthen faith in our hearts through the means of grace: God’s Word and sacraments. He made it absolutely clear that it is by grace that we’re saved through faith, and this not of ourselves, but faith that is a gift from God. Faith in Christ Jesus and what he has done for us.

So what is Moses talking about in the verses at the beginning of this post? Is he giving the Israelites false information by telling them that they can choose life, that they can choose to follow God?

Not at all. Moses is speaking to believers in these verses—God’s people.

Essentially, Moses is saying, “You know who God is and what he has done for you! Keep following him. Pursue him. Listen to his Word throughout your life, no matter what. Don’t look to yourselves for salvation or peace or security. Don’t look anywhere else or follow any other path. Look to the Lord and the Lord alone. Hold fast to him. He is your life.”

Dear Christian, isn’t that true for us too? We don’t choose to believe in God. But as his dearly loved children, fully and freely forgiven from our sins by our Savior Jesus and with his perfect obedience covering us, we choose to be in his Word throughout the week and in worship services. We choose to come before him with thanksgiving and praise. We choose to come to the table to receive the Lord’s Supper. We get to live in joy because Jesus is our life. He lived perfectly for us. Now we get to live for him.

Are there times when we falter and fail? Yes, but we’re not looking to ourselves and what we’ve done as we walk through life here on earth. We’re looking to our Savior-God and what he has done for us.

Love the Lord. Listen to his voice. Hold fast to him. And know that he holds fast to you.

---

---

Did you enjoy this post? Subscribe for free devotional content every week!

---