This is one of those which came first things, the chicken or the egg. Is it “my faith is such that I believe” or is it “I believe because I have faith.” As a Christian have you been persuaded to believe the truths of religion and from that comes a certainty which becomes your faith? Paul I am sure found that faith was something you acquired and there would be events in our lives that often persuaded us to take that road of faith. Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39 …”For I am persuaded , that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present , nor things to come ,Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Webster puts it this way, “To believe in, is to hold as the object of faith. “Ye believe in God, believe also in me.” To believe on, is to trust, to place full confidence in, to rest upon with faith.” You see you can find a little religion even in the dictionary.
In theology, to believe sometimes expresses a mere assent of the understanding to the truths of the gospel; as in the case of Simon. When Simon saw the spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people he wanted to “buy that power.” Could it be that Websters got it right? ” To believe on, is to trust, to place full confidence in, to rest upon with faith.” Faith begins when we are able to trust, to place full confidence in, and to rest upon the certainty of God’s promises to us.