Believe In Thine Heart

[Dr. Shane]

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.(Romans 10:9)

How does the Bible define believing in one's heart? Many bring their own preconceived ideas to the Scripture when they read it. But... I ask, how does the Bible define this crucial question?

Jesus used this same terminology in the parable of the sower. "Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." (Luke 8:12)

Philip also used this terminology in his conversation with the Ethiopian. "And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." (Acts 8:37)

The greek word used for believe is "pisteuo" and means "to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ)" This same word is used in the story of the Roman centenarian (Matt. 8:13), when Christ healed a blind man (Matt. 9:28), when instructing in faith after cursing the fig tree (Matt. 21:22), in the belief of the tax collectors and prostitutes (Matt. 21:32), warning against belief in anti-christs and several other verses throughout the New Testament.

This seems to mean a heart-changing conviction and not simple a superficial agreement. Too often we see people choosing baptism after an evangelistic crusade because they agree with the material presented was Biblical truth - not because they have made a decision to turn their lives over to God. To what degree does the Bible teach that believing in one's heart that bring salvation is more than simply agreeing with the truth?