The difference is between recognizing that God exists and actually trusting what He says.
Les Feldick says the average person—even a large percentage of Americans—believes in God, but that is only an acknowledgment of His presence. Believing God, by contrast, is taking what He has said and believing it; that is faith. Abraham, though a former pagan, is the example of one who believed God, and this is the difference between heaven and hell.
Hebrews 11:6 — This verse links coming to God with believing that He is and that He rewards those who seek Him—the faith Les contrasts with merely believing in God.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 — This is the Gospel message God has spoken—Christ died and rose again—which Les says is what a person must believe.
Scripture teaches that coming to God requires faith. Hebrews 11:6 (KJV) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." This verse pairs belief in God's existence with the expectation that He rewards those who seek Him—both are part of the faith that pleases Him. The Scriptures also lay out the specific message to be believed. Paul told the Corinthians, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, KJV). The Gospel is presented as something to be believed, not merely acknowledged. In both passages, genuine believing is more than intellectual acknowledgment—it is a response to what God has said.
Les Feldick says the difference between believing in God and believing God is "all the difference in the world"—the difference between heaven and hell. The world, he notes, by and large believes in God; one survey he mentions put the number of Americans who believe in God at eighty-some percent. But that kind of belief is only an acknowledgment that God is "up there" and in control. Believing God is far more personal: it is taking what God has said and believing it. That, he teaches, is faith. Abraham is his example—Abraham did not merely believe in God; when God said it, Abraham believed it, even though Abraham had been a pagan idolater. Les connects this directly to the Gospel. God's whole requirement for salvation is to believe the Gospel—the message that Christ died and rose again. When a person believes that message, that is faith, and it is the faith without which it is impossible to please God. He also stresses that believe, trust, and faith all mean the same thing, and that saving belief comes from the heart, not merely from head knowledge of historical facts.
Les says the only difference between the two phrases is the preposition "in," but at first glance most people miss it. To believe in God leaves a person merely recognizing God's presence and control. To believe God makes a person someone of faith—taking what God has said and believing it. Les calls this the difference between heaven and hell, because the world can believe in God and yet know nothing of believing God.
Les points out that Abraham was originally a pagan and an idolater. Abraham did not merely believe in God; he believed God. When God said something, Abraham believed it. That, in Les's teaching, is what sets genuine faith apart from a general belief that God exists.
Paul's words show that if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, that is believing God. Les calls this the perfect example: God has said that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and believing what God has said—especially the death and resurrection of Christ—is the faith that pleases Him.
Les says most people, especially in America, believe in the historical facts that Christ lived, died, and rose again—but that is not necessarily believing. Belief that saves does not come from the head; it comes from the heart. Faith is taking God at His Word, and the person who does that is resting on what God has said.
The Gifts & Calling of God Without Repentance — Romans 11:29 Explained
of teaching that he used, and I guess it was pretty much like what I do. He would not just teach a mathematical theorem or something and then drop it and go to the next one, but throughout the whole semester he would keep reviewing, see. He would just keep moving ahead, but he'd always go back. Go ahead, but always go back. Well, that's the best way to learn, see. Well, that's what I try to do.
The Two Phrases on the Board
Les puts 'believing God' and 'believing in God' on the board and insists that a single preposition makes all the difference—even the difference between heaven and hell.
The Real Difference Explained
Believing in God only means recognizing that He is there and in control; believing God means taking what He has said and believing it, which is faith. Abraham is the example.
The Gospel to Be Believed
Les repeats the distinction and says the perfect example is believing what God has said concerning the Gospel—that Jesus died and rose again.
Faith That Pleases God
Les says God's whole requirement for salvation is to believe the gospel, echoing Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God.
Believe, Trust, and Faith Are One
Les explains that believe, trust, and faith all mean the same thing—trusting God's Word is believing it, and believing it is exercising faith.
Faith Is Taking God at His Word
Les defines faith as taking God at His Word and shows that even Cain's problem was that he did not believe what God said.
Head Knowledge vs. Heart Belief
Many people give head knowledge assent to the historical facts about Christ, but saving belief does not come from the head—it comes from the heart.
Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Les quotes this verse to show that coming to God is a matter of faith, not just an acknowledgment that God exists.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4: For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Les points to this as the Gospel message—the message about Christ's death and resurrection—that God has spoken and expects people to believe.
Believing in God is recognizing that God is there and that He is in control. Believing God is taking what He has said and trusting it—that is faith. Les Feldick says the difference is as great as heaven and hell.
Abraham did not merely believe in God; he believed God. When God spoke, Abraham believed it. This is significant because Abraham began as a pagan and an idolater.
Not if that belief is only head knowledge. Les says many people give intellectual assent to the historical facts about Christ, but saving belief comes from the heart. It means taking God at His Word in faith.
Faith is taking God at His Word. Believe, trust, and faith are all basically the same thing. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Watch the Teaching: The Gifts & Calling of God Without Repentance — Romans 11:29 Explained