Lord and Savior

Is submission a work?
Is belief a work?

How is believing in Jesus different than believing in Santa Claus?

I can write a list of things I want for Christmas, I can put the cookies and the milk out on Christmas eve. I can genuinely think that Santa is real and live a life that reflects this belief. How is this belief not the same?

You might say that Santa isn't real. I would counter that Saint Nicklaus lived in Turkey and was a real person. Who am I to argue with the historical record. The difference between believing that Santa is real and believing in Santa is difference that matters. You can send that list and you can put out those cookies. Yet until Santa comes into your house and delivers those gifts and consumes the cookies and milk, your belief is nothing more than wishful thinking. You cannot make Santa your Lord. You cannot give him your life. You cannot "take up your sleigh and follow Santa." 

Jesus is not a mythological being that people have bet their eternity on. (although to some He has become this) He is God incarnate. Unlike Santa, he interacts with His believers. Christians follow Him, walk with Him, live in Him. It is not about thinking some list of facts are true. It's not about saying the magical words and you get saved. 

When a sinner encounters God through the prompting of His Spirit, he is convinced of the goodness/rightness/holiness of God. He becomes equally aware of how he has transgressed God's law and opposed God's will. This convicts the sinner of his sin, God reveals His just wrath to the sinner. Then through the testimony of the gospel, he reveals His love and mercy through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus who died and took onto Himself all the sins that man committed. The man is then offered eternal life, if he believes in Jesus. This believing in Jesus means he accepts God's offer of salvation. This includes being crucified with Christ so that you might live, not by your flesh, but by the power of God expressed through His Holy Spirit.

Faith is the conviction of things not seen. It is the assurance of things hoped for. By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed. By faith, he lived as an alien. By faith, Noah prepared the Ark. By faith, Sarah conceived. By faith Abraham offered up Isaac. 

True faith results in a confession. A confession is not empty, parroted words. It is an outward expression of a new conviction. When the word of God explains that you confess must Jesus as your Savior, it's not giving you a checklist of things to do. If you confess, the meaning her is that this is an outward expression of an inward change. You are publicly declaring your new allegiance from which there is no turning back. The word of God doesn't need to explain in a subsequent verses that you have to "really really" mean it. God deals in truth. When everyone is trying to make their point and it gets down to technical points, we get so close to the words that we lose sight of the Word. 

When did you deny yourself? Have you taken up the cross? daily? Do you follow Him? 

When did you die? When were you reborn? 

A dying man doesn't need to work at his death. Salvation is a gift, that gift includes a new creation, a rebirth. A new self and one day a new body. This new self wars with the flesh that remains corrupt in this world. Sanctification is the renewing of the new self into the likeness or image of Christ. 

Surrendering your life to Christ is the other side of the coin to believing on Jesus. When you turn from sin, you turn to Christ. When you die (Col 3:3), you are reborn in Christ and are hidden with Christ in God. Hidden by the blood of Jesus. Sealed by the Spirit until the day when Christ is revealed and comes into His inheritance. 

Can Christians commit sins? Yes. But this is no longer their nature. They have the flesh which longs to resurrect the old self. Thus our need to renew our minds, our new selves and live out our faith each day anew. Deny, Carry, Follow.