It is said that if we "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" we will be saved.  (Acts 16:31)  We seem to take this and similar declarations as an imperative to declare the fact to others; however, this may not be helpful.  It is not in knowing how salvation works but in actually trusting Jesus that we are saved.  Faith, belief, trust: these are not conceived by a command to have them; rather, they are both conceived and bolstered by knowledge of and experience with who or what actually is faithful, believable, and trustworthy.  Our emphasis should not be on the mechanics of salvation, but on Jesus.
In John 9, Jesus heals a blind man.  He does so, not by telling the man to believe in him, but by spitting, mixing some mud, and putting the spittle-mud on the man's eyes with a command to wash.  The man is healed.  The man believed Jesus, but not because he was told to do so.
In Mark 9, the disciples fumble a demon exorcism, leaving a helpless father in a state of doubt.  When Jesus arrives and tells the man that "everything is possible for him who believes," the man cries out, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"  The man wasn't sure Jesus could heal his son, but he did believe that Jesus could help his unbelief.  This man knew he needed to believe, but it wasn't this fact that brought healing to his son; it was actually believing.
When a person says to me "believe me," I grow suspicious.  Those that I have found to be trustworthy, believable, and faithful, do not say this and have no need to.