Faith
Let us look at another major theme of the Bible. It is the theme of Faith.
This theme runs from Genesis chapter 1 thru Revelation chapter 22.
Romans 10:17 (KJV) explains what a source of faith is. “So, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
I pose a question regarding Hebrews 11: 1. (KJV) “1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Does this really define faith or does it tell us in God’s Word what faith does?
If you ask most people, they will tell you that faith and belief are the same thing. I believe that leads to all kinds of confusion. The trouble is that they are interrelated, which makes them very close in meaning. Many of the modern Bible translations don’t always differentiate clearly between the two.
I believe that God is looking for Christians both yesterday, today and tomorrow that have true faith. If you are a true born again believer, then Jesus Christ became your Lord and Savior and God has given you faith that will cause you to believe in what God’s Word says is true. The word “Lord” is most often left out of our faith. We want Jesus to be our Savior but reluctant to have Him be our Lord.
Many people say with confidence that they ‘believe’ in God. Many of these same people think that this is enough to guarantee that their sins are forgiven and gain them admission to Heaven. However, is this simple ‘belief’ in God enough? Is this ‘belief’ the same as the ‘faith’ spoken of in the Bible?
How are we, as Christians, to understand our faith? We need to first discover the meaning of the word “faith” in the Bible, and how that meaning is somewhat different from the meaning many attach to it today. Following are three brief definitions as found in biblical dictionaries. I would recommend that a more thorough study be done. It would require a Greek Concordance.
There are three primary forms of this word in Greek, the noun form pistis, the adjective form pistos, and the verb form pisteuo. Each form’s meaning is a variant of the word “trust.” Hence pistis is “a trust” in someone or something, pistos is “trusting” as applied to someone adjectivally, and pisteuo literally means “I trust.” It is important to keep this in mind because we have often misunderstood these words (translated as “faith”) in our culture to be, not variants of the word trust.
True faith is more than “believing.” True faith results in change.
When we have true saving faith in Jesus Christ, we see the world and its system in an entirely different way. The Holy Spirit enlightens us as to the true nature of things and actually causes us to think differently. Faith is the unreserved surrender of our will when we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. That born again experience is true faith. Faith means deciding to belong to Jesus Christ when we commit ourselves to Him. We must surrender everything and I mean everything to Jesus Christ. He must come first, ahead of everything else in our life.
Faith extends beyond our physical senses. Faith has to be understood spiritually.
Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
Let us look at Belief vs. Faith.
Belief – An opinion or judgment in which a person is fully persuaded. The state of believing or conviction or accepting that something is true or real.
Faith – Belief + Action + Confidence. Unquestioning faith does not require proof or evidence.
People get confused and turned around on this point and try to do good things to generate faith. James 2:14 doesn’t say that good things we do produce faith, it said our faith, if it is real and alive, will naturally move us to do good things.
So now you can see how belief and faith are interrelated. The difference between the two is closely related. Because of the close relationship of belief and faith, it clogs up the working of our faith and prevents us from experiencing miracles in our lives. I am a firm believer in the phrase “study to show thyself approved”.
We may think that when we are told ‘to believe’ in the Bible that God is telling us to agree that it is true. What He is really saying is ‘to exercise faith’ and not only agree that it is true but to rely upon it as true and surrender to it.
In the New Testament, faith is given a more individual scope, because of God’s relationship with not only the Jews but also with the Gentiles. There are hundreds of promises in the Bible that God is more than willing to give to us because of His love for us. We have access to these promises by the grace given us in our Lord Jesus Christ. We obtain the promises by faith.
Maybe the answer to some prayer requests are a result of the lack of faith.