The Bible contains a clear definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Simply put, the biblical definition of faith is “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove.” It is also something you cannot see with your own eyes. You are trusting in something or someone that cannot be seen as if it or he/her CAN be seen. Genuine faith involves abandoning all human reliance on self-efforts and placing total dependence upon God’s character, His actions, and His promises, as revealed in His Word. Rather than looking at life with our earthly eyes, faith sees through the lens of God’s promises.
Faith is a word that has many meanings. It can be defined as ‘faithfulness’ as shown in Matthew 24:25. It can mean ‘absolute trust’, as shown by some of the people who came to Jesus for healing (Luke 7:2-10). It can mean having a ‘confident hope’ as we saw in Hebrews 11:1 above.
Faith shouldn’t be tied to things we do or that would imply that we can work our way to heaven because Galatians 2:16 tells us that human deeds can never save us. Faith is a gift that God gives us because he is saving us (Ephesians 2:8). It’s God’s grace or ‘undeserved favor’, not our faith, that saves us. Because God is merciful, when he saves us he gives us a modicum of faith, plus a relationship with his Son Jesus which helps us become like him. The faith we’ve been given is designed to carry us from death to life (John 5:24).
The whole idea of OT sacrifices was for man to look past those animal sacrifices to God himself; however, mankind was fixated on the requirement of blood sacrifices to satisfy the law. When Jesus was victor over death he canceled any charges that were against us and opened the way to God the Father (Colossians 2:12-15).
We can never come to God on our own. Instead, we must accept God’s gracious gift with thanksgiving in our hearts and allow him to plant that seed of faith within our heart.
Sadly, far too many people wish to meet God on their own terms, never realizing that it simply doesn’t work that way. Good deeds toward others for your own glorification is a waste of time as a means of being awarded heaven, although it is a good deal for the recipient. Yet a good deed done without a conversion becomes a double waste of time since neither of you shall achieve heaven as your final destination.
The biblical definition of faith does not apply only to salvation. It is equally applicable to the rest of the Christian life. We are to believe what the Bible says, and we are to obey it. We are to believe the promises of God, and we are to live accordingly. We are to agree with the truth of God’s Word, and we are to allow ourselves to be transformed by it (Romans 12:2).
Why is this definition of faith so important? Why must trust accompany agreeing with facts? Because “without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). Without faith, we cannot be saved (John 3:16). Without faith, the Christian life cannot be what God intends it to be (John 10:10).
Faith is the ignitor for our spiritual engine that combined with trust, will allow us to become more like Christ in our everyday life. Saying we know the “big guy upstairs” simply won’t cut it. Knowing and applying what you know to your everyday life are very different. Book learning without application of what you learned is a waste of time.
Up next is a look at what Faith In God means. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In His Name & for His Glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Resources: The Life Application Study Bible; https://www.gotquestions.org/definition-of-faith.html; https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-faith.html.
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