What is faith, exactly?
Faith is not blind wishing: it is trust that rests on the character and promises of God. It believes God's testimony about Christ and entrusts the whole life to Him. Faith has a content (the gospel) and a confidence (God's faithfulness).
This question arose from studying Can I lose my salvation? and What does it mean to be justified?.
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Go into the Word
Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
Faith is confidence grounded in something real
'Faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen,' and 'without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.' Faith trusts a God who has spoken.
Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.
Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Faith rests on its object: the gospel of Christ
'Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' Saving faith is not generic optimism; it is trust in a Person: 'if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.' The object is Jesus.
So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
Faith is not a work we offer; it receives
When they asked what they must do to do the works of God, Jesus answered: 'This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.' Faith saves 'through faith… not of works,' as a gift. Faith is the empty hand stretched out to receive.
They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast.
Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed. But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
Faith entrusts the whole life
Abraham 'didn't waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith… being fully assured that what he had promised, he was also able to perform.' This is personal trust: 'I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.' Faith commits everything to Him.
Yet, looking to the promise of God, he didn’t waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was also able to perform.
For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went.
Faith produces a life of following
Faith is not mere agreement with facts; it is reliance that reshapes a life. 'Faith working through love,' and 'faith apart from works is dead.' To live by faith is to say with Paul, 'I have been crucified with Christ… I live by faith in the Son of God.'
I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.
As you read, you may wonder…
Scripture raises the next question
Studying the Word naturally opens more of it. Follow what you just read: it leads somewhere.
Continue this trail
What is repentance?→““Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,”Does grace mean I can live however I want?→“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer?”What does it mean that Christ's righteousness is 'imputed' to us?→“For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”Is it okay to have doubts sometimes?→“Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “I believe. Help my unbelief!””Is repentance a one-time decision or a lifelong posture?→“Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance!”What is the kingdom of God?→“and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.””What is the difference between grace and mercy?→“for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast.”How are justification and sanctification related?→“Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;”What does it mean to walk by faith and not by sight?→“for we walk by faith, not by sight.”How do I know my repentance is genuine?→“For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world works death.”Did God choose me to be saved before I chose Him?→“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love;”Can anyone resist God's grace?→“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.”What price can buy forgiveness?→“none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him. For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,”What does it mean that God remembers our sins no more?→“and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from their least to their greatest, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.”What are the parables of the kingdom about?→“He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.””Explore further
What does it mean to be born again?→Our Walk with Him trail“Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see the Kingdom of God.””Does James contradict Paul? Is it faith or works?→Our Walk with Him trail“for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.”We haven't written this one yet. Take it to your church or small group: the Word answers it wherever it is asked. If we study it here later, all the better.
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Verses to meditate on
Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.
So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
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