Did you ever hear a Christian say that they are a person that does not have faith? If a person is a Christian, they have to have faith to “believe” what the Bible tells us about who Jesus is and to know about the significance of His death on the cross and His resurrection for their salvation. This person also needs to realize that they became a Christian when they exercised their faith and confessed what they believed, and as a result they received Christ as there savior. This what the apostle confirms in his letter to the church in Rome. Romans 10:9-11, “9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
If you noticed the word faith does not appear in Romans 10:9-11. This is also true in the well known verse John 3:16, the word faith is not used but the word “believes” is used as a synonym for faith. John 3:16-18 NIV, 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because cause he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
When studying the topic of faith in the New International Version of the New Testament we need to be aware that there are synonyms that the New Testament uses for faith such as believe, of which we just saw two examples.
The word trust is another word in some verses that is used as a synonym for (have) faith. John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
Also in some verses the word confidence is used as a synonym for faith. 1 John 5:14, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
By knowing what the Bible says about faith and how much it is a reality in our lives, we can better indentify verses such as these that use synonyms for the word faith.
How would you describe (not define) what is faith? As a Christian who is familiar with what God’s Word says, you would probably use Hebrews 11:1 to describe what faith is. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” When we go on reading Hebrews chapter eleven the writer gives a good description using Old Testament examples of what faith does and how it works. It is important point to realize even though I know some verses in the Bible that are good examples of faith, I need to ask myself the important question, have I personally experienced in my relationship with Jesus what faith does and how it works?
Some examples of what faith does and how it works are found in Hebrews chapter eleven, verse six. This gives us a side note that can easily be overlooked of a important personal application of faith in a believers life. Hebrews 11:6, And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
The Bible commentator Warren W. Wiersbe gives a practical and relevant explanation about faith in a Christian’s relationship with God. The Description of Faith (Hebrews 11:1-3). This is not a definition of faith but a description of what faith does and how it works. True Bible faith is not blind optimism or a manufactured “hope-so” feeling. Neither is it an intellectual assent to a doctrine. It is certainly not believing in spite of evidence! That would be superstition.
True Bible faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences. Read that last sentence again and let it soak into your mind and heart.
This faith operates quite simply. God speaks and we hear His Word. We trust His Word and act on it no matter what the circumstances are or what the consequences may be. The circumstances may be impossible, and the consequences frightening and unknown; but we obey God’s Word just the same and believe Him to do what is right and what is best.
Before we continue studying about “Faith And Our Relationship With God” in the New Testament, we need to realize that there are three basic uses of the word faith of the 254 times it is used in the NIV New Testament.
- Faith for salvation or saving faith.
“Saving faith involves personally depending on the finished work of Christ’s sacrifice as the only basis for forgiveness of sin and entrance into heaven.”
Romans 3:22, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
Romans 10:17, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
Ephesians 2:8-9, “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”
- Faith as in a Christian’s personal relationship with Christ. Which is the reliance on Christ expressed in a commitment to Him and a obedience to God’s word that is lived out daily in a Christian’s life. Faith is the essence of the believer’s life or walk with God from beginning to end.
2 Corinthians 5:7, “We live by faith, not by sight.”
Romans 1:8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.”
Colossians 2:6-7, “6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
- Faith in God that He will do what He says in His word because of who He is. “Actually, faith is simpler than it seems. It is a choice, not an ability; and that choice to believe God’s promises requires that we act on them!”
Matthew 9:29-30, 29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored.
John 14:12, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Acts 3:16, By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
In the coming weeks we will also be studying what God’s word says concerning, Our Faith and God’s Will and The Difference of Faith and Optimism.
Pastor John
