I am sitting here at my desk, browsing through my notes, and wondered: What is faith? I came to an unexpected conclusion that could change your life!
What is faith?
Faith is the conviction of the existence of an invisible God and His forgiveness of sin through Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection. It is a firm trust in His salvation and eternal life.
Let’s look into what that means and what effect it can have on your daily life.
What Is Faith In The Bible?
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. In other words, it is the assurance that the things presented in the Bible are true, even though unseen, and it is the conviction that the things prayed for in faith will come to pass.
Sometimes faith seems to be commonly understood as a surface belief, something you think of or hope for. Kind of like: I believe in you (I think you can do this), I believe I have to leave for work/school soon, etc.
I see people apply this same common meaning when talking about their faith in God as if they think or hope there is a higher power… But what is true biblical faith?
Faith in the Bible as seen in Hebrews 11:1 is describing something very unique.
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
NKJV
As mentioned above it is not about thinking or believing in the meaning of hoping for something better.
Faith describes a relational trust in God.
During my research I found this definition for the word faith used in the Bible:
“conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it (…)
relating to God
the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ”
BLB Strongs
Biblical faith is a deep trust in the person of God, who loves you and sent His son to die for your sins to forgive you and redeem you out of eternal judgment.
It is like trusting a parachute when jumping out of an airplane, or trusting a chair or even better, trusting an elevator to hold you.
That trust is the kind of faith you are supposed to have in God.
It is about entrusting yourself to God, a person that you can’t see but who made you wonderfully and beautifully in your mother’s womb with a purpose for your life (Psalm 139:13-14).
It is trusting God with your life – every day.
When I entrusted my whole life to God it turned my life upside down for the better.
I was in a mess, full of negativity and uncertainty.
Now I wake up every day knowing that God is there and that my trust in Him will never be disappointed.
This video might help to illustrate my point of this life-changing faith and trust in God.
The Bible talks more about faith in John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
ESV
It is good to believe that God loves you.
But you have to know what that really means!
See, it’s one thing to know that God loves you, but it’s a totally different ball game to understand how he loves you.
Without Faith, You Can’t Come To God
You can’t “do good” in life, but basically live the way you want, and hope for last-minute salvation after you die.
Even though you and I might believe we are good people, we are in fact not as good as we think.
The Bible tells us that there is no one who does good (Romans 3:21), we all have sinned and fallen short before God (Romans 3:23).
Before God, there is no good person.
Even Jesus said of himself that he is not “good”, that there is only one person that is truly good: God in heaven. (Mark 10:18)
It doesn’t matter how many good things you have done, it will never reach God’s standard.
THAT’s why you and I need Jesus.
We sinned, rebelled against God, and violated God’s law.
Like a good judge, he would have all the right to condemn us into eternal condemnation for that.
But He sent His only Son Jesus to take the penalty for your sins so that you could walk free.
Only because of Jesus, you now have a choice.
Before Jesus’ work on the cross, it was almost impossible to get right with God.
But now we all have the possibility to repent by direct prayer to God.
You can turn from your rebellious ways, and receive God’s forgiveness for your sins and be saved.
The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
NKJV
This means accepting this free gift of a New Life in Forgiveness through Jesus Christ by entrusting Him your life completely!
You can’t be with God forever without a firm decision of trusting Him (daily)!
Here are some practical ways of how this could look like.
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6:
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
ESV
Jesus is the parachute. Your life is the free fall out of the airplane.
We are all going to land one way or the other.
The question is: Are you trusting Jesus to save you or not?
This video might help you with that question.
What Does Jesus Say About Faith?
Jesus points out another powerful layer of faith that you step into after you live a life of trust in Jesus.
Jesus says that faith is a relational trust in God for things prayed for to come to pass. Faith in the size of a mustard seed can be used by believers to overcome problems big as mountains and work miracles such as healing the sick through laying on of hands.
“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.””
Mark 16:15-18 NKJV
Wouldn’t it be awesome if you would pray for your sick loved ones and God would actually heal them?!
Believe it or not, that is God’s plan for your life!
He wants to use you in such a powerful way that would shake the world (at least around you).
With that of course, he doesn’t want mindless robots that just follow His commands.
He wants a lively relationship with you!
That’s why this whole faith thing is a trust bond between you and God!
That’s the gospel!
(Btw, I made more content for you explaining the gospel in more detail.)
In another passage of the Bible Jesus tells us that this wonderworking faith is able to move spiritual mountains.
But it only has to be the size of a mere mustard seed (Mt 17:20).
All over the Bible, we see people who walk in this trustful relationship with God – experiencing powerful signs, wonders, and miracles.
Faith and trust in Jesus will not only work your salvation, but has the potential to heal the sick, deliver the spiritual burdened, reconcile the hurt, raise the dead, restore seemingly lost family issues, bring financial breakthroughs, and unlock whatever else you could need from God.
If you’re ready to engage in that faith, then this will definitely help you!
Conclusion
Biblical faith is your unshakeable conviction that God is real and Jesus died on the cross for your sins, so that you could have an eternal relationship with God. Real faith in God means turning from your “own” way and entrusting your whole life into Jesus’ hands. He then becomes your Lord and Savior. This relationship birthed out of the deep trust between you and God has the potential to perform biblical miracles and change lives powerfully for the better. That is Faith.
Are you trusting God?
