What is Faith?
August 6, 2013 by Wayne Stuart
This is something I never really understood until just a couple years ago. Sure I believed you had to have faith, and I knew a number of the faith verses, BUT I never took the time to meditate on what faith really is. And once I did that, I believe the Lord did what He said He would do, seek and you will find. Only then did I come to understand it more clearly and I was absolutely amazed by what I had been missing. NOTE, if you don’t understand what faith is, you are missing A LOT!!
I strongly encourage you to NOT just read the verses within this document, but to sit on them, and let them speak to you.
Importance of Faith
So let’s start by looking at what the Lord says about the importance of faith.
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. Hebrews 11:6 ESV
WOW. Take a minute to think about that. It seems like it is a little important, right? It’s probably a good thing to know more about it, since we cannot please the Father without it.
So, what is faith?
First let’s look at what the definition is:
Faith is belief with strong conviction; firm belief in something for which there may be no tangible proof; complete trust in or devotion to. Faith is the opposite of doubt.
So it sounds to me like faith is more than just believing. Here is an illustration that I heard many years ago that stuck in my mind.
There was a tightrope walker, who did incredible aerial feats. All over Paris, he would do tightrope acts at tremendously scary heights. Then he had succeeding acts; he would do it blindfolded, then he would go across the tightrope, blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow.
An American promoter read about this in the papers and wrote a letter to the tightrope walker, saying, "Tightrope, I don't believe you can do it, but I'm willing to make you an offer. For a very substantial sum of money, besides all your transportation fees, I would like to challenge you to do your act over Niagara Falls."
Now, Tightrope wrote back, "Sir, although I've never been to America and seen the Falls, I'd love to come."
Well, after a lot of promotion and setting the whole thing up, many people came to see the event. Tightrope was to start on the Canadian side and come to the American side. Drums roll, and he comes across the rope which is suspended over the treacherous part of the falls -- blindfolded!! And he makes it across easily.
The crowds go wild, and he comes to the promoter and says, "Well, Mr. Promoter, now do you believe I can do it?"
"Well of course I do. I mean, I just saw you do it."
"No," said Tightrope, "do you really believe I can do it?"
"Well of course I do, you just did it."
"No, no, no," said Tightrope, "do you believe I can do it?"
"Yes," said Mr. Promoter, "I believe you can do it."
"Good," said Tightrope, "then you get in the wheel barrow."
I have always thought that was a great illustration of the difference between belief and trust. Faith of God goes beyond trust, it is trusting in something you have not seen. So, just believing that God can do it is not enough, you need to get in the wheel barrow! I will explain later what that means, but let’s continue to look at the word faith.
Now how does God’s Word define faith?
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 AMP
This has always been a hard verse for me to understand….UNTIL I sat on it and chewed on it and broke it down. So let me show you what I did.
Now faith is the “Assurance” of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 AMP
Assurance is defined as; Freedom from doubt; certainty
So with that we know that faith is freedom from doubt. Next:
Now faith is the assurance of “things” hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 AMP
The English word seems to miss the true meaning of the Greek word here. Per Vines’s Bible dictionary ‘things’ would be better translated as, “that which has been done, a deed”
Interesting, this ‘thing’ is something that HAS BEEN done. This goes with the scripture that God calls things that are not as though they are. Romans 4:17 KJV
So with what we know so far, faith is freedom from doubt and something that has been done (past tense). Huh, has already been done? That is right….when God speaks it happens. He doesn’t have to wait for it to happen, it happens, instantly. Yea, but we are not God, and you are correct, BUT we are made in His image (Gen 1:26) and we can and should walk in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)
So, let’s move on.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 AMP
Hope is defined as, “to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence; to believe, desire, or trust.”
That is the world’s view on hope and why most within the church look forward. Biblical hope can be defined a little differently. In light of God’s Word, ‘hope’ is a strong, unshakeable, confident expectation that God will do what He says, because the Word says He is a faithful God. Here is Vine’s Bible dictionary definition; It can also mean trust.
So reviewing what we have so far: faith is freedom from doubt, and something has been done regarding what we are trusting Him for.
Next:
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the “conviction” of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 AMP
Conviction is defined as, “a fixed or firm belief; the state of being convinced”
Note, this firm belief is connected to things not seen. Let me give you an example that might help. You buy a toaster online from a store in Florida. You get an email confirmation that it has been shipped. Now, if someone were to ask you, “Do you own a toaster?” you could say YES. But the toaster is not in your hands; you cannot see it yet. Doesn’t matter, you bought and paid for it and it is coming. Now by faith you are saying you own one. Walking in faith with God is very similar except someone else paid for the item. Our Lord Jesus bought and paid for many things (promises) for you 2000 years ago when He was on the cross.
Now let’s look at this verse again with these definitions in mind. Faith is freedom from doubt, something has been done regarding what we trust Him for, and we are convinced without a doubt. Or let’s break it down even simpler:
Faith is trusting without doubting what God says over what we see, feel, hear or experience. Note the last part of this verse: “the conviction of things not seen”
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 NAS
Now let’s put this all together with a practical example
God’s Word says,
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NAS
So with Hebrews 11:1 in mind, we need to:
- Not doubt
- Have full confidence that He WILL provide ALL of our needs….. PERIOD… no maybes!!!
Trust beyond just believing that something will come to pass: God is a God of His Word and He will do what He says. We need to have a confession that is in line with the Word.
Kenneth E. Hagin had a saying I love: “If God said it, I believe—that settles it!”
So, how do you get faith?
First, you need to realize that you already have some faith. God has allotted to each some faith:
…God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:3 KJV
If we did not have this faith, we would never be able to acknowledge that we are saved and going to Heaven because of His grace (unmerited favor). Now look at this:
And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. Matthew 17:20 NAS
What is our Lord trying to point out? I think it is clear: it does not take much faith, and as we can see, we have at least a measure of it. Also note that the mustard seed, though very very small, is not the smallest seed. A writer I like said this about this verse
Jesus is saying that one can see the mountain in the way with one’s physical eyes, but the eye of faith can see the mountain moved even before it happens if we do not doubt. - Troy Edwards
Now that you know you have some faith, how do you get more?
Yet (Abraham), with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God. Romans 4:20
And how did he grow it?
Yet (Abraham), with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief (DOUBT) but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God. Romans 4:20
Remember the definition of faith we saw earlier:
Faith is belief with strong conviction; firm belief in something for which there may be no tangible proof; complete trust in or devotion to. Faith is the opposite of doubt.
Doubt is the biggest destroyer of faith:
And He (Jesus) did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief (DOUBT!!). Matthew 13:58
But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:6 NAS
And where does doubt come from? Doubt starts by a thought planted by the enemy (John 8:44). Let me give you an example. Satan spoke half-truths to Eve, causing her to doubt what God had told her. You know what happened next. Neither he nor his angels (devils) have stopped doing this. Their goal is to take our eyes off what God says and get them on what we see, feel or hear.
Let me share an illustration with you that might help show how doubt/unbelief works against faith. Let’s say your doubt is the size of a horse and your faith is the size of a dog. Your faith does not have much chance in a tug of war. BUT what if your faith is the size of the horse?
And how do you walk in faith (belief) and not unbelief? How do you change the picture around so your faith is represented by the horse and not the dog? This is a great question, and one that many folks within the Church fail to ask. You change the picture by fixing your mind on what God says, and keeping it there. This is why the Bible instructs us to take EVERY thought captive (2 Cor 10:5). This takes practice and is something you need to continually stay on top of. As muscle takes exercise to grow and get stronger, faith takes work to grow and to keep. Look at what the Bible says:
Appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith. Jude 1:3
Look at what Vine’s says about the word contend: "to contend about a thing, as a combatant"
We are to be combatant in acquiring and holding on to our faith. Check this out:
So let us seize and hold fast (firmly) and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word. Hebrews 10:23 AMP
“Holding fast” does not mean we hold on to hope (which is tied to faith) lightly. The enemy is trying to steal it from us, so that we will NOT glorify God by walking in His promises. So, we have learned that doubt will hamper our faith, that doubt comes from the enemy, and that we must hold fast to what God says without allowing doubt from what we see, hear or feel distract us.
The key to NOT doubting is KNOWING WHAT GOD SAYS!!! By knowing what He says, we will know when the enemy is trying to plant a lie in our mind. Look at this warning from God’s Word:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6 ASV
It is therefore incredibly important to study God’s Word. Otherwise you are open to being deceived. Remember when Jesus was tempted in the desert, He too was tempted by half truths. But how did He respond? He told Satan what God’s Word actually said. The importance of knowing God’s Word is emphasized again in the following verse:
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 NASB
I believe you need to be putting God’s Word into your ears—the more you do, the more your faith will grow. It takes faith to grow faith. As you exercise the faith you have, it will get stronger and stronger. And notice that this verse says faith comes by "hearing," not by "having heard." You need to keep studying His word actively.
So, why do we need faith?
As I have already pointed out:
1. To please God. Faith shows that we trust what He says over our five senses or lies from the enemy. Don’t forget, Jesus was brutally tortured and died so that we could walk in this blessing. If someone gave you a bunch of gifts and you never picked them up, wouldn’t that be rude? What would that communicate to the gift-giver? Jesus did more than just bring us salvation.
2. To receive and enjoy His promises:
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 2 Peter 1:4 NAS
Note that promises is not singular—there are more than one. How many of them have you received and are enjoying this day?
3. To protect us:
In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16 NAS
What must we do with the shield? We have to pick it up!
Who has to use it? God does not do it for us.
What does the shield do? That is a huge benefit!
And how many arrows does it deal with? Think about that for a minute.
4. To experience His joy:
You haven't done this before. Ask, using My name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. John 16:24 NLT
Again, think about it: if you KNOW God will answer your prayer (based on His will) then you would be joyful knowing that He will take care of it.
I could go on and on and on about how this can affect your everyday walk. I have given a number of verses on faith, but there are many many more. This is only the tip of the faith iceberg. Here is just a few ways faith in God can affect your life:
- Your needs (this alone is huge)
- Health
- Overcoming sin
- Daily guidance
- All your troubles
- How you pray
- Protection from the enemy
So, I challenge you to take the time and spend just one week meditating on the verses within this document that God highlighted and see what happens.
I end with this statement from Canadian preacher, theologian, and author, A. B. Simpson, (1843-1919)
"The Word of God creates what it commands…. Faith takes God at His word and expects Him to make it real."
What are you doing to make God’s Word real in your life?
“....for I am watching over My word to perform it.” Jeremiah 1:12
August 6, 2013 by Wayne Stuart
This is something I never really understood until just a couple years ago. Sure I believed you had to have faith, and I knew a number of the faith verses, BUT I never took the time to meditate on what faith really is. And once I did that, I believe the Lord did what He said He would do, seek and you will find. Only then did I come to understand it more clearly and I was absolutely amazed by what I had been missing. NOTE, if you don’t understand what faith is, you are missing A LOT!!
I strongly encourage you to NOT just read the verses within this document, but to sit on them, and let them speak to you.
Importance of Faith
So let’s start by looking at what the Lord says about the importance of faith.
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. Hebrews 11:6 ESV
WOW. Take a minute to think about that. It seems like it is a little important, right? It’s probably a good thing to know more about it, since we cannot please the Father without it.
So, what is faith?
First let’s look at what the definition is:
Faith is belief with strong conviction; firm belief in something for which there may be no tangible proof; complete trust in or devotion to. Faith is the opposite of doubt.
So it sounds to me like faith is more than just believing. Here is an illustration that I heard many years ago that stuck in my mind.
There was a tightrope walker, who did incredible aerial feats. All over Paris, he would do tightrope acts at tremendously scary heights. Then he had succeeding acts; he would do it blindfolded, then he would go across the tightrope, blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow.
An American promoter read about this in the papers and wrote a letter to the tightrope walker, saying, "Tightrope, I don't believe you can do it, but I'm willing to make you an offer. For a very substantial sum of money, besides all your transportation fees, I would like to challenge you to do your act over Niagara Falls."
Now, Tightrope wrote back, "Sir, although I've never been to America and seen the Falls, I'd love to come."
Well, after a lot of promotion and setting the whole thing up, many people came to see the event. Tightrope was to start on the Canadian side and come to the American side. Drums roll, and he comes across the rope which is suspended over the treacherous part of the falls -- blindfolded!! And he makes it across easily.
The crowds go wild, and he comes to the promoter and says, "Well, Mr. Promoter, now do you believe I can do it?"
"Well of course I do. I mean, I just saw you do it."
"No," said Tightrope, "do you really believe I can do it?"
"Well of course I do, you just did it."
"No, no, no," said Tightrope, "do you believe I can do it?"
"Yes," said Mr. Promoter, "I believe you can do it."
"Good," said Tightrope, "then you get in the wheel barrow."
I have always thought that was a great illustration of the difference between belief and trust. Faith of God goes beyond trust, it is trusting in something you have not seen. So, just believing that God can do it is not enough, you need to get in the wheel barrow! I will explain later what that means, but let’s continue to look at the word faith.
Now how does God’s Word define faith?
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 AMP
This has always been a hard verse for me to understand….UNTIL I sat on it and chewed on it and broke it down. So let me show you what I did.
Now faith is the “Assurance” of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 AMP
Assurance is defined as; Freedom from doubt; certainty
So with that we know that faith is freedom from doubt. Next:
Now faith is the assurance of “things” hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 AMP
The English word seems to miss the true meaning of the Greek word here. Per Vines’s Bible dictionary ‘things’ would be better translated as, “that which has been done, a deed”
Interesting, this ‘thing’ is something that HAS BEEN done. This goes with the scripture that God calls things that are not as though they are. Romans 4:17 KJV
So with what we know so far, faith is freedom from doubt and something that has been done (past tense). Huh, has already been done? That is right….when God speaks it happens. He doesn’t have to wait for it to happen, it happens, instantly. Yea, but we are not God, and you are correct, BUT we are made in His image (Gen 1:26) and we can and should walk in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)
So, let’s move on.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 AMP
Hope is defined as, “to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence; to believe, desire, or trust.”
That is the world’s view on hope and why most within the church look forward. Biblical hope can be defined a little differently. In light of God’s Word, ‘hope’ is a strong, unshakeable, confident expectation that God will do what He says, because the Word says He is a faithful God. Here is Vine’s Bible dictionary definition; It can also mean trust.
So reviewing what we have so far: faith is freedom from doubt, and something has been done regarding what we are trusting Him for.
Next:
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the “conviction” of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 AMP
Conviction is defined as, “a fixed or firm belief; the state of being convinced”
Note, this firm belief is connected to things not seen. Let me give you an example that might help. You buy a toaster online from a store in Florida. You get an email confirmation that it has been shipped. Now, if someone were to ask you, “Do you own a toaster?” you could say YES. But the toaster is not in your hands; you cannot see it yet. Doesn’t matter, you bought and paid for it and it is coming. Now by faith you are saying you own one. Walking in faith with God is very similar except someone else paid for the item. Our Lord Jesus bought and paid for many things (promises) for you 2000 years ago when He was on the cross.
Now let’s look at this verse again with these definitions in mind. Faith is freedom from doubt, something has been done regarding what we trust Him for, and we are convinced without a doubt. Or let’s break it down even simpler:
Faith is trusting without doubting what God says over what we see, feel, hear or experience. Note the last part of this verse: “the conviction of things not seen”
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 NAS
Now let’s put this all together with a practical example
God’s Word says,
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NAS
So with Hebrews 11:1 in mind, we need to:
- Not doubt
- Have full confidence that He WILL provide ALL of our needs….. PERIOD… no maybes!!!
Trust beyond just believing that something will come to pass: God is a God of His Word and He will do what He says. We need to have a confession that is in line with the Word.
Kenneth E. Hagin had a saying I love: “If God said it, I believe—that settles it!”
So, how do you get faith?
First, you need to realize that you already have some faith. God has allotted to each some faith:
…God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:3 KJV
If we did not have this faith, we would never be able to acknowledge that we are saved and going to Heaven because of His grace (unmerited favor). Now look at this:
And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. Matthew 17:20 NAS
What is our Lord trying to point out? I think it is clear: it does not take much faith, and as we can see, we have at least a measure of it. Also note that the mustard seed, though very very small, is not the smallest seed. A writer I like said this about this verse
Jesus is saying that one can see the mountain in the way with one’s physical eyes, but the eye of faith can see the mountain moved even before it happens if we do not doubt. - Troy Edwards
Now that you know you have some faith, how do you get more?
Yet (Abraham), with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God. Romans 4:20
And how did he grow it?
Yet (Abraham), with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief (DOUBT) but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God. Romans 4:20
Remember the definition of faith we saw earlier:
Faith is belief with strong conviction; firm belief in something for which there may be no tangible proof; complete trust in or devotion to. Faith is the opposite of doubt.
Doubt is the biggest destroyer of faith:
And He (Jesus) did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief (DOUBT!!). Matthew 13:58
But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:6 NAS
And where does doubt come from? Doubt starts by a thought planted by the enemy (John 8:44). Let me give you an example. Satan spoke half-truths to Eve, causing her to doubt what God had told her. You know what happened next. Neither he nor his angels (devils) have stopped doing this. Their goal is to take our eyes off what God says and get them on what we see, feel or hear.
Let me share an illustration with you that might help show how doubt/unbelief works against faith. Let’s say your doubt is the size of a horse and your faith is the size of a dog. Your faith does not have much chance in a tug of war. BUT what if your faith is the size of the horse?
And how do you walk in faith (belief) and not unbelief? How do you change the picture around so your faith is represented by the horse and not the dog? This is a great question, and one that many folks within the Church fail to ask. You change the picture by fixing your mind on what God says, and keeping it there. This is why the Bible instructs us to take EVERY thought captive (2 Cor 10:5). This takes practice and is something you need to continually stay on top of. As muscle takes exercise to grow and get stronger, faith takes work to grow and to keep. Look at what the Bible says:
Appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith. Jude 1:3
Look at what Vine’s says about the word contend: "to contend about a thing, as a combatant"
We are to be combatant in acquiring and holding on to our faith. Check this out:
So let us seize and hold fast (firmly) and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word. Hebrews 10:23 AMP
“Holding fast” does not mean we hold on to hope (which is tied to faith) lightly. The enemy is trying to steal it from us, so that we will NOT glorify God by walking in His promises. So, we have learned that doubt will hamper our faith, that doubt comes from the enemy, and that we must hold fast to what God says without allowing doubt from what we see, hear or feel distract us.
The key to NOT doubting is KNOWING WHAT GOD SAYS!!! By knowing what He says, we will know when the enemy is trying to plant a lie in our mind. Look at this warning from God’s Word:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6 ASV
It is therefore incredibly important to study God’s Word. Otherwise you are open to being deceived. Remember when Jesus was tempted in the desert, He too was tempted by half truths. But how did He respond? He told Satan what God’s Word actually said. The importance of knowing God’s Word is emphasized again in the following verse:
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 NASB
I believe you need to be putting God’s Word into your ears—the more you do, the more your faith will grow. It takes faith to grow faith. As you exercise the faith you have, it will get stronger and stronger. And notice that this verse says faith comes by "hearing," not by "having heard." You need to keep studying His word actively.
So, why do we need faith?
As I have already pointed out:
1. To please God. Faith shows that we trust what He says over our five senses or lies from the enemy. Don’t forget, Jesus was brutally tortured and died so that we could walk in this blessing. If someone gave you a bunch of gifts and you never picked them up, wouldn’t that be rude? What would that communicate to the gift-giver? Jesus did more than just bring us salvation.
2. To receive and enjoy His promises:
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 2 Peter 1:4 NAS
Note that promises is not singular—there are more than one. How many of them have you received and are enjoying this day?
3. To protect us:
In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16 NAS
What must we do with the shield? We have to pick it up!
Who has to use it? God does not do it for us.
What does the shield do? That is a huge benefit!
And how many arrows does it deal with? Think about that for a minute.
4. To experience His joy:
You haven't done this before. Ask, using My name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. John 16:24 NLT
Again, think about it: if you KNOW God will answer your prayer (based on His will) then you would be joyful knowing that He will take care of it.
I could go on and on and on about how this can affect your everyday walk. I have given a number of verses on faith, but there are many many more. This is only the tip of the faith iceberg. Here is just a few ways faith in God can affect your life:
- Your needs (this alone is huge)
- Health
- Overcoming sin
- Daily guidance
- All your troubles
- How you pray
- Protection from the enemy
So, I challenge you to take the time and spend just one week meditating on the verses within this document that God highlighted and see what happens.
I end with this statement from Canadian preacher, theologian, and author, A. B. Simpson, (1843-1919)
"The Word of God creates what it commands…. Faith takes God at His word and expects Him to make it real."
What are you doing to make God’s Word real in your life?
“....for I am watching over My word to perform it.” Jeremiah 1:12
