Faith Part 1
| Basic Form | Negative Form |
Noun | πιστ-ις: “confidence”, “trust”, “faith” | α-πιστ-ια: “unfaithfulness”, “distrust”, “doubt” |
Verb | πιστ-ευω: “to trust”, “to rely on”, “to believe” | α-πιστ-εω: “to refuse to believe”, “to be distrustful”, “to be unbelieving” |
Adjective | πιστ-ος: “trusting”, “faithful”, “trustworthy” | α-πιστ-ος: “distrustful”, “unfaithful”, “unreliable” |
Let’s consider the Greek word in the New Testament that we translate
faith. That word is
πιστις. Don’t worry if you can’t read it. Just look at the first four letters,
πιστ-. This is the stem, and it carries the meaning of the word. In this case, the stem means “faith”. The last two letters,
-ις, form the ending. Greek endings differentiate parts of speech. In this case, the ending tells us that
Πιστις is a noun. The same stem with the ending,
-ευω, is a verb. With
-ος as its ending, it is an adjective. In Greek, to form the negative of a word they may add an alpha-prefix (
α-). This is like our word
atypical, which means “not typical.”
Look at the noun, verb, and adjectival forms of the Greek word for
faith in the table above.
Christian Forums Notice that the stem (πιστ-) is the same in each instance, and that the negative forms all have the alpha-prefix (α-).
I am showing this table, in spite of the fact that most readers probably do not know the Greek language, in order to help clarify the meaning of faith. Faith can be mysterious and hard to understand, or twisted, and made even harder to understand. But this table makes it clear that if a person has faith, it simply means that he has confidence or trust in someone or something. To be without faith means that he lacks confidence or that he refuses to believe. And a faithful person is someone who trusts someone or something, or one who is trustworthy. He is the opposite of one who is distrustful or unreliable.
As faith relates to our interaction with God, it means that we trust Him, rely on Him, and have confidence in Him. Faith towards God does not start with us, but always starts with Him. He communicates with us (and on our behalf to the Father) in words that defy speech (Rom. 8:26), and He lets us decide how we respond to Him. If we receive and believe what He says, then we respond in faith. If we reject what He says or refuse to believe, then we respond in unbelief. Therefore, faith is not mysterious or hard to understand. Faith simply means that we believe God when He communicates with us.
Christian Forums Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964–c1976. Vols. 5–9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (6:174). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
The writer of Hebrews made an attempt at a definition in a single sentence: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (KJV), Heb. 11:1. It was an indication that the misuse of the term has been with us since the beginning. People are generally confused about what faith is.
James 2:17 says, “faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” He was addressing the error of faith as a theory as opposed to faith as action. The command to believe requires the action to obey God – repent and believe the good news.
Another example of faith in error we find in Mat. 6:1-2, where Jesus is addressing the faith of the Pharisees, who were full of self-righteous pride. “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” So then, believing is very much a part of a favorable relationship with God.
From scripture, we can see that there are several aspects to Biblical faith:
1. The aspect of a directional path:
John 14:6 – Jesus is “the Way”
Acts 9:2, 22:14 – Disciples of Jesus were said to have been followers of the way.
Salvation was called “the way” – Acts 16:17, 18:25, 24:14. Therefore, the way to life is a journey, in which a person is going toward God, that is, in pursuit of God. Many times the prophets call for people to turn toward God – 2 Chron. 7:14, Jer. 29:13, Mat. 6:33. The journey is a constant seeking and turning toward God. And Jesus spoke of the way to life – Mat. 7:14, the way leading to life, and a walk:
Jn. 12:35 “Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.”
Rom. 8:4 “that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
This means that the Christian experience is not a one-time event or an instant satisfaction. It requires living out life in the right direction. Therefore, 1 Jn. 3:6 is not about absolutes, but about direction. “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” The Greek tense indicates ongoing action, not a one-time absolute.
1 Jn. 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” vs. 3:9 "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God"
shows that faith and deliverance from sin is not about absolutes, but about the direction of one's life. It's about who we are putting our faith in.
2. The aspect of the object of faith:
Jesus is the object of our faith. It means that our faith is directed toward Him, not toward ourselves. A slogan of the culture says “believe in yourself.” But that’s the wrong direction for faith. People who think they can get to heaven by obeying the 10 Commandments have their faith misdirected. It should not be directed toward ourselves or the law, but toward Christ. Heb. 12:2 says that we should “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith.” In Isa. 49:26, God says “I, the Lord, am your Savior.” This implies that we cannot save ourselves, we must look to the Lord Jesus for salvation.
Heb. 12:1 "... looking to Jesus, the author and perfector of faith"
3. The aspect of being rescued from a sinful condition:
Mat. 1:21 says that Jesus comes to save His people from their sins. Notice it doesn’t say “from the penalty of their sins,” but rather “from their sins.” 1 Jn. 3:8 says that Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil, which is the sinful nature. There is a false gospel going around in certain circles which essentially teaches that Jesus saves from hell, but not from the sinful nature. Such teaching offers excuse for people to continue sinning and still expect to be welcomed into heaven. It simply is not so, and is no gospel at all.
Sin is a serious problem, and God will judge every person according to what they have done in their life. Rom. 14:10 says “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” Jesus will say to those he separates out to his left, “depart from Me, you workers of iniquity” (Luke 13:27). The future lake of fire judgment teaches us that sin is a “grave” issue that God will certainly deal with in a final and fatal manner. 2 Pet. 3:9 says that God is patient toward us, not willing that we should perish, but that all of us should come to repentance.
But the hope is in Jesus Christ, and the means to that hope is to put our trust in Him to rescue us from our wrong ways. 1 Pet. 2:24 says that Jesus bore our sins on the cross in His body, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by His wounds we are healed. And this hope secures our future, as Heb. 6:19 indicates.
4. The aspect of the fear of God:
Lk. 12:4-5 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” This is a healthy respect of who God is relative to yourself.
Ps. 103:11 “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him”
5. The aspect of having an eternal vision:
2 Cor. 4:18 – we look to things unseen
1 Pet. 2:11 – we are strangers and aliens in this world
Phil. 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ”
Luke 12:33-34 “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
John 3:3 – Spiritual birth is required to see God’s kingdom. The idea is that the power of God establishes His kingdom on Earth, and a spiritual vision sees it.
The Christian life is a lifetime journey and a life-long project. Therefore, we must decide that we are in it for life, and no going back to self-centered conceited pleasures.
6. The aspect of God working in the heart of the believer:
Phil. 2:12-13 – God is at work
Eph. 2:10 – God’s people is God’s workmanship
Mat. 1:23 – Emmanuel means God is with us
Jn. 15:4-5 – Abide in Christ to bear fruit for the kingdom of God
Jn. 14:16 – The Holy Spirit is given to us to help us walk with God
Isa. 40:4 – The rough places made plain refers to the power of God to help us in our pursuit of holiness, turning the impossible to the possible
In response to the question “who can be saved” that the disciples asked, Jesus answered, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)
Mat. 11:30 – Jesus makes the burden of righteousness easy to carry
The Providence of God is assumed, since it is taught in the O.T.:
Isa 48:3 “I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.” The future is made by God acting by His wisdom and power. We should apply this to our future, that we are in God’s hands: “He has the whole world in His hands,” how much more our individual lives?
Job 12:23 “He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them.” If nations, then how much more our miniscule individual lives?
Ps. 18:29 “With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.”
The apostle Peter applies this to our spiritual Christian life, in saying (2 Pet. 1:3) “By these great and precious promises, God has provided everything we need pertaining to life and godliness.”
The apostle Paul also applies the concept of God’s providence to every Christian in Phil 2:13 in saying “God is at work in you, to will and do His good pleasure.” This statement is in reference to our personal salvation, and the spiritual fruit we are to bear.
The only conclusion we can come to as a result of this is that we must trust God to help us do His will. We not only have to obey Christ in all that He commanded, but we have to trust God to help us fulfill it. This is the faith that justifies us in the sight of God. If Jesus actually reconciled us with God, then God is really with us to direct, guide, and empower us for His service. Are you trusting Christ to heal your spirit and guide your life every day?
1 Pet. 2:25 “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” Returning to God for His help in all matters of life is the act of faith.
7. The aspect of trust:
Prov. 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Ps. 4:5 “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and trust in the Lord”
Mk. 1:15 “the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
So, how can you say you believe in Christ, if you aren’t trusting what He said? If Jesus promises blessing and favor from God if you obey Him, then to have faith in Christ is to trust that what He says is right (and obey), regardless of your own feelings or opinion.
8. The aspect of increase:
Pro 4:18 “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” Maturing in the Christian life takes time, so we have to be all in it for life. There is no turning back.
9. The aspect of perseverance:
Prov. 24:16 “though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
This implies that the one who is right with God has his sights set on a better life for himself and others in his life. The righteous man is concerned with how his life shows that his faith is real, because his God is real.
Mat. 5:16 “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Our lives display to others around us how real our faith is.
Conclusion:
All of these aspects of the faith is how it is defined in the scripture. This might not be an exhaustive list, but you should be able to see how people go wrong if they are trying to believe any other way. The reason why there is so much controversy about the Christian faith, and why so many people are confused, is because they are ignorant of what the Bible actually says about it.