Faith

[2Timothy2]

Anyone want to work on a definition for faith?

I've been mulling this over for a bit. Just what is faith? Starting with Heb 11:1 and Rom 10:17 I have this:

Faith is a personal trust in God/Christ. A trust that He will and can do what He says He will and can do. Faith is based on knowledge, it is not a desperate grasp in the dark. This knowledge may certainly be limited, but it is always based on truth; God's word is truth.
​

I still think this is oversimplified and could use some editing.

Why do I think it is important to clearly define faith? I think many harmful distortions of Scripture could be avoided by a proper understanding of this most fundamental element of our relationship with our Lord. For one thing, faith is not a force. It is not how we manipulate God to do our bidding. This is not being taught here in B/AB, but I have heard and read it in other places, to the detriment of those sitting under that teaching. I suppose this goes to or comes from my emphasis on sound doctrine.

Hopefully we won't get a heated debate, but I also hope there will be some discussion. Thanks.

 

[rural_preacher]

I often explain faith as trust.

Trust is relying upon someone or something.

Therefore, faith=trust=reliance.

Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not on thy own understanding."

The word "trust" in this verse is a Hebrew word which means "to stretch out and lie down upon". In other words, this verse is contrasting our complete weight being placed on God rather than trying to lean our weight on the unreliable crutch of our own understanding.

So, I would define Faith as "a complete reliance upon God".


Just my .02



--

 

[Matthan]

I would agree with your definition, 2Tim2, with one small yet major addition. Personally, I believe Faith is (to me) a solid mixture of belief and trust. A heart-felt belief that God is God and Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, and God the Son. Then, trusting in God to fulfill His promise of grace freely given to those with "Faith", or belief and trust, becomes the very essence of Christianity, or the simplicity that is Jesus Christ.

Again, this is my own humble opinion....

Matthan <J>< (Festina Lente)

 

[2Timothy2]

Sorry, I was implying belief, should have stated it, you are right Matthan.

RP, interesting. I get the combined picture of the "Footprints" poem and the criticism we sometimes get from nonbelievers of using God as a crutch. If our faith is simply a crutch, we don't have a very strong faith. If He carries us, that is the faith that can move mountains, because it is God that does it, not us.

Henry Blackaby *sp* said something interesting in one of his books. I am going to butcher it but here's my paraphrase: If I really believed what God has said, I would not doubt, if I doubt, I don't really believe God was being truthful. Wow, my memory is weak here. LOL That's not quite how or what he said, but hopefully y'all get the gist.

 

[mesue]

Faith

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

 

[ZiSunka]

Here's a paper I did on the definition of faith when I was in Bible school"


Faith


“Trust me, Mrs. Jones, I can cure you,” the doctor says dramatically as the poor ailing woman clutches his white smock. “I have faith in you, doctor,” Mrs. Jones replies before she falls into a coma.

This TV drama has been repeated over and over throughout the last fifty or so years, and before that, such melodramatic scenes were often played out in movies, plays, novels and poetry. Faith is a word that is bandied about so much that it has little meaning to most people. Faith has come to mean a conviction or belief that something will happen, sometimes regardless of how irrational or ironic that belief is (Webster’s).

Recently I had a conversation with a self-admitted pagan that went like this:

Me: So what happens to you when you die?

Her: Well, I go to the collective spirit that you might call heaven.

Me: Do you know this will happen, or are you just hoping?

Her: No, I believe it will happen.

Me: What is your belief based on?

Her: On faith, just like yours.

Me: But what is your faith based on?

Her: Same thing yours is based on. The belief that my gods and goddesses will embrace me.

Me: Well, what is that based on?

Her: What do you mean?

Me: Is that written down somewhere, or is it just a feeling?

Her: Feelings are reality.

Me: I’d want something more than feelings if I were basing my whole life on a hope like that. Do you have anything in writing from your gods?

Her: No. I don’t need that. I have faith… (Christian Forums)

This is typical of the circular reasoning that most people wrestle with when they think or talk about “faith.” Faith is a feeling, something insubstantial, based on nothing, an expectation based on an idea, and not on anything verifiable or substantial. To many people, the word “faith” really means “an ethereal desire, a wish” (M-W.com) The pagan woman in the above example had her hopes of attaining heaven on a wish, a self-created feeling that her soul will be taken up by gods and goddesses and folded into a universal spirit that she has no evidence even exists.

Other people would say that faith is to believe in something so hard that it becomes reality. “If you have enough faith, you will be healed,” people will sometimes say. Even well-meaning, but misinformed, Christians will echo this concept. You can will things into being by the force of your thoughts, they think. This idea comes from a psycho-sociological movement called the Positive Mental Attitude Movement, and its catch–phrase is “The Power of Positive Thinking.” “In 5-Minutes You Can Easily Create The Life You Want,” the advertisements promise. With promises like “Create Wealth,” “Create Health,” and “Create Romance,” it is clear that this power is supposed to come from within yourself. “Harnessing your limitless power through positive thinking” is an exercise in faith, faith in yourself to be able to overcome the world, and the things in this world that impede you from achieving whatever you want. And faith in the power of thought to change reality (Creative Living). But like the pagan’s faith, when this kind of faith is tested to any real extent, it fails, because people are not unlimited and the power of your thoughts affects only your brain, not the world outside of you. Faith alone doesn’t even have any power within your own body. You can’t, by thinking positively, even cure a common cold. Telekinesis is a fictional, if highly desired, power.

Other people, even some who might ally themselves with Christianity, say they have faith, but are unable to say what that means. They believe that Christ is the Messiah, they believe that the Bible contains a true guide to life, they believe that they will attain heaven based on works or their good deeds outweighing their bad deeds. But beyond that mere assent to these principles, they don’t know what they mean when they say they have faith. They have a credence, rather than a faith (M-W.com).

Even some born-again believers have trouble identifying what faith really means.

So what is faith then? If it is not a baseless belief, a desire or a wish, the power of positive thinking, or a credence, what is it?

The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible says is not a mere assent to a statement, but assent united with trust in the one who made the statement. It is the difference between these two statements, “I believe you,” and “I believe in you.” Belief is the assent illustrated in the first statement. It is a statement of assent to the veracity of the person. You believe that he/she is telling the truth. Faith is more than that; it is the assent and trust illustrated in the second statement. It is a statement not only of assent to the veracity of the person, but in the ability of the person to perform the promised action. You believe that they are able to do what they said. To believe someone, you only have to accept that their character will cause them to tell the truth. To have faith in someone, you have to accept that, and that their character will cause them to complete their promise. The first is a present-tense action, the second is a present tense action and a future tense action. Faith requires not only a statement, but a promise of future action. It is an expectation as well as a conviction. It is absolute confidence in the truthfulness of every statement which comes from God. (Davis, pp180-181).

Essig defines Christian faith as the unqualified assent to the truths of God, either revealed or concealed. This reiterates the concept that true faith must be based on a person (or being) whose character is worthy of trust. Faith is an issue then, not only of the will, or desire, but of the character of the one in whom one’s faith is placed. The pagan woman, whose religion is based on oral tradition and individual feelings, is hoping on the character of gods and goddesses whose character is unknown, and this true faith is impossible. Her faith is placed in beings who, if they exist, have characters which are a matter of hearsay and conjecture. Her gods and goddesses have been fashioned on oral tradition and individual thought and feeling, and not on actual observations of their character or even on ancient texts. No one has ever seen her gods, no one has ever experienced her gods, no one has ever heard the voice of her gods (Jeremiah 10), and most importantly, no one has ever received a promise or seen the fulfillment of a promise from any god, (Isaiah 36). What she has is pretension, the desire to believe in something that is untested or untestable.

Christians find their security in God as revealed in the Bible, in nature and in Jesus Christ (Baker). This is very different from the pagans’ faith, in that it is based on observable character, not on hopefulness and conjecture. We can read for ourselves what God has promised, and how he has behaved in the past. We can hear and read testimonies from people who have experienced God’s character, and we can see in nature God’s character revealed. Actually experience God in the here-and-now through the Holy Spirit. (Romans 5:5, 14:7, 15:13, 2 Corinthians 6:6, etc.).

Therefore, our faith is true faith. It is assent to the truthfulness of God, and to the trustworthiness of a being whose character can be experienced and observed.




Works Cited



Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., Springfield, Mass., 1989.



Merriam-Webster Online, Merriam-Webster Inc., http://www.m-w.com/, 2002.



Christian Forums, www.christianforums.com.



Creative Living,Discover The Secrets To Creating Success And Happiness, http://www.creativelivinginc.com/, New York, 2001.



Davis, John D., The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1944.



Essig, Montgomery F., The Comprehensive Analysis of the Bible, Southwestern Company, Nashville, 1922.



Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, http://bible.crosswalk.com/Dictionaries/BakersEvangelicalDictionary/bed.cgi, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1996.



All scripture references are from God’s Word, World Publishing Inc., Cleveland, 1995. Used by permission.

 

[Iollain]

I once heard a preacher explain faith like this:

Faith is like the rope that holds the boat attached to the anchor, you cannot see the anchor down there, but you know it is there because you can feel it holding on to you (the boat) especially when the storms come.

 

[mesue]

I like that. Can I use it?

 

[Iollain]

Ya sure can, i forget what preacher i heard it from, was a tv preacher, maybe John Hagee. The rope reminds me of the Holy Spirit.

 

[holyrokker]

One important element of faith seems to be reason. A person needs a reason for faith. I can't place my faith in someone or something that hasn't been proven worthy of a level of trust.
"Blind" faith really isn't faith - it's superstition.
I first placed my faith in Christ 28 years ago because the Bible had proven itself sufficiently trustworthy to me at that time.
I trust Christ today because He has proven Himself worthy of my trust over and over again.

 

[costlygrace]

Faith is a belief in Christ—a complete confidence, that He is all that He claims to be, that He means everything that He says in His Word (without our qualifications); that He has done all that He says He has, and that He will do all that He has promised to do. Faith is also a complete and permanent loyalty to all that He is and to all that He stands for and taught--because that is what it means to believe in someone.

 

[2Timothy2]

Costlygrace, could you elaborate on the phrase "Faith is also a complete and permanent loyalty to all that He is and to all that He stands for and taught"

I ask because we all sin, and this seems to be a lack of such loyalty, but I want to be sure what you mean. Thanks

 

[ZiSunka]

Tim,

I think you can have unswerving allegiance and still sin. Sin is the product of the human condition as much as choice, but even if you do choose to sin, it doesn't mean that you have abandoned allegiance. For instance, suppose you have pledged yourself to your wife and she has asked you to take the car for an oil change and you say you will, but you don't and the car breaks down because the oil is bad. You've sinned against your wife twice, by making a promise and not keeping it, and by not being concerned enough for her well-being to take car of her car. But you are still faithful and loyal to her, right? It doesn't destroy the relationship just because you sinned. Sure, she's mad at you, but she doesn't divorce you over it.

By the way, that happened to my sister, and she's still married to the guy who lied to her about the oil. She's almost done being mad about the car. He saved $30 by not changing the oil, but it cost them $3000 for a new engine. But they are still devoted to the relationship.

So, sins hurt a relationship, but they don't necessarily destroy it.

 

[costlygrace]

Costlygrace, could you elaborate on the phrase "Faith is also a complete and permanent loyalty to all that He is and to all that He stands for and taught"

I ask because we all sin, and this seems to be a lack of such loyalty, but I want to be sure what you mean. Thanks

I did not, of course, say "a prefect loyalty".

Our loyalty to Christ should be permanent, meaning our loyalty to Him never comes to an end, and complete, meaning that we are loyal to everything about Him and His teaching, rather than picking and choosing.

God bless!
costlygrace

 

[2Timothy2]

Thanks LL and CG. Your comments make sense. I figured I'd ask, to make sure I understood what was meant, since I have heard some really kooky things on faith. I'm sure we all have. Always better to ask than jump to conclusions.

 

[costlygrace]

Thanks LL and CG. Your comments make sense. I figured I'd ask, to make sure I understood what was meant, since I have heard some really kooky things on faith. I'm sure we all have. Always better to ask than jump to conclusions.