Faith

[Traze77]

What does it mean to have faith in God? I remember a pastor once telling me you have to have faith. Does it mean when I pray, believing that God will answer it or does it mean accepting that there is no one else above God?

One of my struggles in the past has been caring about what other people think and making them more important than God. Is this a lack of faith?

 

[Reluctant Theologian]

The word translated 'faith' in your Bible in the original Hebrew ('emunah') in the Old Testament or Greek ('pistis') in the New Testament more often means 'trust' or 'loyalty', or maybe even 'wholy leaning on something'. So that is much more than the Western definition of 'faith' as 'assuming that something is true'.

So to have faith in God and the salvation by Jesus, then means to fully trust God and be loyal to Him and His instructions, to fully lean on Jesus' sacrifice ... by being a loyal trustworthy discipline etc.

Some believers from a Calvinist-like tradition may not be overly happy with those Hebrew/Greek meanings for the word translated 'faith' in most English Bibles because it reminds them too much of 'good works' in order to earn salvation. But remember we are called to do good works. Show me your works, and I'll tell you what your faith is like ..

Of course salvation is all grace, but if faith is just a hollow proclamation without any obedience or signs that we yield all of our life to God .. that is not the faith God is pleased with.

Remember Abraham who was asked to sacrifice his son ... It was a test of his faith - He had to show evidence that he had faith in God, i.e. that he trusted God in the whole exercise.

Can you give an example of why you think you sometimes care more about other people's opinions that God's ?

 

[d taylor]

What does it mean to have faith in God? I remember a pastor once telling me you have to have faith. Does it mean when I pray, believing that God will answer it or does it mean accepting that there is no one else above God?

One of my struggles in the past has been caring about what other people think and making them more important than God. Is this a lack of faith?

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Faith is simply being persuaded or convinced that something is true. So having faith in God, is believing God's promises are true. Example God states if a person believes in Jesus they have received God's free gift of Eternal Life.

 

[honey badger]

What does it mean to have faith in God? I remember a pastor once telling me you have to have faith. Does it mean when I pray, believing that God will answer it or does it mean accepting that there is no one else above God?

One of my struggles in the past has been caring about what other people think and making them more important than God. Is this a lack of faith?

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit."

it does not say to build our faith, but to build ourselves upon it ... faith being the very person of God ...

 

[Soyeong]

The word translated 'faith' in your Bible in the original Hebrew ('emunah') in the Old Testament or Greek ('pistis') in the New Testament more often means 'trust' or 'loyalty', or maybe even 'wholly leaning on something'. So that is much more than the Western definition of 'faith' as 'assuming that something is true'.

So to have faith in God and the salvation by Jesus, then means to fully trust God and be loyal to Him and His instructions, to fully lean on Jesus' sacrifice ... by being a loyal trustworthy discipline etc.

Some believers from a Calvinist-like tradition may not be overly happy with those Hebrew/Greek meanings for the word translated 'faith' in most English Bibles because it reminds them too much of 'good works' in order to earn salvation. But remember we are called to do good works. Show me your works, and I'll tell you what your faith is like ..

Of course salvation is all grace, but if faith is just a hollow proclamation without any obedience or signs that we yield all of our life to God .. that is not the faith God is pleased with.

Remember Abraham who was asked to sacrifice his son ... It was a test of his faith - He had to show evidence that he had faith in God, i.e. that he trusted God in the whole exercise.

Can you give an example of why you think you sometimes care more about other people's opinions that God's ?

In Proverbs 3:5-7, we have a choice between whether we are going to lean on our own understanding of right and wrong by doing what is right in our own eyes or whether we are going to trust in God with all of our heart to correctly divide between right and wrong by obeying His instructions in all of our ways and He will make our way straight, so that is what it means to have saving faith. In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith. Our salvation is from sin (Matthew 1:21) and sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4), so while we aren’t required to earn our salvation as the result of obeying it, living in obedience to it through faith in Jesus is nevertheless intrinsically the content of the gift of him saving us from us from not living in obedience to it. Having the experience of being a doer of God’s law through faith is the way the He gives the gift of salvation to us, not about what we need to have done first in order to earn our salvation from Gods as the result.

 

[Reluctant Theologian]

In Proverbs 3:5-7, we have a choice between whether we are going to lean on our own understanding of right and wrong by doing what is right in our own eyes or whether we are going to trust in God with all of our heart to correctly divide between right and wrong by obeying His instructions in all of our ways and He will make our way straight, so that is what it means to have saving faith. In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith. Our salvation is from sin (Matthew 1:21) and sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4), so while we aren’t required to earn our salvation as the result of obeying it, living in obedience to it through faith in Jesus is nevertheless intrinsically the content of the gift of him saving us from us from not living in obedience to it. Having the experience of being a doer of God’s law through faith is the way the He gives the gift of salvation to us, not about what we need to have done first in order to earn our salvation from Gods as the result.

I agree, but I think there still would be plenty of Christians who would state that simply having 'faith' in terms of believing that God/Jesus exist and that Jesus indeed died on the cross, is sufficient in itself - that is, living a life of trust/loyalty/dependence on God is expected but still regarded as some kind of optional bonus.

The first one is defining 'faith' as merely knowing a fact or a confession, the second is 'faith' being a relationship with God that is lived-out everyday.

James 2:18

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.​

 

[Soyeong]

I agree, but I think there still would be plenty of Christians who would state that simply having 'faith' in terms of believing that God/Jesus exist and that Jesus indeed died on the cross, is sufficient in itself - that is, living a life of trust/loyalty/dependence on God is expected but still regarded as some kind of optional bonus.

The first one is defining 'faith' as merely knowing a fact or a confession, the second is 'faith' being a relationship with God that is lived-out everyday.

James 2:18

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.​

God is trustworthy, therefore His instructions are also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so the way to trust God is by obediently trusting in His instructions, and it is contradictory for someone to think that we should trust God for salvation instead of trusting in His instructions. In Titus 2:14, Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to God’s law is the way to believe in what Jesus accomplished through the cross (Acts 21:20).

 

[Thijs Hottenhuis]

Everyone has faith in something. Most people have faith in the world, and the laws of the world. Committed Christians have faith in God, and believe that God will take care of them always, no matter what it looks like. Faith means believing this before you see the proof of this. Then, when you walk through life with faith in God, things will start happening, which will help you move from faith to trust. More and more little coincidences happen, smoothening the way for you, so many that they cannot be just coincidences anymore. Instead of just believing God will take care of you, you experience He IS taking care of you. That is an enormous blessing, hallelujah!

 

[Traze77]

Everyone has faith in something. Most people have faith in the world, and the laws of the world. Committed Christians have faith in God, and believe that God will take care of them always, no matter what it looks like. Faith means believing this before you see the proof of this. Then, when you walk through life with faith in God, things will start happening, which will help you move from faith to trust. More and more little coincidences happen, smoothening the way for you, so many that they cannot be just coincidences anymore. Instead of just believing God will take care of you, you experience He IS taking care of you. That is an enormous blessing, hallelujah!

Amen to this!

 

[WordSword]

What does it mean to have faith in God? I remember a pastor once telling me you have to have faith. Does it mean when I pray, believing that God will answer it or does it mean accepting that there is no one else above God?

One of my struggles in the past has been caring about what other people think and making them more important than God. Is this a lack of faith?

We can have faith concerning everything we do, knowing that if we are His, He uses everything for our good, esp. the strengthening of our faith (Rom 8:28). Everyone cares about what others think about them, because we want to appeal to others enough to share Christ to the lost, and for encouraging ("exhorting" - Heb 10:25) and strengthening the saved! God bless!!

 

[com7fy8]

What does it mean to have faith in God?

Mark 11:20-24 says that Jesus said, "Have faith in God."

One thing I think of is, He means we need to not look to our own selves, or anybody else, for what is good.

I remember a pastor once telling me you have to have faith. Does it mean when I pray, believing that God will answer it

Well . . . God will give us a better answer than what we can get from ourselves or from another human! But maybe, instead of expecting God to do what we ask . . . trust Him to do what He wants, and it will fit into His overall and all-loving purpose.

or does it mean accepting that there is no one else above God?

This is included. There is more to learn about faith. One surprise might be that Paul our Apostle speaks of >

"faith working through love," in Galatians 5:6.

One of my struggles in the past has been caring about what other people think and making them more important than God. Is this a lack of faith?

It isn't faith. We depend on God and do well to make sure with God about anything.

 

[Aviel]

What does it mean to have faith in God?

Trust

 

[St_Worm2]

Hello @Traze77, the Reformers had quite a bit to say about saving faith (after all, the "battle cry" of the Reformation was sola fide/salvation by faith alone). So, this was a topic that they spent quite a bit of time and ink on. Here's a concise summary (of sorts) of what they principally believed and taught in regard to saving faith for you to consider.

When Luther and the Reformers declared that justification is by faith alone, they realized that it was necessary to give a careful definition to saving faith. They defined saving faith as including necessary constituent elements, that it, saving faith, is composed of information, intellectual assent, and personal trust.​

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ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF SAVING FAITH​

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What are the constituent elements of saving faith? The Protestant Reformers recognized that biblical faith has three essential aspects: notitia, assensus, and fiducia.​

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Notitia refers to the content of faith, the things we believe. There are certain things we are required to believe about Christ, namely, that He is the Son of God, that He is our Savior, that He has provided an atonement, and so on.​

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Assensus is the conviction that the content of our faith is true. One can know about the Christian faith and yet believe that it is not true. We might have a doubt or two mixed with our faith, but there has to be a certain level of intellectual affirmation and conviction if we are to be saved. Before anyone can really trust in Jesus Christ, he has to believe that Christ indeed is the Savior, that He is who He claimed to be. Genuine faith says that the content, the notitia, is true.​

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Fiducia refers to personal trust and reliance. Knowing and believing the content of the Christian faith is not enough, for even demons can do that (James 2:19). Faith is effectual only if one personally trusts in Christ alone for salvation. It is one thing to give an intellectual assent to a proposition but quite another to place personal trust in it. We can say that we believe in justification by faith alone and yet still think that we are going to get to heaven by our achievements, our works, or our striving. It is easy to get the doctrine of justification by faith into our heads, but it is hard to get it into the bloodstream such that we cling to Christ alone for salvation.​

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There is another element to fiducia besides trust, and that is ~affection~. An unregenerate person will never come to Jesus, because he does not want Jesus. In his mind and heart, he is fundamentally at enmity with the things of God. As long as someone is hostile to Christ, he has no affection for Him. Satan is a case in point. Satan knows the truth, but he hates the truth. He is utterly disinclined to worship God because he has no love for God. We are like that by nature. We are dead in our sin. We walk according to the powers of this world and indulge the lusts of the flesh. Until the Holy Spirit changes us, we have hearts of stone. An unregenerate heart is without affection for Christ; it is both lifeless and loveless. The Holy Spirit changes the disposition of our hearts so that we see the sweetness of Christ and embrace Him. None of us loves Christ perfectly, but we cannot love Him at all unless the Holy Spirit changes the heart of stone and makes it a heart of flesh. ~Sproul, R. C. (2014). Essential Truths of the Christian Faith & Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Reformation Trust.​

God bless you!!

--David
p.s. - we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, apart from anything that 'we' do.

That said, and as others have already mentioned above, our salvation RESULTS in our becoming new creatures/new creations in Christ with a new nature, and this greatly and necessarily effects how we choose to live our lives going forward (how we act, speak, and even how we think). The things/the changes that result from our salvation are NEVER things that we are REQUIRED to do to be saved (how could they be?), rather, they are things that we ~WILL do~ BECAUSE we are new creatures in Christ (who normally choose to act in accord with our new nature, rather than in opposition to it).

For instance, whenever we sinned when we were still unbelievers/outside of Christ, we did so ~in accord~ with our old, fallen nature, but whenever we sin now, as true believers, we do so ~in opposition to~ our new nature, in Christ. I hope that makes sense. Please let me know if it does not and I'll try again
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[St_Worm2]

Hello again @Traze77, although illustrations almost always have their shortcomings, here's an interesting one that I have found useful over the years (concerning the difference between faith and saving faith).

Hopefully you will too

Wheelbarrow Faith (the true story of Charles Blondin, his wheelbarrow and his crossings of Niagara Falls, as a picture of saving faith)​

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Imagine a tightrope stretched over a quarter of a mile and spanning the breadth of Niagara Falls! The thundering sound of the pounding water drowning out all other sounds as you watch a man step onto the rope and walk across!​

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This stunning feat made Charles Blondin famous in the summer of 1859. He walked 160 feet above the falls several times back and forth between Canada and the United States as huge crowds on both sides looked on with shock and awe. Once he crossed in a sack, once on stilts, another time on a bicycle, and once he even carried a stove out there and cooked an omelet on it! ​

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On July 15, Blondin walked backward across the tightrope to Canada and returned pushing a wheelbarrow.​

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The Blondin story is told that it was after pushing a wheelbarrow across while blindfolded that Blondin asked for some audience participation. The crowds had watched and "Ooooohed" and "Aaaaahed!" He had proven that he could do it; of that, there was no doubt. But now he was asking for a volunteer to get into the wheelbarrow and take a ride across the Falls with him!​

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It is said that he asked his audience, "Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?" Of course, the crowd shouted that "yes", they believed he could!​

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It was then that Blondin posed the question - "Who will get in the wheelbarrow?'​

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Of course...none did.​

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The Lord Jesus asks us to have that kind of faith in Him, wheelbarrow faith, that is.

This is the kind of faith that jumps into that wheelbarrow and willingly/happily chooses to go along for the ride with Him, come what may (IOW, it's the kind of faith by which we choose to surrender the reins of our lives to Him with great hope and joy), trusting.........

1. that He loves us, sees the "big picture" of our lives, and both knows and wants what is best for us and,​

2. that He will see that we get it (what is best for us, that is)​

............both in the eternity to come, and also in the here and now (even though what is 'best' for us in the latter case doesn't always seem like it is to us in the moment .. e.g. Hebrews 12:7-11 ).

God bless you!!

--David
p.s. - the above story was excerpted from here: Charles Blondin Story - Faith on a Tightrope