How do I know if I have faith?

[Brother_Joey_Gowdy]

OK!!

Im glad you asked this


The Bible says, Faith is the substance of things hoped for with the evidence of things unseen.

Ok, so what does this have to do with Jesus?
The Bible says, This is given that you may know: IF you have the Son you have life; IF you have not the Son you have not life.

Life being eternal life in Heaven with Jesus, salvation, hence- once saved always saved.

 

[allisonbourgeois89]

You will not question it if you do.

 

[jesrein9]

it is my opinion that belief in general is merely an acknowledgment that something is true. faith however is that same acknowledgment of a truth coupled with an intention to act on that belief. in other words. belief is saying faith is doing.. or trusting.. saying i believe God saved me is merely an acknowledgment, but trusting God through faith means you don't just acknowledge your salvation but act in ways that are becoming of someone who is saved, including your confessions, and your thoughts. IMO if you are saying do I have faith it is time to hit the ground knees first and seek out God on the matter. If you truly do have faith then chances are you are under an attack just as other posters have mentioned.. if you don't have faith you will quicklyfind it in the word or in prayer.. God Bless and good luck on your journey.

 

[Psalms34]

I'm not sure if this belongs here, but it feels like a "new Christian" thing to ask.

I've been worrying about this for a long time. The pastors and other Christians I've spoken with have told me things like, "If you are asking this question, you have faith." or "You just have to feel like you believe." or "If you read your Bible every night, you have faith." But none of that seems right.

Jesus says I need the faith of a mustard seed, a really small seed, and I'm good. How do I know if I have even that?

Well, sometimes faith comes by trial. I mean as things get hairy, you begin to realize just whom to turn to. So best to read your bible, learn it well, be prepared, because trials will come. They will come whether you learn it or not, so best to be prepared.

1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

II Cor 8:2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

Dig in, clutch with both hands and hang tight. The difference between you and that other guy with no faith at all is that he gets burnt up, but you grow and thrive of it.

 

[mini21]

I believe by accepting Christ, you already have SOME faith. It may even be smaller than a mustard seed, but you have faith. I believe that as you draw closer to God and really study his word, he GIVES you faith. It's not something you can earn on your own, or rely on yourself to produce. Sort of like the fruits of the spirit. You have to put forth some effort, but after a while it becomes natural because you are operating on HE who lives within you. His love becomes your love. His faith, your faith. That's what i think anyway. I do still have alot if researching to do, but I have done enough to know that even the newest Christian has some faith.

 

[UnderHisWings1979]

This is a pretty tough question, and one that I have recently struggled with myself. I hope that you are able to read this response. There was a time very recently in my life, when I questioned my salvation. I asked my pastor the very same question you have asked, and received the same answer, "The fact that you are asking me that question tells me you have faith." But I still didn't know. When I looked deep in my soul, I didn't know if I was truly saved. Then I was finally given an answer that made sense to me. Do you have feel conviction? I think it is that simple. If you do not feel conviction about sin in your life, God has left you alone. He is not calling you, He is not forming you, and you are not saved. But if you do feel conviction (which it sounds like you do), then God has already called you, and He has already predestined you to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. You are saved.

 

[jeremyloo]

I'm not sure if this belongs here, but it feels like a "new Christian" thing to ask.

I've been worrying about this for a long time. The pastors and other Christians I've spoken with have told me things like, "If you are asking this question, you have faith." or "You just have to feel like you believe." or "If you read your Bible every night, you have faith." But none of that seems right.

Jesus says I need the faith of a mustard seed, a really small seed, and I'm good. How do I know if I have even that?

Hi Trav,

Many people like myself loves to "see" our faith increase. And when we keep looking at our faith, we will always be disappointed...and it seems that faith eludes us...especially in time of trial and waiting for deliverance.

We would like to put our faith in between ourselves and God and it can be a "hindrance" of God's blessing. Now don't get me wrong, faith is the "currency" of heaven. You "give" God faith, God "give" you what you request. But the problem with us is the question, "Do I have enough faith?".

I would like to show you a story in the Bible...

Mat 9:20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment,
Mat 9:21 for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well."
Mat 9:22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well.

Here we have a woman that has discharge of blood for 12 years. According to the Law, the woman cannot be in the public...she has broken the Law. But she was not conscious of the Law and neither her faith. She did not say "if I have enough faith, I will be healed". But rather, she was conscious of Jesus. She knew a Jesus who is kind and compassionate and He will heal her even by touching His garment.

And when Jesus turned and see her, He said "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.".

Our faith is not for us to "see", but for God to "see". When we know that our Jesus is kind, full of compassion, full of goodness, full of grace and He will pull you out of your trouble...even if it's your own making, He will see you in your Faith. Your faith will "automatically" increase when you see His goodness and grace. Our faith is not for us to "see", but God to "see"....we just need to "see" His grace.

Be Bless,

Jeremy Loo

 

[jesrein9]

Hi Jeremy!

That was a great post!! and so true. I just have one thing to add. You mentioned seeing Go'ds grace... I venture to say that we dont' even seen His grace either. Just like our faith it is God who sees the grace. We often look for the grace and mistake it as the gift that was given. His grace is not the healing, rather it is the decision behind the healing. It is Him deciding that though we are not worthy He will reach out to us anyway.We must not look at what God gives us as a basis to determine whether we have faith. Instead we look at God himself. No no man has seen God but we can see, feel, hear, and otherwise sense the Holy Spirit around us. It is when we see Jesus face to face that our faith within our hearts is confirmed for us. Faith is knowing and doing without seeing. But when we see it is confirmation that our faith was working and in motion for without faith no one will please God. Maybe i'm sounding a bit scatterbrained but i hope you got the jist of what i was saying.

~God Bless
Martha

 

[rodneyhowardnet]

Believing and accepting that Jesus Christ is our savior. prayer is the way to strengthen our faith in God.

 

[dies-l]

Every person has faith, but not every person has faith in Christ. Faith is the act of making someone or something the priority in one's life. Faith is not only believing that something is true or that something is good, but living as though we believe that that thing is best. Thus many people have faith in money; they live their lives in pursuit of it at the expense of other things and people. Some people have faith in their country. Some people have faith in human relationships (sexual or otherwise). But, salvation comes from placing our faith in Jesus Christ.

Some Christians teach that faith is simply believing that Jesus is the Son of God, that He rose from the dead, and that He can save you. I would encourage you to consider that teaching in light of the book of James, which tells us that, even the demons believe that much, and that faith without works is dead. Faith is not simply an intellectual acceptance of a particular set of doctrines. It is choosing to make those beliefs the guiding force of your life. It is choosing to live as though you believe that Christ's forgiveness is not just a good thing, but that it is the best thing, after which to model your life.

This does not mean that we will be perfect and that we will never sin. We are, after all, still human. It does mean that we will make a sincere effort to make every decision out of gratitude for what God has done for us and out of a desire to serve and obey Him, because we are convinced that His plan is better than our own and that what he values is better than what we value.

I hope this, in some small way, helps to answer your question.

 

[andreha]

I have had a vision a few days ago about this precise topic. The Christian thinks to himself "When will my faith ever be big enough to move mountains?" Then, Jesus walks right up to the Christian, and says "Look, in my one hand, there is a speck of gold, and in the other, a large nugget of gold. Which one would you say is yours?"

The Christian then points to the tiny speck of gold, and says "That must be mine. The large nugget must be yours, Lord"

Then, Jesus says "No my child. The tiny speck is what you need to move mountains. The large nugget is yours. You have more than enough already. You just didn't realize it."

Amazing... Truly amazing...

 

[HolyWarrior77]

Trust in The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Whenever I start to doubt or think TOO much about scripture or I begin to question Jesus, I try to repeat this scripture.

Afterall Jesus didn't come to bring peace, but a sword. And Jesus is the word of God. The only way to fight against the evil one is with Jesus.

Also remember that Jesus has ALL the power on earth and in heaven. That leaves Satan with zero. You need to chose to rely on Jesus and his promise to be your strength. When you have Jesus, the holy spirit lives within you! The war is not between you and anyone else, it is between God and the evil one

Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved

Meaning that Jesus will defeat the enemy before your eyes

Jesus said, 34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”[/I]

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.