What Faith Is

We typically use the word faith as a sense of optimism or wishful thinking. If someone is depressed, we tell them to have faith. If someone is hesitant about doing something, we say have faith, or wishful thinking, that it will turn out well. However, a biblical view of faith understands faith a little differently. The English word faith comes from the Greek word Πιστις (pistis), which can be translated with the range of meanings from simple belief to faithfulness. But more often than not, the word faith is used to mean faithfulness: mentally assenting to a concept and acting according to that assertion. Faith is both believing something and acting upon that belief. 

Faith is more than a feeling

The fancy term for this composite action found in this one word faith is a verbal hendiadys. The word faith means belief and action. If I were to ask you to take a step forward, I wouldn't have to say, bend your knee, rotate your hip, then straighten your leg, and put your foot down although you have to do all four of those actions to follow my one request to take a step. Likewise, the one word faith, incorporates both belief and behavior into one word. When Jesus says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” He isn’t talking about the simple act of the eardrum registering the words coming out of someone’s mouth. Hearing is connected to obedience. It’s not good enough for me to receive the words my wife says to me, I also have to respond and react to the words for me to truly hear her. Hearing, like faith is a verbal hendiadys that includes a response of obedience.

Faith without works is fiction, not faith

In the Hebrews 11 examples of the heroes of faith, they all believed and then acted in a way that demonstrated their belief. In the list of the heroes of faith is the odd example found in verse 30, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.” How can walls have faith? Did the walls believe God? No, I don’t think the walls have the capacity to believe something. What did the walls do? They obeyed. The mark of the faith of the walls is that they did something. 

Faith is more than belief

In James 2:19, it says, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” Unlike the walls of Jericho, the demons have the capacity to believe. They are spiritual beings, which gives them the capacity to do spiritual things like believe. And as a matter of fact, the demons do believe that Jesus is Lord and will confess Him as such at the judgement. This is a solemn thought, but belief by itself will not save us. Let me ask you this question, “Is your faith more like the walls who didn’t have the capacity to believe but obeyed or like the demons who believe but refuse to obey?”

Because it is an important image, let’s return to the image of a faith house. As we begin, we see that the foundation for our Faith House is Jesus Christ. As we examine the gospel of Jesus Christ, we find that the gospel is true. The gospel of Jesus Christ is based on events that actually happened and that there is evidence supporting it. Observing the evidence leads us to believing the gospel, the same way we believe in gravity, because it is true. And as we continue in that belief, it becomes faith. But faith as we’ve seen faith cannot on one wall of evidence alone. It also needs the evidence of a changed life. And as we increase our awareness of the evidence of the gospel, we also increase the evidence of obedience as we learn to live our life in a way that pleases God. And the presence of the Holy Spirit in our life.