What Faith Is

It is now time for the most fundamental question in this booklet. Does the Bible give an exact definition of faith? Since it says there is one faith, does it, in fact, give one definition of that faith? Is there a place where the Bible says, “Faith is…” and a precise definition follows? If so, where is it, and what does it say?

Hebrews 11:1-40 has often been called the “faith” chapter. It describes many of God’s greatest servants and how their faith enabled them to perform great acts and miracles, or to endure severe trials. This long chapter is very inspiring, and all who want to have real faith should periodically read it. It contains the word faith two dozen times. Heb 11:2 says, “For by it [faith] the elders [these Bible figures] obtained a good report.”

How could they have obtained a “good report” unless they understood faith? Now for God’s definition in Heb 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Did you notice that faith involves “evidence” of things “not seen”? The marginal rendering of “substance” is “assurance.” Faith involves an ASSURANCE “of things hoped for.” But, if something is hoped for, that something has not yet been received. Therefore, where faith is involved, there is an ASSURANCE that it will be received!

But how can evidence be related to something that is not seen? Do we not rather think of evidence as involving things that are seen?

In a courtroom, evidence is what can be proven. It involves facts visible to a jury. In other words, evidence only involves things that can be seen or demonstrated. How then can faith involve evidence that is invisible—not seen?

Faith involves evidence in the following way. Real faith, in any promise made by God, is actually the evidence. It is the belief that is the evidence. If God promises to do something, it is impossible for Him to lie (Heb. 6:18). Your evidence that He will perform it is the very unwavering faith that you hold. Do you understand this? Remember, Hebrews 11:1 said, “faith is…the evidence.” If you have true Christian faith, you do not need to search for the evidence—you already possess it!

The Doctrine of Faith

We have read the biblical definition of faith, but faith is also a doctrine. Notice: “The principles of the doctrine of Christ…of faith toward God…” (Heb. 6:1). Faith is always exercised toward God, but it is Christ who makes this possible.

Faith is something Christ teaches—this is why the Bible calls it “the doctrine of Christ.” By now, you realize that faith is important for all Christians to understand. You need not be confused about it, though people around you may be. We must eliminate the misunderstanding and deception about faith.

Perhaps when Christ returns, He will find real faith in you!

For every doctrine of God, there are endless ideas that people conjure up about it. The Bible explains what God says and thinks about His doctrines. If a doctrine comes from and belongs to God, we ought to examine what HE says about it. You should never be concerned with the opinions of people. The balance of this booklet will explain the Bible’s true teaching about the doctrine of faith toward God. Prepare to be surprised!

Not the Five Senses

Almost everyone believes that faith involves feelings. But physical feelings merely come from the human senses and have nothing whatsoever to do with what God promises—or faith!

Human beings accept knowledge that they have received through the five senses—seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting. These senses all involve physical information—physical knowledge. The mind receives and processes this information in order to draw conclusions about circumstances, things and events taking place around it. Faith is spiritual, not physical. It is a confident assurance, which comes from the Spirit of God in the mind of a converted human being.

So many today lack the strength—the POWER—to believe that God will perform the promises contained in His Word. He seems far away, vague and ethereal to billions of human beings caught up in a materialistic world. The vast majority do not have time for God. There seems to be no room for prayer, Bible study, fasting and meditation. All these things draw us closer to God. Most give up trying to do them, and then wonder why they have no faith! This leaves them forced to rely solely on their five senses for guidance. Most people feel that anything derived from a source other than these is not to be trusted.

No one would ever wish to lose his or her physical sight. Certainly no one would ever consider driving a car if he were blind. Now, consider the following verse: “FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, not by sight” (II Cor. 5:7). Practicing true faith means learning to disregard what you see. Literally, sight does not count in relation to what God has promised to do or when He will do it.

This verse reveals that Christians do not walk by what they see!

Think of this example in the following way. Just as you would never consider driving a car WITHOUT SIGHT, a Christian is not permitted to walk through life BY SIGHT! This is not a principle that people learn overnight. The very concept of this kind of spiritual understanding is foreign—COMPLETELY ALIEN—to human thinking. Unlearning the wrong idea of faith requires a lifetime of practice.

Prayer, study, fasting and meditation are spiritual activities. God is Spirit and Christ explained, regarding Christians, “They that worship Him [the Father] must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Of course, people who do not KNOW the truth of all the other doctrines of God, though they may know the truth about faith, cannot possibly worship God “in truth.” They may strive to worship God “in spirit” but it is impossible to worship Him in truth if they are doing it in ignorance of many crucial Bible truths. However, for our purposes here, at least all who read this booklet will no longer be unaware of the truth about the doctrine of FAITH—and how it relates to worshipping God in spirit.

Many wonder why they are never healed—or why their prayers are not answered. They wonder why they are not blessed or are not receiving deliverance from God when it is needed. They lack faith, which comes from the Spirit of God. If they had faith, they would have evidence—assurance—confidence—that they would be healed, blessed, delivered or receive answers to their prayers! They would KNOW that these things were coming, in advance of their arrival.

Christ Had Real Faith

We have already seen that faith is a fruit of God’s Spirit. Obviously, Christ had tremendous faith. Filled with God’s Spirit, and possessing it from conception, Christ was the most converted Person who ever lived. It gave Him tremendous understanding of the importance of the power of God’s Spirit. This is why He said, “I can of Mine own Self do nothing” (John 5:30)! He knew that “the Father that dwells in Me, He does the works” (John 14:10).

It was through the power of God’s Spirit in Him that Christ accomplished everything that He did. He understood completely that it was only the presence of the Spirit of God in Him that allowed Him to perform miracles. He perfectly exercised the fruit of faith present in Him because of the Holy Spirit. No doubt, God gave Him the additional gift of faith (I Cor. 12:1, 7-9) that He would need to endure all He was to face through His sacrifice as Saviour of the world.

Christ went on to say in John 14:1-31, “He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (Jn 14:12). All the apostles, evangelists and others (including even deacons) performed mighty miracles after Christ’s Resurrection and the start of the New Testament Church. The Bible records this. Through the power of real faith, ordinary people can do amazing things!

But can you have the same kind of faith that Christ had—or that the apostles had? Do Christians today have a different kind of faith?