What Is Faith?

We all have a tendency to fear

You are not alone in that

Fear can, and should be, driven out by Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ

But what is Faith?

How can we get Faith?

Important questions since the Bible tells us four times that “the Just Shall Live by Faith”

Let’s take a look at what God says about this very important truth

Habakkuk 2:4 NKJV

“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

This marvelous truth that the “Just shall live by faith,” is not just a New Testament thing

It is first revealed in the Old Testament

To be righteous, we first must be humble

The soul of the proud is not upright in him

That’s not who we want to be

Humility allows us to look to God with Trust and Faith

Romans 1:17 NKJV

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

For in the Gospel of Christ, the Good News that Jesus died and rose again

The righteousness of or from God, which is pure and perfect is revealed

From faith to faith - literally “out of faith, into faith”

Think about that for a minute

We receive the righteousness of God by faith and faith alone

Out of our faith at the beginning, and into our faith from then until forever

as it is written, Just as God had already written in the Old Testament - “The just shall live by faith”

Righteousness that is never, of works or worth

Rather a righteous standing that is received by faith and will forever be ours by faith

This is why we can have confidence in our standing before God

We didn’t deserve His righteousness, we don’t deserve it now, and we will never deserve it

And yet, Jesus died and rose again that we might be the Righteousness of God in Him

Galatians 3:11 NKJV

But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”

How is someone justified by God

Not by keeping the law

Never by keeping the law

No one is ever justified by keeping the law

The Old Testament and the New Testament tell us that “the just shall live by faith”

Hebrews 10:38 NKJV

Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

The writer of Hebrews was inspired to convey this glorious truth one more time

He does it just before Chapter 11, which is the Hall of Faith, which reveals that all the Old Testament Saints were justified by faith, and that they invite us to follow in their footsteps

No turning back, clear to the end

Saving faith is a persevering faith

Notice that “the just shall live by faith,” is always stated in the future tense

The Just SHALL live (in the future) by Faith

Those who believe and are justified by Faith - Keep on Believing

Faith is Important!! SUPER Important!!!

So what is faith?

Blindfolds and Reality

Imagine that you were taken and blindfolded

You are led into a room and sat in a chair

That the room is some type of Sauna quickly becomes evident as the temperature and humidity rise to an uncomfortable level

You sit for hours and sweat

You sit so long that suddenly your sweating stops

You feel light headed, and your heart starts to miss some beats

You know you are in trouble, your body is failing

Suddenly someone speaks

They tell you that there are two tables within reach, arranged in such a way that you can only reach one of them

The table to the right of you contains a gallon of fresh cold water

The table on the left has the keys to “A Brand New Car” A brand new super go go sports car can be yours if only you will reach to the left

Whatever will you do?

What you do depends on what you believe

You have not seen, heard, or felt, any of the items

Do you believe they are there?

If you don’t believe they are really there, you will do nothing - moving would surely aggravate your condition

If you believe they are there, and think the water is what you desperately need, you will reach to the right, confident that it is there, and that it will help you

If you believe they are there, and a brand new zoom zoom sports car is what you have always known will make your life complete, you may very well reach to the left, spitting in the face of your desperate need for water

What you believe, and what the desire of your heart is, will determine which way you go in life

Substance and Evidence

So what is faith?

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

God doesn't leave us to wonder

Faith is so important that God defines it for us

It is defined in two parts, so let’s break it down

Faith is the substance of things hoped for

If something has substance, it is something that is tangible or real

It is something you can touch, and lift, and observe, like a jug of water, or the keys to a car

And yet “Hope” is something that is a concept, a desire of the heart and mind

You can have hope, but you can’t touch it, or lift it

--- And yet -- you can — by Faith

Faith is what takes something without substance, and gives it substance

It makes hope as real as a Corvette

Without faith, hope remains untouchable

But with faith, hope is as real as the ground upon which you stand

Do you hope for eternal life in God’s Kingdom?

Faith is what will make that hope become a reality

2. Faith is the evidence of things unseen

Evidence is something that proves something is true

In a courtroom, you set something on the table and declare that this proves that the defendant couldn’t have done it, he was 300 miles away

This evidence proves it

Faith declares that the Blessing of Living for Jesus is true and indisputable

It may not be that way to someone who has no faith in the Word of God

But it is fundamental truth, to those who believe God

Faith is the Evidence that proves the existence of the things of God, and indeed of God Himself

To review:

1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for - Faith takes the things of the heart and spirit and makes them tangible, makes them real, makes them concrete

2. Faith is the evidence of things not seen - Faith is the proof, that the truth of God is indisputable

That it is sure thing to stake your life, and future on what God has said

Pistis and Pisteuo

You may have noticed that I have used, and the Bible also uses Faith and Believe interchangeably

That is because they are

The Greek word Pistis is a noun often translated “Faith”

The Greek word Pisteuo is a verb and is usually translated “Believe”

They are basically the same word, one in noun form, and the other a verb

We could look at it as the English equivalent of belief and believe

This is very important

Faith is not something we get

Faith is something we have

We all have faith in something, though it may only be in ourself, or our own understanding

It is the object of your faith that makes a difference

Romans 4:5 makes clear that faith and belief are interchangeable

Romans 4:5 NKJV

But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

In this verse both Pisteuo and Pistis are used

“But to him who does not work but believes - Pisteuo

his faith, “his belief” - Pistis - is accounted for righteousenss

what he believes, is the faith that justifies him

It is the object of the Faith or Belief that makes the difference

There was once a day when I believed all kinds of things

I had faith in this, that, and the other

But there also came a day when I came to believe in the God who justifies the ungodly

He can righteously do that, because He sent His Only Begotten Son, to die in my place, on the cross

God, the Creator of the Universe, died for me, that I might live with Him

When I started to believe that, with a belief that is ongoing, and still future,

God saw that belief, that faith, and accounted it for righteousness

This ungodly sinner, is justified before God, because I believe what He says about Jesus

You also may be forgiven, justified, and cleansed of sin, by believing in Jesus, who died for you as well

Saving Faith is Believing that Jesus Died For You

This is a faith that you can rest upon

This is a faith that drives out fear

Finally, A Last Question

If Jesus Holds Your Future, What Does It Matter What the Future Holds?

If we should die tomorrow, it would be to go into His Glorious Presence

Romans 5:1–2 NKJV

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.