Understanding Faith
Faith is a foundational principle in the scriptures. If we don’t have faith, we don’t have salvation. The Bible tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God, therefore understanding faith is critical. If we don’t understand faith then we will not understand our relationship with God nor can we mature spiritually. The Bible forewarned that when Jesus returned in the last days, He would not find genuine faith in the church. That does not mean that He will not find individuals who have faith, but the church as a whole will be carried away with various doctrines that gratify human desires and neglect the true faith God has given us.
Confusion is added to this basic principle by those who claim to have ‘faith formulas’ that place the focus on self-gratification. Churches are now being taught that trials and troubles are the result of a lack of faith; sickness is a lack of faith; wealth and prosperity is the product of our own faith instead of the grace of God. The whole message of God’s grace has always been that it is a gift of God and not by anything we can merit so that no one can boast. However, under the ‘new theology’, teachers boast over their superior faith and condemn those who are going through a time of hardship for their lack of faith.
Those who sincerely seek the truth also struggle to make sense of it all because faith is analyzed and over analyzed until it becomes so complex that it cannot be understood. In error it has been made to become a convoluted theological argument that cannot be grasped by the common man. Yet the Bible calls it a simple concept that even a child can understand; “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it” (Mark 10:15). Faith is so simple a child can understand it, but so difficult to live by because our human nature gets in the way. Let’s take a moment to examine what faith is, how we live by faith and how our faith is increased.
What is faith?
Faith, simply stated, is believing God. Faith is not saying, “I believe God” or “I believe in God”, but it is truly believing God. Look at Romans 4:
3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
To understand this passage, we must look at the life of Abraham. God made many promises to Abraham and tested him by requiring obedience. God promised Abraham that he would inherit a land yet to be revealed. God then told Abraham to leave his home and go without knowing where God was leading him. Abraham obeyed. While journeying, there arose a dispute over land for grazing cattle and Abraham again demonstrated his faith in God by allowing others to have first choice knowing that his brother would choose the best of the land. He understood that God’s promise was greater than the appealing land his brother desired for his own.
God also promised that Abraham would be the father of many nations and through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Later, God promised that Abraham would father a son in his old age and that through his son Isaac the promise would be fulfilled. God then called Abraham to action. Before Isaac was born, God said, “Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.” Afterward, when Isaac was still a youth, God put Abraham’s faith to the test as revealed in Genesis 22:
2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."
There are two very important points in this passage that reveal true faith in God. First, Abraham demonstrated faith because he did not delay. He rose up early in the morning and headed out. God did not have to keep pressing Abraham for obedience; he obeyed immediately. The second important thing to note is Abraham’s testimony in verse 5 of his belief in God’s promise, “the lad and I will go…and we will come back”. God clearly promised that Isaac would be the heir and through him God would establish the covenant and His promise to Abraham. Therefore, either God would have to raise Isaac from the dead or God would have to provide another sacrifice in Isaac’s place. We know in retrospect that God would never allow Abraham to sacrifice his son, but Abraham did not know God’s plan. The purpose of this test was to prove Abraham’s faith. If Abraham claimed to believe God but then refused to obey this incomprehensible command, then he did not truly have faith. God stopped Abraham at the point when he made raised the knife with the intention of following through. Look at Genesis 22:
12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
Our life is a testimony of faith or unbelief. When we withhold any area of our life from God, we will never find the provision God has already prepared for us. God never reveals the end result until we have already stepped out in faith. True faith is believing God and acting upon it. Look at Hebrews 11:
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The word substance has caused confusion because some take this out of context and make it mean that faith is a force and something we possess or harness. There are two words translated into the word substance in scripture. One comes from the Greek word, huparchonta {hoop-ar’-khon-tah}. This word means possessions. In this passage in Hebrews, the word used is hupostasis {hoop-os’-tas-is}, which means foundation, confidence, assurance, or a firm trust. True faith is absolute confidence in God. It is believing God so firmly that His promises are all the evidence needed. We know that even if we have to sacrifice the things that are precious to us, God will not only restore all that is lost, but will do so abundantly above anything we can expect. It is also knowing with firm assurance that the greater promise is eternal and will not pass away.
Our faith is not something we produce, but it is believing God so firmly that we are willing to go wherever God commands or endure whatever God requires. Jesus taught that faith is in God, not faith and not my ability to produce faith. If I am the focus, it is not true faith. Look also at 1 John 5:
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
We rise above trials and overcome this world by our faith and our faith is believing in Jesus Christ. We follow Christ with firm assurance that He is who the Bible says He is and will do what He has promised to do. Nothing this world can throw at us will uproot us from our foundation in the Rock of Jesus Christ.
Living by faith
Look at these two passages from Hebrews:
Hebrews 10:
38 Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
Hebrews 11:
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
There are many who begin in faith because they see the promise, but withdraw because of the sacrifices that God requires. God will test your faith and He will ask you to give up anything that is more important than God or anything that you trust in more than God. Jesus said in Luke 9:
23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
24 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
This is a hard saying and very few will answer the call to follow Christ. No one can lay down their life, take up their cross daily and follow Him – unless they understand and apply their hearts to faith in God. Until we live by faith, it is impossible to please God. Until we truly believe that God is who He has revealed Himself to be and truly believe that He is the rewarder who fulfills His promises, we will never be willing to make that sacrifice. God calls us to step into the unknown. God calls us to lay down our lives. God calls us to pick up the burden of the cross. God calls us to lay down anything that we value more than obedience to Him. In return, He has promised to perfect us, justify us, establish us and reward us abundantly above all that we could think or ask. We must first step out in faith and then God will take us by the hand. You then stand at the cross roads: do you value and believe God’s promises, or do you value your life in this world? At this moment of decision, most will draw back.
Before we move on, let’s clarify another common problem with the concept of living by faith. Many people fall into the trap of thinking that faith means denying reality. Contrary to common opinion, faith is not the absence of doubt, but it trusting God in spite of our fears. Doubt and fear are an undeniable part of our human nature. Fear and doubt are of the flesh, but faith is a spiritual attribute. Our flesh and our spirit in Christ are at war against each other (Galatians 5). The Bible tells us that God has dealt each person a measure of faith. The Bible also states that we can see God work with only a mustard seed of faith. In other words, God has given us everything we need to begin our walk of faith. God does not demand perfection – God works within us to produce perfection. The work is from God, not from ourselves.
When God brings us to the point of decision, our human nature will be fearful and doubtful. It is important to understand this for a couple of reasons. First, if we think that we can only act once we have rooted out all doubt, it will be very rare that we will have the confidence to act. Second, it is unhealthy to pretend that real fears and doubts do not exist. When we pretend that we don’t have doubts we are trying to fool God into doing what we think He should do. God knows our feelings and nothing is gained by trying to trick God our trick ourselves into thinking we have no concerns.
Faith in God is real. We don’t need to play make-believe and act like nothing is wrong. God expects honesty, not pretense. When we live in denial, we are trying to use our own strength to accomplish the thing that only God can accomplish. God increases our faith – we do not. Our obedience plays a vital role in God’s work in our life, but He is still the One who authors and finishes our faith. He deals us a measure of faith (enough to obey) and then works in our lives to fulfill His work. Our only role is to submit or resist the will of God. It is disturbing to see someone suffering physically and ‘claim their healing’ by denying that the symptoms exist. I have seen people dying of cancer while saying, “I refuse to acknowledge this because God has healed me”. When people die and their family is in denial, is faith increased or overthrown? They are now required to continue in self-deception and they must find an excuse for their loved one’s death.
We see example after example in scripture of great men of faith who acknowledged their doubts. Abraham believed God but in Genesis 15 he asked God how is this promise to be fulfilled seeing he was old and had no son? While journeying by God’s direction, Abraham was afraid that the Egyptians would kill him for his wife, so he told them Sarah was his sister. Gideon obeyed God in spite of his fear. The story of Gideon found in Judges chapters 6 and 7. God spoke to Gideon and commanded him to destroy the idols in the land and then prepare to defeat Midian army that held Israel in bondage. The Midians had a mighty army that was described as numerous as sand on the seashore. God called Gideon to reduce his army to 300 men. Even though Gideon knew the will of God and was acting in obedience, he was afraid and had doubts. He asked God for a sign to verify that God was with him. He put a fleece out and asked God to show that if He was really going to give him this victory, let there be dew on the ground but not on the fleece. The next morning he saw that the ground was wet and the fleece was dry. He was still doubtful and the next night he asked God to let the fleece be wet and the ground dry.
Gideon knew the will of God; he heard the voice of God; God miraculously raised Gideon from a lowly farmer’s son who was unknown to Israel to the leader of Israel’s army. Events and circumstances clearly revealed the will of God and Gideon’s call in that plan, yet he was still struggling with doubt. God called Gideon to use 300 men to defeat a powerful army numbering in the tens of thousand or possibly hundreds of thousand of soldiers. He was afraid and did not know how God would do this, yet he stepped out in faith and obeyed God. Gideon is listed in the ‘faith hall of fame’ that is found in Hebrews 11. Gideon had doubts, but the Bible calls him a great man of faith.
Moses is considered one of the greatest men of faith in scripture, yet when God first called him, he insisted on his brother Aaron being his spokesman. When he went before Pharaoh, he talked to Aaron and Aaron then talked to Pharaoh on Moses’ behalf. In time, Moses became confident and boldly spoke to Pharaoh and became a strong leader over Israel. God used an insecure, fearful Moses to lead Israel out of bondage, to deliver the law to Israel and to write the first 5 books of the Old Testament.
Nehemiah was burdened because Jerusalem was in ruins and the people were violating God’s law. He prayed and fasted for the opportunity to ask Artaxerxes, king of Persia to allow him to go and rebuild Jerusalem. When the opportunity came, Nehemiah said, “I became dreadfully afraid”. In spite of his fears, he followed God and was used by God to become a restorer of Israel – both by repairing the city and building up the spiritual lives of the people. Elijah was one of the mightiest prophets in the Old Testament, but when Jezebel threatened him, he was afraid, ran for his life and begged God to take his life. The apostle Peter was afraid of the leaders of Israel and three times he denied that he ever knew Jesus. All of these men and many others were used mightily by God in spite of their fears. God did not demand fearless faith; God showed His power and built their faith. God used weak men to accomplish mighty works. The only strength in their lives was the Solid Rock of God’s power.
Faith does not mean that you hide your fears; faith is believing and obeying God in spite of doubts and in spite of fears. It takes more faith to say, “God I am afraid but I will obey” than it does to obey when you know the end result. I frequently express my anxieties to God. It is during these times that I ask for strength and assurance. My confidence is not in my faith, but in God’s ability to accomplish what I know I cannot accomplish. Faith is looking at a problem and acknowledging that I don’t know the end result but I am willing to trust God to take me through the valley. It is during these times that I see the amazing work of God. Because I know it is not ‘my faith’ but God’s might I become more confident in God. God increases my faith by revealing His might to me.
It is ok to acknowledge when we are afraid and it is ok to acknowledge doubt. It is not ok to allow fear and doubt to stand in our way or turn us away from obedience. Both fear and doubt can be positive influences that draw us into a greater dependence on God and spur us into a closer walk with Him. The person who sees their weakness will be dependent on God while those who are over confident will battle arrogance. God gives grace to the humble, but resists the proud. In some ways faith is similar to courage. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to do what is right and enter a perilous situation in spite of our fear. Faith in God is what gives us the courage to move forward in obedience to God’s call.
Increasing faith
Now look at Romans 12:
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Our faith is based on our confidence toward God. To have confidence in God, we have to know and love God. Look at 1 John 4:
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
19 We love Him because He first loved us.
This passage refers to the day of judgment and the fact that we who love God will have no fear on that day; however, this also is fitting for this study as well. Our fear is abated when we understand God’s love for us. Though our human emotions cause us to fear during difficult decision, we can draw confidence from the love of God. Because we know God loves us and we have the promise that God delights in giving His kingdom to us, we know that even difficult or painful circumstances are still rooted in the love of God and He is seeking our good in all things. If we are not founded upon the love of God, our faith will be weak and will continue to weaken. It is our relationship with God that builds our faith and our relationship with God is cultivated through knowing and loving God. We know God through His word that is given to us. Romans 10 says:
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?"
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
If our faith is not founded upon the word of God, it is not faith at all. In John 15, Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you”. The word of God reveals the love of God and the forgiveness of God. The word of God reveals the gift of God’s love and grace offered through the cross. The word of God teaches us the character of God so that we can know Him and grow closer to Him. 2 Timothy 2 says:
22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
To have fellowship with God, we must live holy lives set apart for Him. When we are pure in heart, we can consistently walk with God and know God with and understand that we are truly known by Him. When we are confident in our daily relationship with God, we will be confident in God’s promises and His call. Then our faith will increase and we will be willing to step out and see God work even when we can’t see how He will do it.
When my oldest daughter was about 5 years old, we went to spend an afternoon at a river. Some of the adults decided to walk out to an island in the middle of the river. My daughter wanted to come out with me. I returned to shore and took her hand. She stepped into the water but held on tightly to a branch on the shore. She was afraid of the river but wanted to go where I was going. I told her, “You must let go of the branch if you want to come”. She said that she was afraid that she would sink. “I have your hand. You won’t sink and if you start to, I will lift you up”. Fearfully she let go of the branch. I knew the water was just over waist deep and I guided her feet to each rock. When we began, she had no confidence, but she stepped on the rocks I guided her to. With each step she gained more confidence until she was eagerly reaching for each stone and soon we reached the middle.
Some time later I looked back on this event and realized how much God deals with me the same way. When God calls me to step out in faith, I can’t see where to step and this is by design. God calls me to step out and trust Him to guide my steps and take me to where He is going. When we begin, we are afraid and unsure, but with each step we become more and more confident in God’s ability to guide our steps. The giants of faith are not people who have great abilities or are super spiritual leaders. They are common people who have trusted God more than their fears. The one thing that separates the spiritually weak from the spiritually strong is the willingness to step out in obedience. Psalm 37 describes faith:
22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.
The promises of God are by faith. Faith is believing God and stepping out by obedience knowing that God can be trusted. Those who walk by faith allow God to guide their steps knowing that He will never forsake them nor allow them to be deprived. Our inheritance lies across the river. Trusting God is the only way to get across.
