Have you ever stopped and wondered what the word faith really means and what it is to have faith? As a Christian, we hear the word “faith” spoken consistently in church bandied oftentimes with assumed understanding. Many of us have a sense of the meaning of the word faith and know the below verse as the core definition. But, what does faith mean in the Bible?
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 ESV
On the most simple level, we all have faith in objects and laws of the universe every day. We sit on our dining room chair and have faith that it will hold us up. For the Biblical faith application, what does the meaning of faith look like?
Faith is a Relationship
For every friend and loved one in your life, your relationships revolve around faith. The faith that you even have a relationship with that person, they are who you know them to be, they are interested in goodwill towards you, you have a level of affection between them and you.
Without the concept of faith, we would cease to exist as a human race. It’s the heartbeat of each one of us. Faith in Jesus Christ is also a relationship, not just a “religion”.
A religion is an institution and the following of prescribed thoughts, actions, patterns. To “have” or follow a religion is to outwardly espouse to those tenants. A person could logically “do” the outward appearances, actions, and required patterns their entire life and still not know the God of the universe and have the most basic faith of a simple relationship. Jesus expressly yearns to have a relationship with us.
If it takes faith to have a simple friend in the human realm, it requires faith to have a relationship with Him also.
To Have Faith is an Action Verb
Faith and to have faith are both used as nouns for sure but it is also an action verb in real life practice. To have assurance in things hoped for, you must walk and talk and decide throughout your day with confidence to that end. To have faith is to steer your energy and thoughts guided by that assurance. To get that confidence and assurance you must have a proof system to rely on.
To read your Bible and know the character of the knowable God who inspired it is to have and gain that confidence and assurance. For more simple verse study sheets to delve into your Bible, check out the others in this series.
Maybe I should start saying the word faith the way it plays out in life, “I’m going to faith it today. Cause I can, will, and shall.”
Faith is a Key
Having the assurance and confidence of the above point then becomes the ultimate secret sauce to lower stress and anxiety in your life. It is the key to prayer, opening up true authentic trust in who you are praying to and that He will answer. It is the elixir and balm of a frenzied doubt and heart stopping panic.
It is the suave nonchalant swagger stroll into the room in your “James Bond” tux that turn heads toward you because you exude light, calm, and poise. You can take all the charisma and social skills classes you like, but truly “faithing it” is where it’s at. You can’t help but be that rock and light that brightens up the whole room by exuding the One who gives you the ability to faith it.
Faith is Straight Up Warrior Speak
To have the conviction of things not seen could play out in every underdog battle scene of history. The last small group with total sold-out loyalty and conviction that what they are doing is the ultimate and only right thing to be doing at that moment. The total loyalty to the death for their leader that what he requires and orders is what needs to be done even though us lowly foot soldiers don’t know and can’t see the ultimate strategic battle plan.
This adrenalin rushing conviction of things not seen, in the Leader from on High, in the commands He gives is the deep inner complete belief in the truth of God. As Paul stated in 2 Timothy 4:10:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” NIV
To Have Faith is to Please Him
To know God, truly believe in His truth, to have a relationship with Him, and to be the light to the world is to please our God. To have Faith, is to please God. Without faith, we cannot please Him. Why? Because a lack of faith belies a lack of trust, lack of knowing Him, and a certain distance from Him. All relationships in our lives will flounder if we apply these same lacking qualities to our human relationships, especially marriages. Ultimately ending with one of us being frustrated or disappointed in the other.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 KJV
Faith is Peace
To summarize “to have faith” is to follow and do what you are called to through God’s leadership, that you are pleasing Him, and that He’s got it in control is the complete and sum total of peace. There is no greater peace than to be under His guidance and under His wing. If He is the focus of our eyes and in turn He is the rock and fortress around us, our faith now switches from the verb to the ever present underlying noun, the magic of faith: PEACE.
The 4 Steps of the path of faith:
To put our Christian faith journey into 4 simple concepts straight from God’s Word, we could list these following verses in a simple path to “cut to the chase” so to speak. When I first saw these four verses put in a line, it made a lightbulb shine in my mind just exactly what faith is, how to get it, and why. Each one leading to the next one. Every one of these verses swings on the hinge of Jesus Christ. He is the object of the word FAITH. These 4 verses are listed and laminated on my fridge.
Romans 10:17
“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” NIV
Psalm 119:30
“I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws.” NIV
Hebrews 11:1
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” NIV
Hebrews 11:6a
“Without faith it is impossible to please God.” NIV
