What is faith? Wherever we see the words “faith” or “believe” in the New Testament, they are usually a translation from the original Greek root word pistis. The noun form of the word, pistis, is usually translated as “faith” and the verb form, pisteuo, is translated as “believe.” The ordinary definitions of “faith” and “believe” imply intellectual agreement with an idea or accepting something as truth, but pistis means more than that. As used in the Bible, it also implies trust in and reliance on God or Christ, surrender of our wills to God or Christ, and conduct consistent with that surrender. All those elements are present in any mention of “faith” or “believe” in the New Testament, but from the context we can often see that some of the elements are emphasized. Unfortunately, there are no words in the English language that capture the full meaning of the original pistis and pisteuo, so we are left with the often inadequate words of “faith” and “believe.” Faith is seen as a conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it. As in relation to God. The conviction that God exists or belief that Jesus is the Messiah and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ.

“Faith,” has the secondary meaning of “an assurance or guarantee,” e.g., Act 17:31 by raising Christ from the dead, God has given “assurance” that the world will be judged by Him. All who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved by obeying his command of baptism in his name (Acts 2:38, 4:12, 8:12-18, 10:36-48, 16:15/31-33). But what does it mean to really believe in Jesus Christ? Even the devil believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He doesn’t like it, but he knows it’s true. Moreover, the devil knows that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6). So what is the difference between our belief and the devil’s belief? James gives us an answer: True faith is shown by action (James 2:18-26). What we do shows what we really believe. Behavior can be evidence of faith, even though some people obey for wrong reasons. Even the devil operates within constraints imposed by God. So what is true saving faith, and how does that differ from just mere belief without responding action? The simplest explanation is that saving faith is trust. We trust God to take care of us, to do good for us rather than evil, to give us eternal life. Trust means knowing that God exists, knowing that he is good, knowing that he has the power to do what he wants, and trusting that he will use it to do whatever is best for us. Trust means a willingness to put ourselves under him, to be willing to obey not out of fear but out of love.

When we trust God, we love him. Trust is shown by what we do. But the action is not the trust, and it does not create the trust, as it is only the result of trust. True faith is, at it’s core, is actively trusting and obeying Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said this on active faith. John 6:29 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. Here are some scriptural examples of active faith or faith with action. Hebrews 11:1-7 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 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. Read more…