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Monday august 08, 2016

 

There is no shortage of people preaching the virtues of faith. This includes people who constantly go around telling others they must have faith when they do not even believe in God. For good measure, add me to the list as well because I too agree that faith is one of the most important virtues a person can possess. However there exists a problem, there are many opinions and definitions as to what faith is. All you need to do is to ask a group of people or open a few dictionaries and you will read varying definitions of faith. What then is the right definition of faith? My guess is that God knows and the good news is that God has clearly defined faith for us in His word.

 

Before I define what Biblical faith is, I want to clear out some of the confusion regarding faith by first telling you what faith is not. Faith is not power, some people believe that the more faith they have, the more power they have to accomplish things. Faith is not a formula; there are those who believe that faith is some form of formula or code and by discovering this formula or code, they can receive whatever they want. I will give you an example; if you pray and say “in the name of Jesus”, you will get everything you are asking for. Faith is not living with confidence. It is actually a good thing to have confidence but confidence is not faith. Let me explain; you can have all the confidence in the world that you purchased the winning lottery ticket but that does not mean you are going to win it. Finally, faith is not complicated it is very simple.

 

Hebrews 11: 1 NLT

Now faith is being sure we will get what we hope for. It is being sure of what we cannot see.

 

Hope is wanting something but not being completely sure, you will receive it. For example, I hope I get the job but I am not entirely sure I will get it. Faith is taking your hope to the next level; I hope I get the job and I am 100% sure that I am going to get it. Now, the question becomes how to get from hope to faith? Lets say for example that the person you interviewed with for the job calls you and tells you that the job is yours and you can start next week. Now, your hope is guaranteed, you still do not have the job, but you can deposit your faith in the fact that next week the job is yours, why? Because the boss gave you his word.

 

As Christians, it is ok to have hope but we can only have faith in the things that God has promised us; you can pray to God for anything you wish, but only in hopes that… However, if God previously gave you His word, or if after praying God gives you His word, then you can have faith. For there to be faith, God must first give you His word.

 

Faith is believing that God is who He says He is and that He will always do what He says He will do. Therefore, walking by faith means to trust God at His word, even when the surrounding circumstances seem to say otherwise.