TO PUT it clearly: without faith, we are really nothing. Faith is belief — belief in ourselves, in our work, in our talents, and in who we are.
We should also believe in our parents — or, better yet, in the whole family, including the black sheep who can be found almost everywhere. We should believe in our friends, too, even when doing so sometimes becomes a very difficult task. A friend? A real friend? An expatriate friend…?
Without faith, we may eventually hit rock bottom. Please don’t say it’s just another likely story. The German poet Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805) wrote in his drama Maria Stuart: “Even the word might be dead, but faith keeps it alive.” Yes, I can live with that.
Faith and hope belong together. In his book Through the Valley of the Kwai, Scottish officer Ernest Gordon wrote about his years as a prisoner during World War II. The 6-foot-2 man suffered from malaria, diphtheria, typhoid, beriberi, and jungle ulcers. His ordeal quickly reduced his weight to less than 100 pounds. Lying in the dirt of the death house, he waited to die. But every day, a fellow prisoner came to wash his wounds and encouraged him to eat, even sharing portions of his own rations. As this fellow prisoner nursed Ernest back to health, he spoke to the agnostic Scotsman about his strong faith in God and showed him that, even in the midst of suffering, there is hope — and faith.
Faith, indeed, is closely linked to conviction. Richard Wagner, the German composer and poet, expressed it this way: “Blessed are those people who know how to live their life in humility and faith!”
Well, perhaps we should continue believing in our government, too. Faithful hope calls for loyalty, reliability, integrity, and honor.
Faith looks beyond this transient life with hope for eternity. The hope we read about in Scripture is not some wishy-washy optimism. First and Second Thessalonians, for example, offer encouragement to Christians who were undergoing persecution for their faith. And 1 Corinthians 13:2 reminds us of faith powerful enough to “move mountains.”
Faith is one of those words that is commonly used but not always fully understood. Some of the confusion comes from the many different ways the word is used in everyday conversation. One common understanding of faith is belief in something despite the absence of evidence. But is that what the Bible means by faith? The answer is a resounding no. So, what does faith really mean?
The closest the Bible comes to offering an exact definition is Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” From this passage, we see that the central feature of faith is confidence or trust. In the Bible, the object of faith is God and His promises. A clear example is Abram’s encounter with God in Genesis 15. In response to God’s promise of countless descendants, Abram “believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Commenting on this, the Apostle Paul writes: “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20–21). Thus, faith means putting our trust in God and having confidence that He will fulfill His promises.
Faith is more than intellectual agreement. To use an old illustration, imagine yourself at Niagara Falls, watching a tightrope walker push a wheelbarrow across a rope high above the falls. After going back and forth several times, he asks for a volunteer to sit in the wheelbarrow while he pushes it across. On an intellectual level, you may believe that he can safely push you across the rope. But you are not exercising biblical faith until you actually get into the wheelbarrow and entrust yourself to the tightrope walker.
Genuine biblical faith expresses itself in everyday life. James writes that “faith by itself, apart from works, is dead” (James 2:17). Faith works through love to produce tangible evidence of its presence in a person’s life (Galatians 5:6). Put another way, the obedience that pleases God comes from faith (Romans 1:5; 16:26), rather than from a mere sense of duty or obligation. There is a world of difference between a husband who buys his wife flowers out of love and delight and one who buys them simply out of duty.
Faith is important because it is the means through which we have a relationship with God: “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). Through faith, we receive the benefits of what Jesus has done for us. He lived a life of perfect obedience to God, died to pay the penalty for our sinful rebellion against Him, and rose from the dead to defeat sin, death, and the devil. By putting our faith in Him, we receive forgiveness for our sins and the gift of eternal life.
So, what does faith mean? Simply put, faith means relying completely on who Jesus is and what He has done to make us right with God. Are you considering a faith-filled call to Christian ministry? The programs at Grace Theological Seminary will help ensure that you grow in your faith while equipping you to help others do the same.
To walk by faith, it is not enough to believe that God’s Word and promises are true. We must act on that belief and stand on the Truth. When what we believe overflows into the way we live, our faith becomes complete and is reflected in our actions.
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Mail: doringklaus@gmail.com. Follow me on Facebook and LinkedIn, or visit my blogs: German Expat in the Philippines and Klaus Döring’s Classical Music./PN
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