That Necessary Faith

The writer of Hebrews tells us of the necessity of faith for our relationship with God, stating that ""without faith it is impossible to please Him"" (11:6). But what exactly is faith? To say that faith is simply ""belief,"" while technically accurate, may leave the impression that the faith that pleases God is nothing more than intellectual acknowledgement of some truth. Is there more to faith than just mental assent that something is true? James wrote, ""You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!"" (2:19). Although the demons acknowledge the existence of God, something is missing from their ""faith.""

One dictionary of Greek words defines faith as ""firm persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing"" and indicates that the word translated ""faith"" (pistis) in the New Testament is akin to another word whose meaning is ""to persuade"" (W.E. Vine). Faith is conviction about something or someone which is based on evidence, evidence which is capable of persuading or convincing. Faith is distinguished from knowledge in that faith operates in the realm of the things unseen (the intangible or which belong to the future) while knowledge speaks of information gained by our empirical senses (hearing, sight, smell, etc.).

What evidence forms the basis for our faith in the existence of God, the deity of Jesus or the divine origin of the Bible? Do we believe because we feel better for having adopted this ""faith""? Is our faith simply the result of the repeated affirmations of others without any objective evidence offered? Our faith, although based on indirect evidence, should not be groundless. The apostle Paul wrote, ""So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God"" (Romans 10:17), affirming that the purpose of the word of God is to produce faith in men. The only sure foundation for a faith which is capable of sustaining us in times of difficulty is the word of God.

Another word frequently used to define faith is ""trust."" Trust suggests more than simple acknowledgement of some truth; it implies the willingness to take risk based on one's conviction. Belief says, ""I think that rope will hold my weight."" Trust goes beyond mere belief and causes me to swing on the rope, acting on the conviction that the rope is adequate to sustain my weight.

It is this aspect of faith that suggests the relationship between faith and obedience to the commands of God. Our obedience to the commands of our Lord stems not only from the acknowledgement that He has given us ""exceedingly great and precious promises,"" but also from our trust in His willingness and ability to save us from our sins and provide for our eternal well-being. Thus it should be no surprise that James affirms that obedience is the natural complement to faith (2:22). Faith which does not motivate one to obedience is dead and incomplete (2:20, 26). Remember the demons!

Sometimes the Scriptures appear to use the word ""faith"" in a comprehensive sense to designate the sum of man's obligations in the matter of forgiveness and salvation (e.g., John 3:16; Acts 16:31). Such usage of the word is understandable when we recognize that faith is at the foundation of all that is involved in pleasing God. When Paul wrote that we are saved by grace through faith, he was not denying the need for obedience, but emphasizing that which motivates us to obey the divine imperatives.

""Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"" (Hebrews 11:1). The author of Hebrews here describes the function of faith and then illustrates in the remainder of the chapter how faith operated in the lives of Old Testament individuals. Eighteen verses begin with the phrase ""by faith,"" emphasizing the motivation for the obedience which characterized these persons. God's commands to these people involved things yet unseen (future) or hoped for.

Faith works with our hope (the combination of desire and expectation) by providing the reason for the expectation (""faith is the substance..."") of obtaining the object of our desire. How necessary is faith? The strength of our hope depends upon it (see Hebrews 11:6 again)! May your faith increase!