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“The Truth About Faith”
Categories: Faith
Many do not understand Biblical faith. This is directly attributed to man’s distortion of the original concept and definition as revealed by God. Interestingly, God has revealed a massive amount of information concerning faith. With so much of the concept rooted in Scripture it is a wonder why so many today do not understand this simple truth. To understand Biblical faith one is encouraged to study the totality of the Scriptures (Psalm 119.160).
Notice a few things the Scriptures teach about faith: First, “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11.1). Second, faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10.17). Third, faith is essential to our salvation (John 3.16; 8.24; Acts 16.31; Rom. 5.1; Eph. 2.8-9). Finally, faith is active and obedient (Heb. 11.8; Rom. 1.5; 16.26).
Furthermore, the Scriptures teach that faith alone does not save. John penned, “Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it…” (John 12.42). Thus, faith without confession will cause one to be lost eternally. Additionally, James spoke of those who had faith but not works. He wrote, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (2.17). He went on to say, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” When complimenting Abraham’s faith, James said, “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works…” (2.22) and finally, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (2.26). Therefore, while faith is essential, faith alone is essentially dead. If you believe in Jesus won’t you obey Him today (John 14.15; Mark 16.16)? -Bryan Garlock
