Sometimes I wonder, we all have differing views on faith.
Is faith staying on the path He laid out for us when it gets hard?
Is faith showing devotion by doing good works?
Is faith rigorous study of scripture?
Is faith doing the right thing every time?
Is faith showing compassion?
I like to believe faith can be all of these things and many more.
My faith is renewed every morning I wake up alive, yes at times I still struggle as life continuosly throws challenges, or old and new wounds drag out negative feelings, but I get through them with faith, I have faith in God, and in His mercy and love, I know He is there for us, and all He asks of us in return? you got it, Faith.
How do you see faith, what does having faith mean to you?
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FAITH, WHAT IS IT? What is this faith concerning which it is said, “By grace are ye saved through faith”? There are many descriptions of faith, but almost all the definitions I have met with have made me understand it less than I did before I saw them. The negro said when he read the chapter that he would confound it, and it is very likely that he did so, though he meant to expound it. So, brethren, we may explain faith till nobody understands it. I hope I shall not be guilty of that fault. Faith is the simplest of all things, and perhaps because of its simplicity it is the more difficult to explain.
What is faith? It is made up of three things— knowledge, belief and trust. Knowledge comes first. Romanist divines hold that a man can believe what he does not know. Perhaps a Romanist can; but I cannot. “How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?” I want to be informed of a fact before I can possibly believe it. I believe this, I believe that; but I cannot say that I believe a great many things of which I have never heard. “Faith cometh by hearing”: we must first hear, in order that we may know what is to be believed. “They that know thy name will put their trust in thee.” A measure of knowledge is essential to faith: hence the importance of getting knowledge. “Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live,”— such was the word of the ancient prophet, and it is the word of the gospel still. Search the Scriptures and learn what the Holy Spirit teacheth concerning Christ and his salvation. Seek to know God,— “that God is, and is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” May he give you “the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” Know the gospel: know what the good news is, how it talks of free forgiveness, and of change of heart, of adoption into the family of God, and of countless other blessings. Know God, know his gospel, and know especially Christ Jesus the Son of God, the Saviour of men, united to us by his human nature, and united to God, seeing he is divine, and thus able to act as mediator between God and man, able to lay his hand upon both, and to be the connecting link between the sinner and the Judge of all the earth. Endeavour to know more and more of Christ. After Paul had been converted more than twenty years, he tells the Philippians that he desired to know Christ; and depend upon it, the more we know of Jesus, the more we shall wish to know of him, that so our faith in him may increase. Endeavour especially to know the doctrine of the sacrifice of Christ, for that is the centre of the target at which faith aims; that is the point upon which saving faith mainly fixes itself, that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” Know that he was made a curse for us, as it is written, “Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.” Drink deep into the doctrine of the substitutionary work of Christ, for therein lies the sweetest possible comfort to the guilty sons of men, since the Lord “made him to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Faith, then, begins with knowledge; hence the value of being taught in divine truth; for to know Christ is life eternal.
Then the mind goes on to believe that these things are true. The soul believes that God is, and that he hears the cries of sincere hearts; that the gospel is from God; that justification by faith is the grand truth that God hath revealed in these last days by his Spirit more clearly than before. Then the heart believes that Jesus is verily and in truth our God and Saviour, the Redeemer of men, the prophet, priest, and king unto his people. Dear hearers, I pray that you may at once come to this. Get firmly to believe that “the blood of Jesus Christ, Gods dear Son, cleanseth us from all sin”; that his sacrifice is complete and fully accepted of God on man’s behalf, so that he that believeth on Jesus is not condemned. So far you have made an advance towards faith, and one more ingredient is needed to complete it, which is trust. Commit yourself to the merciful God; rest your hope on the gracious gospel; trust your soul on the dying and living Saviour; wash away your sins in the atoning blood; accept his perfect righteousness, and all is well. Trust is the life-blood of faith: there is no saving faith without it. The Puritans were accustomed to explain faith by the word “recumbency.” You know what it means. You see me leaning upon this rail, leaning with all my weight upon it; even thus lean upon Christ. It would be a better illustration still if I were to stretch myself at full length and rest my whole person upon a rock, lying flat upon it. Fall flat upon Christ. Cast yourself upon him, rest in him, commit yourself to him. That done, you have exercised saving faith. Faith is not a blind thing; for faith begins with knowledge. It is not a speculative thing; for faith believes facts of which it is sure. It is not an unpractical, dreamy thing; for faith trusts, and stakes its destiny upon the truth of revelation. Faith ventures its all upon the truth of God; it is not a pleasant word to use, but the poet employed it, and it suggests my meaning:
“Venture on him, venture wholly;
J.
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@BetterDays
I get it, and I understand when you say;
There have been many posts about faith on this forum over the years. We usually hear a lot of “faith means to me…” ideas, but what you and I want to understand is what does “faith” mean when The Bible uses the word. For that I always suggest a simple understanding of faith; simply put, “Faith” means “taking God at His Word”.
When the Bible speaks of faith in the New Testament it uses a variation of the Greek word pĂstis, which means a firm persuasion, solid conviction, a strong belief in the truth. Any firm persuasion in a doctrine comes from the understanding that the Creator of the doctrine in incapable of making a mistake. Our Faith is evident when we take God at His unerring word. If you substitute the idea of a person “taking God at His word” for the word “faith” in the Bible, a bright understanding, and reassuring consistency will emerge.
“Therefore, having been justified by taking God at His word, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access into this grace in which we stand by taking God at His word, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:1-2
“Watch, stand fast, take God at His word, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
“…just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who take God at His word are sons of Abraham.” Galatians 3:6-7
“For we walk by taking God at His word, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
I concede that “taking God at His Word” is often extended to mean faith as a lifestyle, faith as a belief system, or faith as a community, as well as many the other uses of the word as you pointed out. But at the root of all these ideas of Biblical “faithfulness” is a person who accepts that what God says is true. When using the word “Faith”, the Bible never suggests anything like how the world uses the word. To the world faith can be a “a wish”, or “a guess”, or “an uncertainty of the future”; to the world faith means something almost exactly like “hope”, “trust”, or “shaky confidence”. People of the world say they have faith in a person, in a device, in a system, or even in themselves, but Christians should never use this word in this imprecise way. To us, faith is a divine ability, a supernatural gift, given to us at our new-birth, that empowers us to trust God and accept everything He says as true. We are recipients of God’s grace and recipients of divine faith; “we are saved by God’s grace, through taking God at His word, and that ability doesn’t come from within, it is the gift of God, it is not something we did on our own, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
I hope this way at looking at “faith” is helpful. Those who have been given this miraculous gift of faith know how precious it is.
“For I proclaim the name of the LORD: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.” Deuteronomy 32:3-4
"For the word of the LORD is right, And all His work is done in truth. "
Psalm 33:4
KP
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I can’t give a complicated answer. The list you gave shows more what faith may look like in the every day. It is reading the Bible, showing compassion and doing good works. Seems to me that’s the outcome of someone who has faith and not faith itself.
It’s rather hard to describe. First it’s something you believe. You believe that Jesus came to us and lived among us. When He died willingly, it was to pay our sin debt and reconcile us to God. It’s not believing as a fact of history, but something you also trust in and live by.
Faith means putting yourself in His hands and there’s a hope inside you because of that relationship. The things of the world don’t matter so much because your faith is taking over.
You see! It’s hard to explain what faith is. Very few have ever seen Jesus, but by faith we do see Him. Very few have had a conversation with Jesus, but by faith we do talk with Him.
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What is faith? What does having faith mean to you?
Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.”
No matter the obstacle.
No matter the understanding.
No matter the pain.
No matter what others say or do.
God is our Abba Father, or Daddy. Also, as long as Daddy has our back, there is nothing to fear or worry about in the slightest bit.
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
Peter
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One of the clearest and most edifying posts on faith I’ve read on this forum, brother @Kpuff.
Shalom.
J.
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Faith is essentially truth, and also trust in God. It is truth about God, and trust in that God. It is also the truths in the Sacred Scripture, thus, not only the knowledge from there, but the knowledge genuinely understood. What you speak about faith has to do with faith as obedience. So, it is a faith conjoined with some aspect of charity, which has to do with the following commandments, thus shunning evils as sins. Without those the faith would be merely something dead, or even, according to James demonic (which is, by the way, what MAY BE happening to those who are in faith alone)
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Ephesians 2:8-9 reiterates this truth: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Salvation is a gift, and faith is the means by which we receive it. There is no room for human effort or merit in the process of being declared righteous before God.
As the London Baptist Confession of Faith (LBCF) emphasizes,
“Those whom God effectually calls, He also freely justifies… not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ’s sake alone; not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness, but by imputing Christ’s active obedience unto the whole law, and passive obedience in His death for their whole and sole righteousness by faith” (LBCF 11.1).
This idea encapsulates the essence of Sola Fide: Justification is based on Christ’s righteousness, not ours. Faith is simply the instrument by which we receive that righteousness.
Historical Background: The Battle Between Faith and Works
During the Reformation, the most contentious issue between the Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church was the doctrine of justification. The Catholic Church taught that faith, while important, was not enough. Works, sacraments, penance, and indulgences were seen as necessary components of salvation. The sale of indulgences, a fluctuating practice where individuals could buy reduced punishment for sins, was a particularly egregious abuse.
In response, the Reformers stood firm on Sola Fide. Martin Luther famously wrote, “The first and chief article is this: Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins and was raised again for our justification… nothing in this article can be yielded or surrendered, even though heaven and earth and everything else falls.” (Smalcald Articles, Part 2, Article 1).
John Calvin was equally clear when he stated, “Man is said to be justified in God’s sight when, in the judgment of God, he is deemed righteous and is accepted on account of his righteousness; and we say that this justification consists in the remission of sins and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness.” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3.11.2). Calvin was unwavering, justification is by faith alone, based solely on Christ’s righteousness.
Faith alone doesn’t nullify good works; rather, it produces them as evidence of genuine belief, but those works never add to our standing before God.
The Puritans also defended this doctrine with vigor. John Owen said, “The foundation of our acceptance with God is not in ourselves, but wholly in the righteousness of Christ.” (The Doctrine of Justification by Faith).
This battle over justification wasn’t just theological, it was pastoral. The Reformers saw how the people were crushed under the weight of trying to earn God’s favor through works, when faith in Christ’s completed work was all that was required for salvation.
Practical Application: Freedom from Guilt and Legalism
While the theological debate over Sola Fide might seem like a distant historical issue, it has deep relevance for Christians today. Many believers still struggle with the idea that they need to “do more” to earn God’s favor. This performance-based mindset is the very thing that Sola Fide refutes.
In his book, Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification, R.C. Sproul encapsulates this idea well:
“Justification by faith alone is the article upon which the church stands or falls… When works enter the picture as a ground or an element of our justification, they destroy the gospel and turn it into bad news.” p.65
Sproul’s words hit at the heart of the issue. Sola Fide liberates us from the bondage of thinking that our works contribute to our salvation. We are justified by faith alone—not faith plus our effort, not faith plus our moral record, but faith alone in Christ.
Living out this truth means resting in Christ’s finished work, not constantly striving to add to it. As believers, we can have assurance that our standing before God is secure because it rests on Christ’s righteousness, not our own. This doesn’t mean we ignore good works, but it means those works flow out of a heart transformed by faith, not as a means to earn salvation.
Sola Fide offers freedom from guilt and legalism, fostering a deeper relationship with Christ based on trust in His completed work rather than our own efforts.
Some may point to James 2:17—“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”—to suggest that works play a role in justification. However, James is not teaching that salvation is by works but rather explaining that true faith will naturally produce good works. James emphasizes that faith without the fruit of works is an empty profession, a “dead” faith. In this sense, James is complementing Paul’s teaching, not contradicting it.
Paul clearly teaches in Romans 3:28 that “one is justified by faith apart from works of the law,” affirming that we are declared righteous before God solely by faith in Christ. John Calvin addresses this apparent tension by stating, “Faith alone justifies, but the faith which justifies is not alone.” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3.11.20). In other words, the good works James refers to are the evidence of saving faith, not the basis for it.
As the Westminster Confession of Faith similarly states, “Faith… is the alone instrument of justification; yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love.” (WCF 11.2). In other words, while good works are the fruit of a genuine faith, they are not the root of our salvation.
Virgil Walker
J.
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Good question…
From what I know the same term pistis is used for:
Trust, belief, and faith.
But my over all thought on the faith that saves
Is moving in what one believes.
It is said that it’s impossible to please God without faith….
There is faith and love that is in Christ?
When I use the “in” I actually mean in..like in the house…
Willard’s thought was we move from having faith in Christ to the faith of Christ.
As the story of the disciples on the Ship, He said they believed in Christ but they didn’t have the faith of Christ; God is in controll rather you live or die.
So How do we progress to the faith of Christ. I believe He told them if they had the faith of a mustard seed they could say to the mountain -move…
So let’s see what one of my favorite philosophers, teacher, and writer who has experienced God has to say on how does one move from “faith in –>to the faith of”
………………….Ai answers………………………………………………..
Dallas Willard would argue that moving from “faith in Jesus” to the “faith of Jesus” requires becoming his apprentice, shifting from treating him as a savior only to a teacher who guides us to trust the Father in daily life. It involves moving beyond intellectual agreement to practical, experiential discipleship by “living in his word” and relying on God for everything, just as Jesus did.
Key Aspects of the Shift
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Apprenticeship over Allegiance: Instead of only having a formal allegiance to Jesus, we must adopt his lifestyle by learning to live in the Kingdom of God here and now.
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Active Training: We must engage in the “disciplines for the spiritual life” (silence, solitude, fasting, study) to transform our inner character into his image.
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Confidence in God: The “faith of Jesus” is his trust in God’s kingdom and goodness, which we share as we experience the sufficiency of God for our needs.
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Practice over Knowledge: True faith is acting on what we know of God. It is moving from believing about him to trusting and obeying him, which involves learning to walk in love, forgiveness, and trust.
Willard would highlight that this journey changes our day-to-day behavior to mirror Christ’s own life, making it a “golden triangle” of spiritual transformation: relying on Jesus, living in his Word, and walking in the Spirit.
…………………………………………….
So my momma and Willard were in agreement…that faith is moving in what we say we believe. And I wonder if that is really what it means to be in Christ- to do His word…to eat His flesh and drink His blood or they’d have no part in Him? He said He was the living manna….don’ quote me from my head. If ya eat from Him….do His word, you won’t die…make sense…For my thought is God does not go against His character.
For Jesus did say something along those lines: His meat was to do His father’s will.
Also that He always did what was pleasing To His father and His Father never left Him alone.
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I like how you described faith as something that shows up in how we live, not just what we think.
For me, faith often feels a lot simpler in everyday life. It’s trusting God in small things, even when I don’t fully understand, and taking the next step anyway.
Some days that trust feels strong, other days it feels pretty small, but I’m starting to see that even a little bit of faith still matters.
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To me faith; is believing no matter what happens in this world good or bad, ugly or beautiful, pain or comfort. It’s faith.
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Some good replies here!!
When I first read the question what is faith the word I got was Trust. Being justified by faith alone gave me trouble for awhile until I put it together, that faith without works is dead. That we should be doers and not just hearers of the Word. So faith is also the proof of transformation.
Knowledge, Belief, Trust, and Action!
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Thoughtful answer in this topic 
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