Faith is a big subject. It takes faith to believe in Jesus and be saved. It takes faith to believe to have our prayers answered. It takes faith to believe Jesus is coming back. The Bible tells us that “...without faith, it is impossible to please God”.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
But, what is faith? The word “faith” has several different definitions, but we’re going to look at just one for this post.
faith - complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
Synonyms: trust, belief, confidence, conviction, credence, reliance
The Bible defines faith as well:
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen.
The Bible says “faith is the substance of things hoped for…”. Substance means, literally, “the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists and which has a tangible, solid presence.” Whatever we are hoping for, be it salvation, rescue, healing, etc., when we have faith for those things, our faith is what makes them real, or tangible. Another word for evidence would be proof. Faith is also the proof of things not seen. When we’re believing for something, we can’t see it, not until it happens. Our faith is our proof that even though we can’t see it, it is there. It is coming. That’s awesome!
Let’s take a closer look at needing faith to be saved:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God designed salvation to be simple. He loves us that much. He loves us so much that He allowed His Son, Jesus, to be beaten, mocked, and crucified for our sins. And all we have to do is believe that to be true. Isn’t that amazing? When we believe in Jesus we have put our faith in Him.
Romans10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Just to be clear, salvation requires repentance, confession, and faith, but we’re just focusing on faith right now. There will be a separate post explaining salvation in more detail coming a little later.
When we pray about, or for, something, we must have faith, or we’re wasting our time.
Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
This verse states, pretty clearly, that whatever we’re praying for, if we believe, then we will receive it. This is true. Some will argue, but it has to be God’s will. We can’t just pray for anything we want and expect God to give it to us. That is correct. But, what are we asking for? Is it something that goes against God? The Bible? Our brother or sister? If it is, then why in the world are we asking for it? We don’t want to pray about things in a selfish or self-centered way. We’ll go more in-depth on prayer a little later.
Let’s consider the prayers we are praying out of a pure heart, with good motives. Can we expect to receive those if we have faith? Of course, we can! That’s what Jesus said in Mark 11:24. On a side note, verse 25 speaks of forgiveness, which we will cover in the future, but for this study on faith, we have to understand that our prayers must be backed up with faith. We can’t hit our knees, pray about something, then stand up and say “I hope God does something about __________”. That is NOT faith. That is wishful thinking. Two very different things.
We have to believe to be saved. We have to believe that our prayers will be answered. We must have faith that Jesus is coming back to get us.
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Jesus told us, in His own words, that he is coming again. He is preparing a place for us right now. Our eternal home in Glory! Isn’t that amazing? This is a promise. Notice, though, he says we must believe. We gotta have faith.
We don’t need a lot of faith. Just a little will do. Even faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains.
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
God will help us with our faith, even if there is a little doubt mixed in.
Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
God gives us our faith, to begin with.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
When you’re just starting your Christian walk, faith can be a little bit difficult to understand. That’s ok. You’ll learn, grow, and God will help. Building our faith is kind of like building up a little-used muscle. We have to exercise it, feed and nourish it, but most importantly, we have to use it. There are several ways to help build our faith, but the best way, by far, is the Word of God. Whether we read it or hear it, the Word of God automatically builds our faith.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
There is so much more about this most wonderful subject of faith. We’ve just scratched the surface. But, this is to introduce you to faith. We’re building on the foundation of Jesus, remember? One stone, one brick, one level at a time.
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