Bible Say about Faith

Definition

Wherever we see the words "faith" or "believe" in the New Testament, they are usually a translation from the original Greek root word pistis. The noun form of the word, pistis, is usually translated as "faith" and the verb form, pisteuo, is translated as "believe."

The ordinary definitions of "faith" and "believe" imply intellectual agreement with an idea or accepting something as truth, but pistis means more than that. As used in the Bible, it also implies trust in and reliance on God or Christ, surrender of our wills to God or Christ, and conduct consistent with that surrender1. All those elements are present in any mention of "faith" or "believe" in the New Testament, but from the context we can often see that some of the elements are emphasized.

Unfortunately, there are no words in the English language that capture the full meaning of the original pistis and pisteuo, so we are stuck with the often inadequate words "faith" and "believe."


Examples from the Bible

In the New Testament, the words "faith" and "believe" often imply confidence, trust, reliance and humility with respect to God or Christ. That is the case with Jesus' healings. In the story below, the woman had confidence that she would be healed if she could merely touch Jesus' clothing. She put her trust in Jesus and relied on Him, because all worldly attempts to cure her had failed. She approached Jesus with utmost humility - in fear and trembling. Jesus' power healed her, but her faith enabled that healing.

Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?' " He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." (NRSV, Mark 5:25-34)

The story of the woman with a hemorrhage also has a lesson. If we approach God with humility and put our confidence and trust in Him instead of in worldly things, our faith will enable our spiritual healing and salvation.

John 3:16 is one of the best known and most beloved verses in the Bible, but it must be read in context to appreciate its full meaning and implications:

14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.

21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."
(NRSV, John 3:14-21)

From the verses immediately before and after John 3:16, we can see that the word "believe" (translated from pisteuo) brings to mind these ideas:

* Verses 14-16: We can trust in Christ and rely on Him for salvation just as the Israelites trusted in Moses and relied on him while wandering in the desert. The image of a serpent that Moses lifted up on on a pole was the cure for the snake bites suffered by the Israelites (Numbers 21:4-9). Similarly, Jesus was lifted up on the cross and then "lifted up" into His glory for the salvation of sinful mankind. That salvation is now available to the whole world, not just Israel.
* Verses 17-18: We must put our trust and confidence in Christ as the way to salvation. By implication, our wealth, earthly power, intelligence, popularity, good deeds or obedience to rules and laws cannot save us from being condemned to hell.
* Verses 19-20: People who do evil deeds have not come into the "light" of Christ - they are not true believers and do not have true faith. A thief works by night to avoid being seen in the light of day. Similarly, many people prefer their sinful ways and avoid facing the "light" of Jesus' teachings about love, greed, morality, arrogance, etc. (Matthew 5:43-45, Mark 7:21-23, 12:28-31).
* Verse 21: Although we are not saved by doing good deeds, good deeds and holy living will show clearly in the lives of those who do have saving faith.


Faith vs. Works of the Law

The apostle Paul was not one of Jesus' original followers or disciples. In fact, he despised the growing Christian movement and fiercely persecuted the early Christians. Then, several years after Jesus was crucified, raised and ascended to heaven, Paul had a dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). After that, he spent time learning from some of Jesus' disciples and became the most energetic disciple of all. He founded many Christian communities among the Gentiles, and his letters to these communities are among the earliest Christian documents preserved in the New Testament.

A group of people know as Judaizers opposed Paul's ministry to the Gentiles. They told the Gentile converts to Christianity that they must observe all of the Jewish Law - circumcision, dietary restrictions, and all the many other rules and laws. But Paul said that was wrong; salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not by observing the Jewish Law.

Galatia, a region of central Asia Minor (modern Turkey), was one of the places the Judaizers were active. Paul wrote this to the Galatian Christians to correct the false teachings of the Judaizers:

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. (NRSV, Galatians 2:15-16)

Paul's teaching has sometimes been interpreted as meaning that if we have faith, nothing else matters; we don't need to repent of sin or do "good works." But that was not Paul's interpretation at all. He said if the Spirit of Christ is truly within us, we will turn away from evil deeds:

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (NIV, Galatians 5:19-26)


Faith vs. "Good Works"

Church officials of the Middle Ages had fallen into the corrupt practice of selling indulgences to raise money. In return for the "good works" of a monetary contribution to the church, it was claimed that people could be released from penance for their sins, virtually guarantee their entry into heaven, or even purchase release from the pains of purgatory for a deceased relative.

Martin Luther (1483-1546), was a Catholic monk and Professor of Scripture at the University of Wittenberg in Germany. From his study of Scripture, Luther knew that indulgences bought from the Church did not have the power to forgive people's sins. Instead, Luther taught that we can be justified (made acceptable to God) only by faith.

But Luther did not deny the importance of good works. He wrote, "For grace and faith are infused apart from our work, and when they are infused, then the works follow." In other words, when one is saved by the grace of God, through faith, he or she will practice good works as a result of that transformation. He also taught that a believer must practice repentance throughout his or her whole life.

In 1517, Luther tacked his famous 95 theses entitled "On the Power of Indulgences" to the door of the castle church at Wittenberg. That document was a scathing indictment of the practice of selling indulgences, and it set off the chain of events that led to the Protestant Reformation. However, the Catholic Church soon undertook its own reforms and the practice of selling indulgences was abolished.

Today, the mainstream Christian churches, both Protestant and Catholic, take a position similar to Luther's: We are justified (made acceptable to God) and saved through faith alone. However, good works will follow as the necessary result and evidence of that justification.

It is a great comfort to know we do not have to be perfect to find God's favor. Even the worst of sinners can become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) through faith. Then, through good works and repentance, the light of Christ will shine brightly in our lives (Matthew 5:16, Luke 15:7).