Zeal For Truth

Since Jesus made so much mention of faith with respect to healing, it is necessary that we gain an understanding about what faith is according to the scriptures. Faith is a firm belief or persuasion about God supported by words and/or deeds. Faith results from having obtained the knowledge of God. Absent knowledge, faith cannot be present. This is not knowledge in a purely academic sense, but is knowledge that comes from God via his word. Through God’s word his character and faithfulness is revealed, and thus his credibility is revealed; this is the basis of faith.

Faith is the counterpart of grace. In order for there to be faith, there must be grace. Access into the grace of God is granted by the exercise of faith, and grace is multiplied to us through the knowledge of God.

How Faith is Made Available
The tenth chapter of Romans gives us a picture of what some have termed “saving faith”. This faith is based on the knowledge of God’s will to make righteous all those who receive Christ by faith.

8But 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; 9That 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. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

In verse 8 Paul calls the Gospel the word of faith. Why? Because it is able to produce faith sufficient for righteousness. However, notice that for this faith to be effective there must be a corresponding confession of faith.

13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

The answer to Paul’s rhetorical questions is: they cannot. It is impossible to call upon a Savior that you have not believed in, and it is impossible something you have not heard.

17So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The Promises of God
Not only does “saving faith” come by hearing, but all faith comes by hearing. Such was the case with Abraham. He received a promise from God, and on the basis of that promise alone, he believed what seemed to be both impossible and ridiculous to most people. Imagine calling yourself Abraham, which means “father of many nations”, when you are an old man with an old wife who has never bore any children. In Abraham, so many of the qualities of true faith are revealed.

16Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: 20He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform (Romans 4:16-21).

One of the most overlooked qualities of faith is found in verse 19. Notice that it says Abraham “considered not his own body…neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb.” True faith is willing to accept God’s word above all that is seen in the temporal realm. In the Christian sense, seeing is not believing.

For most Christians this is not the case. Adverse circumstances that contradict the promises of God are often touted as “reality”, and thus they stagger at the promise of God because of their failure to esteem God’s word above all else. If you are fully persuaded that God promised you something, nothing else should matter; it should be settled in your mind that he is faithful to keep his promise, and it has to come to pass – period.

Take a look at what Peter said concerning the promises of God in 2 Peter 1:3, 4.

3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

Everything that pertains to life and godliness has been provided (past tense) to Christians through Christ, but in order to partake of that provision Christians must take an active stance towards acquiring what is promised by faith. There is indeed nothing passive about faith. Those who are in faith think, speak, and act in accordance to what is promised.

Many err in that they assume that whatever God promises automatically materializes. Nothing could be further from the truth. God promised Israel a land flowing with milk and honey, but did all of them enter into that land? No. Why? Because of unbelief (Hebrews 3:19). Therefore it requires faith to receive of what God has provided for his children.

Faith is Not Generic
As stated earlier, faith is based on knowledge from God. Naturally all faith is not the same just as all knowledge is not the same. A person can have strong faith in one area while having weak faith in another area, simply because they may lack knowledge in the area where faith is weak. The remedy for this problem is to acquire the knowledge that can produce the desired belief.

Another possibility is that by failing to give attention to all aspects of what is known, people become forgetful and get out of faith. They may acknowledge something to be true without displaying the corresponding actions that prove their faith is living.

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip (Hebrews 2:1).

In cases where people have heard the word of God in a particular area, but have not maintained a vibrant faith in that area, the solution is to revisit the knowledge that produced the faith in the first place.

This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour (2 Peter 3:1, 2).

This is where consistent renewal of the mind comes into play. When knowledge is initially revealed, this is just the beginning of faith. In order for faith to persist it must be continually fed on the word of God. Unless beliefs are strengthened, they will naturally weaken.

The Anti-Faith
Faith has an imposter. In many respects it does a pretty good job of impersonating faith, but when it comes to producing actual results, it falls short. The enemy is simple mental agreement. How can one be differentiated from the other? It is simple: by the corresponding words and actions that are produced. Here is a great lesson on faith from James 2.

13For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. 14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

When it comes to faith, words are important. But mere words that fail to translate into any demonstrable action are an empty mockery of faith. To get a clearer picture of how actions follow real faith, the reader is urged to visit the eleventh chapter of Hebrews.