Let us now explore the fundamental and deeper meaning of faith, the five types of faith, and the eight reasons why faith is so crucial in this life’s journey.
The True Meaning of Faith
Trust, confidence, solid conviction, and fidelity are all the terms that convey the meaning of faith. Faith is trust in what we hope for and assurance that the Lord is working behind the scenes, even when we cannot see it. Faith recognizes that the Lord is at work in all situations, whether in our own lives or the lives of others.
It is the act of a person seizing God’s resources, becoming obedient to what He has prescribed, and entirely trusting Him, throwing aside all ego and self-reliance. It is a complete surrender of one’s entire being to the Heavenly Father’s will. It means believing and relying on Him for everything. It must come from deep inner conviction, not just mental acceptance of the facts and realities of truth.
Faith is proactive confidence in God, a belief in the truth of what He says that leads to action. When we trust the Almighty, we believe that we have trespassed deserving everlasting damnation. We also trust that Christ came into the world to live a perfect life, suffer and die on our account, and rise from the dead gaining victory over sin (John 3:14–18; 1 Corinthians 15:3–5, 20–22; Romans 5:6–11; 2 Corinthians 5:18–21).
We believe that Jesus will save us from our transgressions. We have faith that, as He guaranteed (John 14:15–17; 16:4–15), He will send us His Holy Spirit. We then put our belief in the Spirit of God to complete His sanctification work in us (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8). We live to glorify God, trusting in His redemption and believing that His ways are perfect (John 15:1–27; Peter 1:3–11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3; 2; Romans 13:8–14).
In Hebrews 11:1, the Bible explains what faith is: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This definition of faith has two elements: intellectual acceptance and trust. Intellectual assent is the acceptance of something as true. Trust is based on the fact that something is real. Faith, according to the Bible, is an intellectual agreement to facts and trust in those realities.
Pistis is the Greek word meaning faith that appears most frequently in the New Testament. It denotes a belief or conviction, as well as a sense of trust. Faith is a belief that leads to accomplishment, not just an intellectual position.
Hebrews 11 is known as the “Hall of Faith.” It introduces us to several saints in the Old Testament and shows us what the Lord of Lords can perform through His people when they put their faith in Him.
The most important lesson we can learn from understanding the meaning of faith is not about what we can accomplish if we have faith. It is primarily about the object of our trust: the person in whom we put our faith. The key theme of Hebrews 11 is faith in the Holy Father. As believers, we place our trust, hope, and faith in God the Father as revealed in Jesus Christ, and we affirm that unique relationship with God in the Holy Spirit through adoration and devotion shown in our lives of service.
We learn from the definition of faith that we should be certain about truths that we believe to be real but cannot see with our physical eyes. Faith is the ability to believe in God’s promises, trust in His faithfulness, and rely on His character and fidelity to act. Faith entails believing in the goodness of God’s will or plan for humanity.
5 Different Types of Faith
The Hebrew word emunah (pronounced “eh-moo-nah”) is translated as “faith” or “belief” in English. However, it is frequently interpreted as “faithfulness.” Nonetheless, it encompasses far more than simply accepting a belief statement about God. It reveals a life spent completely reliant on Him. It is also an action-oriented word that means “help.”
The Hebrew terms for faith vividly show us the various kinds of faith and how a believer’s faith progresses throughout his or her life.
- Leaning Faith: Amen is a Hebrew word that means to lean on. Generally translated as “believe,” it refers to salvation faith, and our reliance on God.
- Wrestling Faith: Batach is a wrestling term that commonly translates to trust in English. It refers to spiritual adolescence, when believers, having gained a basic understanding of the Scriptures, begin to engage in spiritual strife.
- Refuge Faith: The Hebrew term Chasah means to flee for safety, as little mammals do when they flee predators and seek shelter in a crevice of a rock. It is the faith of spiritual maturity, when a believer may be brave and secure in the Lord because he has learned that God Almighty is his fortress, shield, and deliverer.
- Pressure and Pain Faith: The Hebrew term Yaqal, which means “hope,” conjures up images of healing ointment being applied to a wound. This is the faith that heals spiritual champions’ wounds as they advance in their spiritual journey.
- Waiting Faith: The Hebrew word Qawah, which means wait, is the strongest word for faith. The term was first used to describe the process of producing rope by weaving fragile, easily broken strands into strong, unbreakable cords. Qawah is the patient perseverance that comes from stringing promises, concepts, and doctrines from God’s Word into an indestructible rope of faith. This faith is practiced by the friends of God.
8 Reasons Why Having Faith Is So Important
- Faith releases God’s unlimited power. “Divine power” is the definition of omnipotence. The ultimate power of the Almighty is at our disposal, but we can only utilize it when we have faith.
- The Christian way of life can be summed up in a single word: faith.
“The just shall live by faith,” says Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. We can only live the abundant life Jesus Christ, our Savior, has promised us if we “believe” (John 10:10). Anything that takes us away from our faith will lead to spiritual decay. - Our trust in Jesus Christ is founded on faith. Faith is substance and proof, according to Hebrews 11:1. The term “faith” has two definitions: It is the act of believing subjectively, and the content of what we believe objectively. The object of our faith is our Lord Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, who is revealed in the Scriptures.
- Faith is gained via the study of God’s Word. “Faith comes through hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ,” says Romans 10:17. Every believer should hear the Word of God that is taught. God’s Word works in us who believe, according to 1 Thessalonians 2:13. Following the study of the Scriptures, we should take action so that we can be “doers of the Word rather than [only] hearers…” (James 1:21–22).
- Only faith can appease God. Faith alone pleases the Almighty Father, according to Hebrews 11:6. When God is pleased with us, we experience a wonderful phenomenon: we become happy. The Absolute Being, as Creator, implanted a mechanism in the soul of humans that prevents it from finding contentment or fullness unless it is by His will. Because God loves us, the best for us is what pleases Him the most. As a result, loving, honoring, and doing His will, provide complete satisfaction to the Supreme Being. It is impossible to please the King of Kings without faith, and we are unlikely to be happy without pleasing God.
- A believer’s virtue is built on the foundation of faith. Faith, hope, and love are the three pillars of Christian morality (1 Corinthians 13:13 and 1 Peter 1:12–23). We gain hope as our faith grows stronger. We will never be able to love people without a tranquil positive attitude. We can have a comfortable attitude toward other people because of our hope in Christ, which is total assurance. Simple consideration and kindness are examples of love for others in our life. When we forget these, we break hearts, and the reason for this is that faith has gone out of our lives somewhere along the path.
- Faith is effective. It is both powerful and vibrant. Faith is a potent force that cannot be ignored. It is in its nature to work (James 2:14, 17, 26). Faith operates in hopeless situations, desperate circumstances, and helpless conditions. Christ created us for good deeds (Ephesians 2:8–10). Faith without works is dead, and effort without faith is meaningless.
- Only faith can defeat the world. According to 1 John 5:4–5, if something is born of God, it overcomes the world, and faith is the victory that has conquered the world. We should not be concerned about anything if we believe Jesus Christ as the Only Begotten Son of God and experience His calming presence every day?
Our thought picker articles will assist you in comprehending the Biblical foundation of teachings, encouraging you to get closer to the Lord, and enabling you to apply Christian moral concepts to everyday situations.
