What Is Faith

What does it really mean to believe in something? What if our belief is wrong? What if we don’t even know what to believe? In this unit, we are going to explore what it means to believe in Jesus and what faith really is.

When we believe in something, it means we deem it to be true. The problem is that just because we think something is true it doesn’t mean it actually is. This is why we need to be careful about what we believe and why we believe it.

When the Bible tells us to believe, it specifies what we need to believe in. We aren’t supposed to believe anything and everything. Simply put, our beliefs are only as strong as the foundation they rest upon.

What Is Faith

In the last unit, we briefly discussed faith. The Bible tells us that faith is not just about believing something—it also involves acting upon that belief. Without the conviction to act on what you believe, you don’t have faith.

But what do you think would happen if you had faith that you could fly? That belief might lead you to leap off a rooftop. The problem is that faith doesn’t make something true. It is only evidence of truth. In this case, you would end up getting hurt.

Unfortunately, many Christians don’t fully understand this concept. Part of the confusion comes from the fact that most Bible translations don’t clearly convey what faith is. As we discussed in Unit 1:6 through Unit 1:12, many Bible “translations” are not direct translations from the original texts.

For example, the NIV renders Hebrews 11:1 as:

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

This differs significantly from the KJV version, which says:

The terms confidence and substance are not interchangeable, nor are assurance and evidence. These differences can leave many people without a clear understanding of faith.

If you read from translations other than the KJV, you may come to believe that faith is about having confidence in something despite lacking proof. However, the KJV explains that faith is tangible and evidential. It isn’t just wishful thinking.

The first thing I want you to understand is that faith is not blind. It isn’t about believing in something without any evidence. Nor is it a magical form of belief that creates realities out of nothing. Faith is rooted in evidence and grounded in truth.

Faith is a belief in something you have been given reason to trust. We’re not supposed to tell people, “Just trust me, bro.” We need to understand why we believe what we do and settle it firmly within ourselves.

For me, I believe in the God of the Bible because I’ve met Him. You can read my testimony here: About On The Line Ministries. But I also have many other reasons to believe, reasons that I can share with others who may need more objective evidence.

What Should We Believe

The Bible tells us that we must believe to be saved. But what exactly should we believe? As I’ve mentioned, many people believe in all sorts of things, but that doesn’t mean they believe in the right thing or the true thing.

After examining the Bible in Unit 1, we discovered that the God of the Bible is the one true God. This belief is based on overwhelming evidence that points to this truth.

The first thing the Bible tells us to believe is that there is a God and that He rewards those who seek Him.

The next essential belief is that Jesus is the Son of God.

Here, we see the phrase “believe on him.” This doesn’t just mean believing in Jesus as a historical figure. If that were the case, it would say “believe in him.” The phrase “believe on him” implies trust. We place our beliefs, our hopes, our dreams, and our very lives on Him. He is our foundation.

The Words of Jesus

It would be absurd to know that Jesus is God and yet not believe His words! Here’s an interesting fact for you: the words commonly highlighted in red in Bibles are not the only words of Jesus.

The Spirit of God is the author of the entire Bible. Jesus is God, which means that Jesus was the one who directed holy men of God to write the Scriptures.

To fully understand this, you need to grasp the concept of the Trinity. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one and the same God. The different titles points to distinct roles, not individuals. Each of the titles belong to one person. We explain this further here.

So, when the Bible tells us to believe Jesus, it means we need to believe the entire Bible.

The Gospel

The word gospel means “good news.” This good news is the next essential thing we need to believe.

The good news is that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead to bring us salvation. But this wonderful news only has meaning when we understand the bad news that precedes it.

Some people argue that you can preach the gospel without mentioning hell. This is completely wrong. Without the bad news of sin, death, and judgment, the good news has no context or significance.

Let me briefly share the gospel:

In the beginning, God created everything, including mankind. Everything was perfect—there was no death. But humanity disobeyed God, and the result was sin, death, and judgment. Because of that one act of disobedience, all of us have fallen into sin in our own lives.

God’s judgment is clear: every person who sins will be cast into hell. Eventually, hell itself will be thrown into the lake of fire, where the torment of those who sinned will last forever.

But here’s the good news: Jesus lived a sinless life as a man on Earth. Because He was without sin, He had no need to die. Yet He chose to die in our place. The wrath and judgment that were meant for us were placed on Him so that we could escape hell.

On the third day, Jesus rose from the grave. Although He tasted death for all of us, death had no power over Him because He was without sin. He now lives forever, having ascended to the Father in heaven, where He intercedes for us always.

And there you have it. These things were written so that you may believe and have eternal life through that belief.

No other religion, god, philosophy, or ideology can bring us life. The gospel is clear: through Jesus alone, we can escape the wrath of God and be saved. Even more amazing is the fact that, through Jesus, we don’t just escape hell—we are restored to an intimate relationship with God.

To summarize what the Bible says we need to believe, here is the final list:

• Believe there is a God.
• Believe that you can find God.
• Believe that Jesus is God.
• Believe that what God says is true.
• Believe that because of sin, we have all been separated from God and await death.
• Believe that Jesus was sinless and yet tasted death for every man.
• Believe that this act settled the debt of death owed by every person who would believe.
• Believe that death could not hold Jesus because He had no sin.
• Believe that Jesus was telling the truth when He said He would save those who believed.

Take a moment to go through that list. Do you believe each and every one of these things? In other words, do you consider them to be true?

If so, you meet the very first requirement of salvation: we must first believe.

Dead Faith

At this point, it might seem like we’ve reached the end of the story: “If we believe these things to be true, then we are saved.” However, this is only the first of five actual requirements for salvation.

If we simply believe but do not act on that belief, we still fall short.

Go through that list again. Isn’t it striking that even the devils believe these things are true? Yet, despite their belief, they remain enemies of God.

Remember when we discussed faith earlier? Faith is a belief that results in action. This is what the devils lack. They believe, but they don’t have faith.

Earlier in James, we read that “faith without works is dead.” It’s like having lungs but not breathing. If you believe these things are true, then you have lungs. But what are you going to do with those lungs?

Faith or Works-Based Salvation

Without works, our faith is dead and useless—it’s no better than the belief the devils have.

Does this mean we are saved by our works? Absolutely not!

The Bible clearly says we are “saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves.” Numerous verses affirm this same truth.

So how can James say that works must accompany faith? Wouldn’t that make salvation dependent on works?

James tells us that faith is made perfect by works—it becomes active and complete. But Ephesians 2:8-9 doesn’t say we are saved by faith; it says we are saved by grace.

The ultimate point is this: it isn’t our belief that saves us, nor our works, nor even our faith. It is the grace of God that saves.

Having faith is not us saving ourselves; it is us reaching out for the grace He offers. Faith justified Abraham because he reached out to God through obedience. In response, God extended grace and justified him.

Grace is the gift that saves us. Faith is how we accept that gift.

Now that we’ve covered what we need to believe, the next question is: What are we going to do with our belief? It’s time to start putting that faith into action.

Faith is our belief which produces works. However, the works of faith are not what many people assume when they hear the term. It isn’t about following the law or simply doing good deeds. These works are different.

Believing on Him is different from merely believing in Him. Believing on Him means making Him the center of your life. This commitment leads you to fulfill the next requirement of salvation: repentance.

We will explain this further in the next unit.

Continue To Unit 3:4 – What Does Repent Mean OR

Return To Christianity 101 Unit 3 – Repentance and Salvation