What Does The Bible Say About Faith
According to the Bible, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.). Faith is the most important component of our Christian life. Faith cannot be bought and you cannot sell or give it to your friends or families. It is God who gives us faith and God alone. God is the one who distributes faith to each of us (Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.). Faith is so important that without it, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.). Without faith, we have no place with God and His Kingdom. By examining Hebrews 11:1, we can say that faith is a belief in the true God without actually seeing Him. Faith is a gift from our God (Ephesians 2:8-9).
The Saving Faith
There is what theologians call a saving faith or justifying faith. The only means by which we can receive the righteousness of Jesus and be declared righteous heirs of eternal life is to have a saving faith. Jesus Himself warns us that on the last day, some will believe that they have been believers or servants of Christ, but the truth is that they will be cast out of the kingdom because in the first place, as they never actually believed in Him (Matthew 7:21-23).
When we say saving faith, we mean faith in the person and the works of Jesus Christ. And for us to know Jesus and His works, we need to read the Bible. Reading the Bible is crucial to having saving faith. Knowing Jesus and His Gospel is necessary. Remember that other religions, denominations, and even cults believe in Jesus, but the question is, what Jesus do they believe in? It is critical that we get the Gospel of Jesus correctly, and there is no better way for us to determine whether or not we are worshiping the real Christ than by reading the Bible. We must believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He came to die for our sins and was resurrected from the dead.
Putting Our Faith in Jesus
Apart from knowing who Jesus is, we also need to make sure that we put our trust in Him. We need to believe that whatever God said is true, and that it can be trusted. Bear in mind that merely knowing and believing necessary truths for salvation is not enough for true redemption. It is vital that our faith rests in the real Jesus—the Jesus who is God, who came to save us personally. We must depend on Him. To have saving faith, we need to pledge ourselves to follow Him, no matter the cost.
Our faith and trust in Jesus should be demonstrated often. Let us remind ourselves that God truly exists and that He sent His only begotten Son to save us. Aside from putting our trust in Him, we also need to learn to love His commandments. If we love God, then we must love His commandments. While it is true that our faith can sometimes falter, let us remind ourselves of who Jesus is to each of us. During hard times, let us meditate on what James said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4).
