Saving Faith

What is faith? How would you answer that question? Faith is, I believe, another of what I often call “Christian words,” that is, words that Christians use all the time and by all appearances seem to know well, but whose exact definition is elusive. There are a lot of such “Christian words”: “Worship,” “glory,” and “praise” are some others. I think we all probably have a good idea what faith is. If you are a Christian, you have faith and possess at least some knowledge of faith. But could you define faith accurately? I suggest it is important to do so.
Back before I was a teacher or preacher, when I was first learning the doctrines of Christianity, I was amazed at how many complimentary but diverse definitions of faith I heard from radio preachers and read in books. The more I learned about faith and understood how central it was to my relationship with the Lord, the more I wanted to learn and understand. I began to copy these definitions and insights into a notebook, a practice that continues to this day on my computer. Here are just a few:

• Grace is God’s acceptance of me. Faith is my acceptance of God’s acceptance of me. Peace is my acceptance of me. Love is my acceptance of you. – Rogers
• Faith believes in a God who (1) defies human logic; (2) appears counterproductive; and (3) is never governed by what is seen. – KPRZ Radio
• Faith is dependence on God. – Hyles
• Faith apprehends as a real fact what is not revealed to the senses. It rests on that fact, acts upon
  it, and is upheld by it in the face of all that seems to contradict it. Faith is a real seeing. –
  Vincent
• Faith is always a response to a promise or revelation from God. It’s not some optimistic view of
  the future. It’s not a “can do” attitude. It’s always a response to God’s revelation. –Robinson
• Man’s faith is not a work in the sense that implies effort that achieves some earned result. Rather it is man’s response to the work that God has performed through Christ. The work of God was to provide full salvation by the merits of His Son, and to offer this finished work of God to men
  freely. – Kent
• Faith arises when a person lets himself be convinced by God, and so attains a certainty which is objectively grounded and which transcends all human possibilities in its reliability. – Kasemann
• Faith celebrates now the reality of the future blessings that contribute to the objective content of hope. The word ὑπόστασις (hoo-pa-sta-sis), translated “assurance” or “substance” depending on your Bible’s translation in Heb 11:1) thus has reference to the point of departure and the ground for a now unalterable course of events that will culminate in the realization of the promises of God. – Lane
• Faith is the center around which all of life revolves. To shrink back from that is to reveal oneself as yet unrighteous and therefore not pleasing to God. – Steadman
• Faith does not mean certainty. Faith is always a step short of absolute certainty. Faith includes doubt. Many strong Christian have had moments, even extended periods, of doubt. True biblical faith is always to some degree in tension with doubt. The opposite of faith, however, is not doubt; it is disobedience, rebellion to God. – from notes and sermons
• Faith must have a sure foundation in order to be true, saving faith. Everyone has faith in something. If you do not believe in Jesus you have faith in something or someone else. An atheist has faith in his belief that there is no God. But we must carefully examine the content of our faith. You can have a strong faith in thin ice, but that faith will not keep you from getting cold and wet. You need thick ice. You need a solid foundation. There is no more sure foundation than Jesus (cf. 1 Cor 3:11). – from notes and sermons
• Instead of a leap into the dark, faith is a step into the light. – Guthrie
• Faith: it’s hard to describe but people know it when they see it. – Radio

I appreciate all these definitions. I think they are all valuable in helping us begin to get our minds around faith. Yet, personally I am at the same time at least somewhat suspicious of them. I respectfully say that because, while they may be scripturally based, they do not come directly and explicitly from Scripture. At this advanced age, after many years of studying and observation, I’ve pretty much become a person who must see a doctrine, i.e., teaching or truth, reflected clearly from the pages of the Bible before I’m completely on board with it. I like to think of myself as a positive doubting Thomas. So, as a result of these purposeful reservations, I’ve become a wordsmith. I study the words of the original languages used by God to write the Bible and make a determined effort to generally form my theology from them, rather than from theologians, no matter how competent they may be. I have come to see that the most reliable way to define a biblical word is to begin a word study by looking at the word in a Hebrew or Greek lexicon (a specialized dictionary). Many of my writings to you each week are studies of key biblical words. Ultimately the word is defined by context, the passage in which the word is found, the “neighborhood” in which the word resides, but lexical study is the first step. What follows is an abbreviated word study of faith.

Faith in the Old Testament is mainly translated “trust.” “Faith,” as most Christians would probably think of it, is not primarily an O.T. word; it is a New Testament word. In my recent “Professor’s Corner” study on “Trust,” I made the point that the words “faith,” “belief,” and “trust” all come from the same Greek word. As I’m sure you will agree, these are highly important words that are central to both our understanding of and relationship to the Lord.

My students at the seminary are usually surprised to learn that the English words “trust,” “faith,” and “believe” are so synonymous. The Greek word from which these foundational words emanate is, πιστεύω (pis-teu-o). While πιστεύω overwhelmingly is translated “believe,” it must be recognized that in many of the 241 times the word is used, “have faith” or “trust” could be used acceptably instead. For example:

ESV John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
Jesus is obviously (easily determined from the context) talking to Nicodemus about saving faith, believing in order to be saved. An equally acceptable translation, however, could read “If I have told you earthly things and you do not place your trust in Me, how can you trust Me if I tell you heavenly things?”
Although we rarely hear it mentioned, it is vital to one’s understanding of faith to realize that the Scriptures make a distinction between the dimensions of saving faith and enduring faith. Saving faith, the subject of this week’s writing, is the aspect of faith exercised in order to be saved. Ephesians 2:8 is perhaps the most familiar example of the saving dimension of faith as opposed to its enduring side:

NAS Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
The book of Romans also speaks frequently and directly about saving faith:

NAS Romans 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

NAS Romans 5:1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

These verses are examples of saving faith, faith that we employ and God requires in order for salvation to happen.
Of course, as we are seeing from Pastor Matt’s sermons, the gospel of John is mostly all about saving faith, as John’s purpose statement clearly shows:

NAS John 20:31 but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

“Believe”= faith. When we believe in God, we consider the facts of His revelation the Bible, are persuaded by their veracity, and have then placed our trust in Him. That’s saving faith. Enduring faith could be synonymously termed “living faith,” that is, the faith we are called upon to exhibit in our Christian lives after we are saved. By comparison to John, the book of Hebrews is mostly all about enduring faith. The famous chapter on faith, Hebrews 11, is, upon thoughtful consideration, focusing on enduring faith and not saving faith as often thought. Having said that, it must be added that the lines between these two major dimensions of faith, while real, provable, and for the most part easy to discern, often overlap and, consequently, well-intentioned and capable scholars can vary in their opinions – witness the definitions listed above. Certainly, Hebrews 11:1 must be considered by all to be one of the most important of all the many New Testament verses on faith:

NAS Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 and enduring faith will be the focus of next week’s “Professor’s Corner.” It is the only verse in the Bible that explicitly defines faith. But, as we will see in two weeks, this great statement is not as unambiguous as may first appear. Many scholars have concluded the verse is more a description of faith than a definition. I will attempt to explain the difference next. Difficulties in gaining certainty in regards to biblical things should never frustrate us but alert us to our need to study. We’re talking about the things of God here, are we not? How can we expect them to always come easily?

Like the two dimensions of faith, saving and enduring, another important distinction to be made concerning our comprehension of faith resides in the realm of the expressions “subjective” and “objective.” Many scholars define faith by these complimentary opposite terms. The subjective element of faith may be described as faith from our side. It is our conviction, our firm persuasion of and belief in the truth of God and the Bible. The objective dimension of faith can be seen as faith from God’s side. Objective refers to that which is believed, the doctrines of Christianity. Subjective faith is our belief; objective faith is what we believe in. Subjective faith is our response to God’s objective faith. So in this sense, both dimensions are at work in saving faith.

Upon investigation, the little word “faith” is found to be a vast subject covering a wide range of connotations and subtle distinctions. While that is true, we should always try to keep it as simple as possible. All the many legitimate nuances of the word should never mask the fact that saving faith is simply believing in God and His revelation found in the Bible. God’s truths are deep (cf Isaiah 55:8-11), but they are accessible. God revealed Himself to mankind through His Word for the purpose of making Himself known.
In closing, being purposely repetitious for emphasis, allow me to return to the Greek word and its basic meanings. Without forgetting the fact “faith” in the N.T. carries many shades of meaning,

πιστεύω (pis-teu-o) essentially means the almost identical terms, believing and trusting. So, what exactly is faith? Faith is believing and trusting in God and His Word. Believing covers saving faith; trusting envelops enduring faith. Both dimensions of saving and enduring faith are choices we make.
One more word to include in this study and set up next week’s study, and that is obedience. Obedience is faith manifested. It is faith in action. Enduring obedience is the evidence that saving faith is genuine.