What is Faith?

for we walk by faith, not by sight. ―2 Corinthians 5:7

Faith is knowing and believing without seeing.  It is given as a gift from God and from the hearing of the word.  Faith can be increased by God or decreased by evil.  Our faith can be tested as well.  Faith is proof of our inability to bring about our own salvation such as through any kind of work.  Faith can also vary throughout our lives.  For example, we can have an enormous amount of faith about the existence of God, but have little faith or confidence in ourselves.  Ultimately, faith has a goal, and that goal is the salvation of our souls (see 1 Peter 1:9).

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance. (Romans 8:24-25)

Some people think that faith is nothing more than a belief.  They might think someone simply chose to follow Christ as a coping skill or the environment the person is raised in.  Faith is how God consecrates a person in him:   

for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. (1 John 5:4)

The father of the demon-possessed boy was very desperate for his son.  He didn’t have faith.  In fact, we might argue he didn’t even know what faith was:

Then the boys father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

The boy’s father said he believed, then he says, “Help my unbelief.” So, it seems that we can believe, and still not have faith.

We hear Jesus say, “O you of little faith” several times in the gospels. If we have little faith or want more faith, we can pray for more. We can tell from the following scriptures that faith is measured out:

And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5)

For by the grace given to me I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to think, but to think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God as apportioned. (Romans 12:3)

We can have a little faith or a lot of faith. We can have weak faith or strong faith.

Welcome anyone who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. (Romans 14:1)

How do we get faith?  We pray and say, “Help my unbelief!”
How do we get more faith?  We pray and say, “Increase our faith.”
How do we lose faith?  The power of evil tries to take it away by blinding us, using false teachings and the temptations of the world. Our faith can be tested as well:

2 Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. (James 1:2-3)

There’s also faith that comes from the good news being proclaimed:

Thus, faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

If we have little or no faith we can refer to the apostle Thomas, keeping in mind that every apostle is unique.  For example, Nathanael was full of faith at his first meeting with Jesus:  

Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” (John 1:49)

Thomas remained without faith until the very end.  It took physical evidence for him to believe. He told the other apostles that he wouldn’t believe Jesus was resurrected until he put his finger into the nail mark and his hand into his side.  When Jesus appeared, he told Thomas to put his hand into his side and to not be unbelieving (see John 20:25-27).

Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

In the next verse, Jesus rebukes Thomas for his earlier disbelief:  

Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (John 20: 29)

How do we know Thomas is being rebuked? We know from the following scripture: 

Later, as the eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. (Mark 16:14)

Thomas is being contemptuous when he learns they are going back to Judea after Lazarus dies.  Here’s the sequence of events: Jesus learns of Lazarus’s illness.  He waits two days (see John 11:6). Jesus tells the apostles they’re going back to Judea (see verse 7). Jesus tells the apostles that Lazarus has died and says, “Let’s go to him” (see verses 14-15). They had just come from Judea, where the Jews had tried to stone Jesus (see verse 8).

So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.” (v. 16; cf. verse 8)

Thomas says this in reference to going back to Judea, being stoned, and winding up dead like Lazarus.  He uses the word also.  If Thomas hadn’t of used this word, we could’ve taken it to mean he was being honorable and brave. Some believe that Thomas is putting on a brave face in this scripture.  He’s not.  This is to show Thomas’s twin personality. If people want to believe that Thomas was being brave, that’s fine.

We learn that when we finally have faith, we can jump into the water without fear. Here is an example of the apostle Peter with little faith: 

28 Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 31 He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:28-31)

Peter had little faith at this point.  He wasn’t even sure if it was Jesus.  He says, “Lord, if it is you.”
The gospel finishes perfectly with Peter full of faith:

So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.” (John 21:7)

When our faith is full, we can jump into the water without fear.

In these last days, let’s receive God’s promise of eternal life by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. Let’s do the right thing in life. Let’s ask God to increase our faith and help us to keep it full.  Let’s put our faith, hope, and love in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

And Jesus told the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:50)