How important is faith?
In Hebrews 11:6, God tells us:
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Aren’t you glad that God makes clear what it takes to please him?
Faith.
If you have it, God is pleased with you. Furthermore, you are blessed, for Jesus told Thomas that “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
Here’s a list of some of those blessings, as revealed in the book of John.
A believer in the Lord Jesus Christ:
- Becomes a child of God (1:12)
- Has eternal life (3:14-16; 3:36; 5:24; 6:47; 20:31)
- Will not perish (3:16)
- Escapes the condemnation and judgment of God (3:17-18; 3:36; 5:24)
- Will never thirst again (6:35)
- Will be raised up on the last day (6:40)
- Receives the Holy Spirit (7:17-39)
- Avoids death (8:24; 11:25-26)
- Sees the glory of God (11:40)
- Becomes a child of light (12:26)
- Leaves the darkness (12:46)
- Will do the works of Jesus (14:12)
In light of the above list, the importance of faith cannot be overstated. Without faith, we remain a child of the devil, in a state of spiritual death, destined to perish forever, already condemned and judged by God because of our sin, always seeking to quench the thirst of our soul but incapable of doing so, without the Holy Spirit, unable to see God’s glory because we are trapped in a world of darkness, and powerless to do the works of Jesus. In a word, we are cursed.
But thanks be to God, there is hope, and faith is the bridge that carries us across the infinitely wide chasm separating us from Him. Take heart, my friend, “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4-5).
Since faith is so critical, we would do well to find out what it means.
God’s definition of faith.
Fortunately, God has not left us without a clear explanation of the meaning of belief. Hebrews 11:1 provides what is arguably the best teaching on the meaning of faith in the Bible:
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain about what we do not see.” (NIV 1978)
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (NIV 2011)
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (ESV)
By looking at these three translations of Hebrews 11:1, we can enhance our understanding of faith, for here we find several synonyms for faith: sureness, certainty, confidence, assurance, and conviction.
Words used in conjunction with “believe.”
Throughout his Gospel, the Apostle John uses several words in close proximity to “believe.” These, too, can be added to our list of synonyms for faith.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (1:12).
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (6:35).
“My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life” (6:40).
“We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (6:69).
“Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him” (9:38).
“But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father” (10:38).
These verses show us that to believe in Jesus means to receive Him, come to Him, look to Him, worship Him, know Him and understand Him.
Faith in what?
These verses also make it clear that Jesus must be the object of our faith, for in John’s Gospel the issue is whether or not we believe in Jesus. The benefits of faith are only given to those who are certain about Him. This is one of John’s main points: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).
Biblical faith must have the right object. This is why we find the Apostle using the same words repeatedly to communicate that Jesus must be the One in whom we believe. The phrases “believe in Him” (3:16) or “believe in me” (5:46) appear at least 27 times in John. Other phrases along this line include “believe in the Son” (3:36), “believe in his name” (2:23), “believe in the name of the only Son of God” (3:18), “believe in the Son of Man” (9:35), and “believe in the light” (12:36). Faith in anyone else or anything else is not biblical faith.
Biblical faith is to come to a Person, namely Jesus of Nazareth, with the confident conviction that He is everything the Bible says He is. For starters, as revealed in John 4, believing in Jesus means we are sure that He is the Savior of the world (4:42), the Christ (King) of the world (4:26), and the Life (Living Water) of the world (4:14).
In other words, the “what” of biblical faith is the certain assurance of who Jesus is. John’s gospel is packed with statements about the identity of Jesus. He is not only Savior, King, and Living Water, He is God Himself. Believing in Jesus is to accept the truth that He is God, the Creator of the universe (1:1-3). To believe in Jesus is to believe in Him as God’s “one and only Son” (3:16), and to believe in Jesus as the Son of God is to believe in Him as God the Son, an unmistakable reference to His deity and the main reason why Jesus so infuriated the Jewish religious leaders. This was the legal charge against Him that ultimately led to His crucifixion. It is why the Jews told Pilate, “We have a law, and according to that law [Jesus] must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God” (19:7).
It is unlikely, of course, that when a person first believes in Jesus, he/she is even aware of all that Scripture says about His identity. But as the new believer spends time in the Word, the Person of Christ will be revealed on all His blazing glory. The Gospel of John is a wonderful place to start learning about the splendor of Jesus. Mature believers, too, would do well to read John’s account repeatedly for years to come, because believing in Jesus is to see Him in all His glory. In John 6:40, Jesus described a believer as one who “looks to the Son” (NIV) or “looks on the Son” (ESV) and “believes in Him.”
One final comment about the nature of true faith in Jesus: “it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Or as Paul wrote, “it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29). Yes, along with suffering, God provides faith to His people.
Need more faith? Go to God, the great giver and granter of faith, to get it. And how do you do that? By spending much time in His Word, for “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17).
NOTE: the above comments are an edited excerpt from my book Jesus: Savior, King, Living Water, a Bible study on John 4, available on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D3771F2/
There are separate chapters on what it means to believe in Jesus as Savior (chapter 3), King (chapter 4), and Living Water (chapter 5). The content in this email comes from chapter 6, “What Is Faith and How Do I Know I have It?”
Also, each chapter includes questions “For Further Study and Reflection” which are suitable for both individuals and small groups.
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