Have you ever sat in a chair without checking if it would hold you? Of course, you have. You just trusted it would. In a way, that’s a tiny picture of faith. But when we talk about faith in the Bible, it’s so much deeper than that. It’s not just a hopeful wish or a blind leap into the dark. So, what is faith in the Bible?
For years, I wrestled with this question myself. I read the books, listened to the sermons, but the concept still felt a bit… slippery. It wasn’t until I stopped treating it like a complex theological puzzle and started looking at it as a relationship of trust that it all began to click.
Biblical faith is a confident trust and assurance in God, based on His character and promises, that leads to action. It’s believing what God has said so strongly that it changes how you live. It’s the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living.
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Key Takeaways
- Faith is Assurance: The Bible defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). It’s not a guess; it’s a confident reality.
- Faith is Active: True biblical faith always results in action. The book of James is clear that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).
- Faith is a Gift: Faith isn’t something we muster up on our own. Ephesians 2:8 tells us it is a gift from God, received through His grace.
- The Object Matters: The power of faith isn’t in how much faith we have, but in who we place our faith in—Jesus Christ.
What Does Hebrews 11:1 Really Mean?
Let’s dive right into the most direct definition of faith in the entire Bible. The author of Hebrews opens a powerhouse chapter with this statement:
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, ESV)
This one verse is packed with meaning. For a long time, I’d read it and nod, but I’m not sure I fully grasped its weight. Let’s break it down into two simple parts.
How Can Faith Be the “Assurance of Things Hoped For”?
The Greek word for “assurance” here is hypostasis. It’s a strong word. It means a foundation, a title deed, or the actual substance of something.
Think of it this way:
- Imagine you’re promised an inheritance. You don’t have the money in your hands yet, but you have the legal will—the title deed. That document is your assurance. It’s the substance of your hope.
- Biblical hope isn’t a “golly, I hope so” kind of wish. It’s a certain expectation of a future reality based on God’s promises.
Faith, therefore, is the title deed to what God has promised us. We don’t see heaven yet. We haven’t experienced the resurrection of our bodies. But we have God’s promise, and our faith is the present assurance that those things are as good as done. It’s a real, substantial confidence.
What Does It Mean to Have “Conviction of Things Not Seen”?
The second half of the verse talks about the “conviction of things not seen.” The word for “conviction” means evidence or proof. This seems backward at first, doesn’t it? How can you have evidence for something you can’t see?
This is where faith moves beyond a purely physical, sensory world. It’s the spiritual ability to see the reality of the unseen world as more real than the temporary world around us.
I remember trying to assemble a piece of furniture once. The instructions were a mess. I couldn’t see how these random pieces of wood and screws could possibly become a bookshelf. But I had to trust the designer who made the plan. My trust in the instructions was the “evidence” that a bookshelf was possible.
Similarly, we don’t see God. But we see the evidence of His work in creation, in changed lives, and in the historical reliability of Scripture. Faith is the conviction that the God behind it all is real and trustworthy.
Is Faith Just a Strong Feeling?
This is a huge stumbling block for many people, and it certainly was for me. We often think faith is a surge of emotion or a feeling of complete certainty. If we don’t “feel” faithful, we think we’ve lost our faith.
But biblical faith isn’t rooted in our fickle emotions. It’s rooted in the unchanging character of God. Your trust in a chair isn’t based on how you feel about the chair that day. It’s based on the reality of the chair’s design and structure. You trust that it’s solid.
Feelings come and go. There are days when I wake up and God feels a million miles away. In those moments, my faith isn’t in my feelings. My faith is in the fact that God promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Faith chooses to believe the promise over the feeling.
Why Isn’t Faith a Blind Leap?
Another common misconception is that faith is “blind.” People imagine it as closing your eyes, holding your nose, and jumping off a cliff, hoping something is there to catch you. That’s not biblical faith at all.
Biblical faith is based on overwhelming evidence. It’s a step, not a leap. It’s a reasoned trust based on past performance.
- The Israelites trusted God to part the Red Sea because they had seen His power in the plagues of Egypt.
- The disciples trusted Jesus because they saw Him heal the sick, calm the storm, and feed the thousands.
- We trust God today because we have the historical evidence of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Faith isn’t the absence of evidence; it’s the proper response to it. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that many theological traditions view faith and reason as intertwined, with faith being a form of knowledge that extends beyond empirical proof. As found on their website, Stanford’s discussion on faith highlights this historical relationship. It’s a trust built on a firm foundation.
Who Are the Heroes of Faith in the Old Testament?
Hebrews chapter 11 is often called the “Hall of Faith” for a reason. It gives us a list of ordinary, flawed people who trusted God in extraordinary ways. Their stories show us what faith looks like in action.
How Did Abraham Show Radical Faith?
Abraham is often called the “Father of Faith.” God gave him two commands that seem almost impossible to me.
First, God told him to leave his home and family for a land he had never seen (Genesis 12). Think about that. No Google Maps, no moving company. Just a promise from God. And Abraham went. He trusted God’s guidance over his own comfort and security.
Later, God tested his faith by asking him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac (Genesis 22). This is the son God had promised would be the start of a great nation. It made no sense. Yet, Abraham obeyed. Why? Hebrews 11:19 tells us, “He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead.” His faith wasn’t blind. It was based on his knowledge of God’s character—that God is a promise-keeper and is powerful even over death.
What Can We Learn from Noah’s Faith?
Imagine your neighbor starts building a massive boat in his front yard. When you ask him why, he says, “God told me a flood is coming to cover the whole earth.” You’d probably think he was crazy, right?
That was Noah. He lived in a time of incredible wickedness, and he spent decades building an ark for a flood the world had never seen. He faced constant ridicule. Yet, “by faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark” (Hebrews 11:7). His faith led to hard work and obedience, even when it looked foolish to everyone around him.
What Does It Mean to Live by Faith?
Faith isn’t a one-time decision. The Bible talks about it as a continuous way of life. The prophet Habakkuk, quoted in Romans 1:17, says, “The righteous shall live by faith.” It’s the very air we breathe as Christians.
It means making daily decisions based on trusting God’s word over our own understanding.
- It’s choosing to forgive someone who hurt you because God commands it, trusting Him for the outcome.
- It’s giving generously because you trust God is your provider.
- It’s stepping into a new calling because you believe God is leading you, even when you’re scared.
Living by faith is a moment-by-moment reliance on God’s wisdom, goodness, and power instead of your own. It’s a constant process of surrendering your own plans and trusting His.
How Does Faith Relate to Good Works?
This is where some people get confused. The apostle Paul says we are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). But then James, the brother of Jesus, says, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). Is this a contradiction?
Not at all. I spent a long time trying to square this circle until someone explained it with a simple analogy.
Think of a healthy apple tree. Does the tree strain and struggle to produce apples? No. A healthy tree naturally, inevitably produces fruit. The apples don’t make the tree healthy. They are the evidence that it is healthy.
In the same way, good works don’t save us. They are the natural, inevitable fruit of a life that has been saved by genuine faith. If a person claims to have faith in Christ but their life shows no change—no love, no kindness, no repentance—then James would say that faith isn’t real. It’s a dead faith, just a mental agreement without a heart transformation. True faith always leads to a changed life.
Where Does Faith Even Come From?
If faith is so important, how do we get it? Can we just try harder to believe? The Bible is clear that faith isn’t something we produce ourselves.
First, Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” As we read and listen to the Bible, the Holy Spirit uses the truth of God’s word to create faith in our hearts. The stories, promises, and truths of Scripture are the raw materials God uses to build our faith.
Second, and most importantly, faith is a gift. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” We can’t take credit for our faith. God, in His mercy, opens our hearts to believe. This should make us humble, not proud. We are utterly dependent on Him, even for the ability to trust Him.
Is It Okay to Have Doubts?
Let me be honest with you. My journey of faith has been filled with questions and, yes, even doubts. For a long time, I felt guilty about this. I thought a “strong” Christian never wavered. But the Bible actually gives us a more realistic and gracious picture.
Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith. Unbelief is. Doubt is often a part of the journey of faith.
Look at the disciples. They were constantly misunderstanding Jesus. Thomas famously said he wouldn’t believe Jesus was resurrected until he could physically touch his wounds. When Jesus appeared, He didn’t scold Thomas. He met him right in his doubt (John 20:27).
My favorite story is of the father who brought his sick son to Jesus in Mark 9. Jesus told him, “All things are possible for one who believes.” And the man cried out with gut-wrenching honesty, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
That, to me, is one of the most powerful expressions of faith in the whole Bible. It’s an honest admission of weakness coupled with a desperate trust in Jesus to provide the faith he lacked. If you have doubts, you’re in good company. Take them to God. It’s okay to pray, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”
What Is the Goal of Our Faith?
Ultimately, faith is the bridge that connects us to God. It’s the empty hand we hold out to receive His grace. The apostle Peter says the outcome of our faith is “the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:9).
Faith isn’t about getting what we want from God. It’s about getting God himself. It’s about being brought back into a right relationship with our Creator through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
It’s a journey that starts with a single step of trust and continues for a lifetime. It’s a confident assurance in a God who has proven Himself trustworthy, time and time again. It’s the very foundation of a life lived for Him.
Frequently Asked Questions – What Is Faith in the Bible
Where does biblical faith originate from, and can we create it ourselves?
Biblical faith is a gift from God and cannot be manufactured by ourselves. It is given by His grace, and even the faith needed for salvation is a gift that God provides, not something we earn or develop on our own.
Is biblical faith just believing that God exists, or is there more to it?
Biblical faith goes beyond recognizing that God exists; it involves trusting and trusting in Him personally, placing your life in His hands, and believing in His promises, which leads to a relationship and action based on that trust.
How does faith serve as ‘evidence’ of unseen spiritual realities?
Faith acts as evidence because it provides certainty and reassurance of spiritual truths that are not visible, such as God’s existence, Jesus’ salvation, and our sins being washed away, making spiritual realities more real to us than the physical world.
What is the most famous biblical definition of faith according to Hebrews?
The most famous biblical definition of faith according to Hebrews 11:1 is that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, meaning it is the proof and assurance of spiritual promises that are yet to be visible.
What does Hebrews 11:1 mean when it says faith is the ‘substance’ of things hoped for?
Hebrews 11:1 explains that faith is the ‘substance,’ or the legal proof, of what we hope for, similar to a deed that guarantees ownership. It signifies that faith is the confident assurance that God’s promises are ours, even if we do not see them physically yet.
