What is Faith?

     The most important question in life is "What must I do to be saved?" The answer is from God's Word: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). Christ taught, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Paul wrote, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).

 

Faith is the instrument for getting hold of the blessings of Christ's salvation. Therefore we need to know exactly what Christian faith is. What do we mean by faith in Jesus Christ?

 

Based upon Knowledge

 

Faith in Christ requires a knowledge of Christ. Faith must always have an object, either a person or a thing. No one can have faith in nothing. The very nature of faith is to have an object. Christian faith has Christ as the object. Knowing something about Christ is necessary before anyone can believe in Christ.

 

Fortunately, we don't have to know everything; in fact, the amount that we have to know is very little. God has made the way to Christ so simple that a little child can know it. But however little our knowledge, we must know something. The minimum is found in the words of Paul, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst" (Timothy 1:15).

 

This involves knowing who Christ is: the second person of the Trinity, God of very God, the everlasting Son of the Father. This involves knowing certain facts about him: he came into the world, was born of a virgin, lived without sin, and at last was crucified outside Jerusalem. The third day he rose again from the dead. This involves knowing why he died and rose again: he came to save sinners. This involves knowing which sinners he came to save: I am a sinner, the worst of sinners; it was for me he died.

 

A Conviction

 

Knowing about Christ, however, isn't necessarily the same thing as believing in Christ. Many people know a great deal about Christ. They may have read the Bible from cover to cover many times, but they don't believe in Christ. To have faith in Christ is to be convinced that Christ is the truth. An assent of the mind is necessary. "Yes," says the real believer, "Christ is what he claimed to be, the Son of God."

 

Faith is a conviction based on evidence sufficient to convince the mind. Unless the intellect is convinced, no one can truly believe. But don't let doubt lead to despair. Christ is very patient and understanding with honest doubters. Even Thomas, one of his own disciples, doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead. He said he would not believe that Christ had risen until he had placed his hand in Christ's side and put his fingers in the nail prints. Listen to Jesus as he talks to this doubting disciple: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27).

 

He extends the same invitation to you. Christ, of all men, welcomes investigation. He knows that the more people honestly investigate him, the more hope exists that they will believe in him. When Thomas saw with his own eyes the risen Christ standing physically before him, he exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). Thomas was convinced; the doubter became a believer. Faith is not something apart from, or contrary to, the mind, as some intellectuals would argue. Faith begins with knowledge of the truth, and that knowledge must lead us to a conviction that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.

 

Trust

 

True faith in Christ requires a trust in Christ. Scripture says that even the devil and his demons know perfectly well who Christ is. They know that Jesus is the Son of God, but they do not rejoice in the knowledge they have, but rather they wish it were extinguished. Many people are just like that. They know who Christ is, but they do not trust him. They prefer to trust themselves, their own character or good works.

 

A poor but discerning Christian woman was once asked what faith was. She answered: "I am ignorant and can't answer very well, but I think it is taking God at his word." How rich in wisdom she was! That is precisely what faith is. It is taking Christ at his word, believing that every promise he makes to us, he is both willing and able to keep.