When you look at the Cross, what do you see? You see God’s awesome faithfulness. Nothing – not even the instinct to spare His own Son – will turn Him back from keeping His word.
Sinclair Ferguson

What is Faith?

What is Faith? What is Faith?

Old Testament (selected)

Le 5:15 – Show Context
"If any one commits a breach of faith and sins unwittingly in any of the holy things of the LORD, he shall bring, as his guilt offering to the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued by you in shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; it is a guilt offering.
Nu 5:6 – Show Context
"Say to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that men commit by breaking faith with the LORD, and that person is guilty,
De 32:51 – Show Context
because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Mer’i-bath-ka’desh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you did not revere me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel.
Jos 7:1 – Show Context
But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things; for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things; and the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel.
Jos 22:22 – Show Context
"The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith toward the LORD, spare us not today
Jud 9:15 – Show Context
And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
Ezr 10:2 – Show Context
And Shecani’ah the son of Jehi’el, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: "We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.
Job 39:12 – Show Context
Do you have faith in him that he will return, and bring your grain to your threshing floor?
Ps 78:22 – Show Context
because they had no faith in God, and did not trust his saving power.
Ps 106:24 – Show Context
Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise.
Ps 116:10 – Show Context
I kept my faith, even when I said, "I am greatly afflicted";
Ps 146:6 – Show Context
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith for ever;
Isa 26:2 – Show Context
Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in.
Hab 2:4 – Show Context
Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him shall fail, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

What is faith, (summarized) according to the Old Testament? May I suggest:

Faith is the anticipation between two or more, that what was said or agreed on, will be done.

Is it faith when we just "expect" something to be done based on our assessment of another’s character?

Father Al Lauer, Presentation Ministries, WCNW-AM 1560, Mon-Fri 7:30 a.m.

Is it faith when we hope some thing will be done, when the other has given no indication of that intent?

Is it faith when we believe that because we are Christians, we will live blessed lives?

Is it faith when we pray more than once for something we really want to happen?

The most famous definition of faith, from the New Testament:

Hebrews 10

35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised. 37 "For yet a little while, and the coming one shall come and shall not tarry; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and keep their souls.

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old received divine approval. 3 By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear.

Does the New Testament redefine faith?

New Testament (selected)

Mt 8:10 – Show Context
When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.
Mt 8:26 – Show Context
And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
Mt 9:2 – Show Context
And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven."
Mt 9:22 – Show Context
Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well.
Mt 9:29 – Show Context
Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you."
Mt 14:31 – Show Context
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Mt 15:28 – Show Context
Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.
Mt 16:8 – Show Context
But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?
Mt 17:20 – Show Context
He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you."
Mt 21:21 – Show Context
And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will be done.
Mt 21:22 – Show Context
And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."
Mt 23:23 – Show Context
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
Ac 14:9 – Show Context
He listened to Paul speaking; and Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,
Ac 15:9 – Show Context
and he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith.
Ac 27:25 – Show Context
So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.
Ro 1:16 – Show Context
For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Ro 4:20 – Show Context
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
Ro 10:17 – Show Context
So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ.
What’s your answer: Does the New Testament redefine faith?
The Prayer of Faith
My wife is suffering from something that is causing significant, constant back pain. I am motivated to understand ” the prayer of faith”…
James 5:13-15
13 Is any one among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.
We did the prayer. It didn’t work. What is faith again?
Let’s be honest, I want to “move the hand of God”. Is there evidence in the New Testament of extremely motivated individuals being healed simply because they desired it ?
The ten lepers – Luke 17:11-19
11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Sama’ria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." 14 When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed.
The woman with a hemorrhage – Matthew 9:18-26
18 While he was thus speaking to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment; 21 for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I shall be made well."
The centurion – Matthew 8:5-13
5 As he entered Caper’na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him 6 and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress." 7 And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8 But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.
The intriguing thing about these examples, is that their faith (especially the woman [whose reasoning is given] and the centurion) was not based on God specifically promising them they would be healed. These people merely heard what Jesus was capable of, drew their own conclusions, and acted to try and receive healing.
Not purposely on my part, these three examples (and many more – but whether all, is a question you can dig into on your own) are all instances where the person who was healed probably broke social protocol to receive the healing.
  1. The lepers were supposed to stay in their own area – not approaching towns of healthy people
  2. If I recall right, the woman wasn’t supposed to touch a man in her society
  3. The centurion – he really opened up a serious situation for himself; like an American soldier going to an Iraqi for a favor during the wartime occupation. This was not the way to get a promotion!
In the United States, anti-Christ government elements are systematically removing both symbols and laws that recognize, obey, and honor God. It will not be long before upholding God’s laws and values in our society becomes “hate speech” and discrimination. US Law will be twisted so we become a people for the government, rather than having a government for the people. The separation of church and state will be driven into society, reaching right into the church itself [the government controls churches by threat of tax exempt status]. We are past reaching the point where we must decide whether to be relevant active followers of Christ, or a non-pertinent lukewarm people carrying an ineffective label as an insurance policy against Hell. We must ask ourselves, am I willing to risk losing every worldly possession I have in order to follow Jesus?
I’d have to lose it all. And this may be what the centurion faced the day he went to see Jesus.
What other unique elements can we find in the situation where people are healed (what’s the recipe)?
  1. A miracle worker was available – God’s power was being demonstrated at that time, in that place
  • Luke 5:17-26
17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 And behold, men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought to bring him in and lay him before Jesus;
  • I would conclude that Jesus healed when God directed him to….that there was a reason for healing at specific times and places.
  • There were no miracle failures – Jesus had a 100% success rate
  1. The gospel was being preached/taught when the healing took place
  • Luke 9:1-9
1 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal.
  • Could it be that the power of healing was merely used as tangible proof of the reality of God’s ability to save us from our sin, and of his kingdom?
  • If God loves us, why doesn’t he just heal us all right now? Why didn’t Jesus do that when he came into his time of ministry on earth? [A: because the healing would be unconnected with preaching the kingdom of God]
  • Romans 9:14-24
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 So it depends not upon man’s will or exertion, but upon God’s mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh, "I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth."
  • Romans 15:17-21
17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyr’icum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ,
  • 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfil every good resolve and work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Heidi Baker (Africa) is a modern-day example of miracles accompanying preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
    3. Power came to the disciples with the Holy Spirit
  • Acts 1:6-11
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Sama’ria and to the end of the earth."
  • Notice the disciples wanted to work another agenda into Jesus’ plans.
I recall a place in scripture where Jesus used his Father’s power to heal someone we could assume was already a believer; Lazarus. But Paul prayed that God would take away a “thorn in his flesh”, and it did not happen.
I believe God is merciful. He has given understanding to people, so they can change behaviors and bring (natural?) healing. But we know too well, that some people never receive healing. We will all die of something someday.
Hebrews 9:27-28
27 And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
But some do receive healing…
2 Kings 20:1-11
1 In those days Hezeki’ah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order; for you shall die, you shall not recover.’" 2 Then Hezeki’ah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3 "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in thy sight." And Hezeki’ah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: 5 "Turn back, and say to Hezeki’ah the prince of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you; on the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. 6 And I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake."
I do bring my wife’s back problem to God’s attention often. It’s not for lack of faith that I repeatedly bring her up – it’s because I love her, and like so many who love others who are ill, I wish better for her. Her condition comes to my mind often, and God is the only one who has the full power to heal her. So I go to Him.
One last thought…
We have read many examples today, where the power of God is manifested only when it is accompanied by the preaching of the Gospel. The salvation message cannot be presented to society without mentioning Jesus ‘ name, because he is the only one through whom we must be saved. We should be challenged to not have a “silent witness” – that is, a life of good works separated from a declaration of who we serve when doing the works. A silent witness may be a life devoid of the Power of God.