A Study in Faith

I have been thinking a bunch about this concept of faith. In fact, I looked back over all my different blogs and found no less than a dozen occasions that I have written specifically about faith. We know in Hebrews 11:1 that: 

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see 

So I see that faith is a confident hope and assurance in things eternal. This is comforting and can certainly help us as we trudge through the swamp of life. 

To continue on in our look at faith we can see that in Greek, faith means: the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ; a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. 

Further, the Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms defines faith as belief, trust and obedience to God as revealed in Jesus Christ and that faith affects all dimensions of one’s existence: intellect, emotions, and will. 

And finally, J. I. Packer tells us that “faith is a believing trust or a trustful belief based on the testimony received from God. That it is by faith that Christians are justified before God, live their lives, and sustain their hope.” 

So no matter the condition by faith I can have this confident hope only possible through Christ; I can live with a believing trust that we have a God who loves us; I can move through the obstacles of life with a trustful belief that all things are for the good of those that love Him. 

Matthew 21:21 reminds us: 

Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 

Abba Father, increase our faith daily so that for your glory the mountains we climb will reveal nothing but the depth of your love. No doubt! 

Grace and Peace!