The word "faith" is a word that has different meanings in different places where it is found in the New Testament. It can be disconcerting when one first becomes aware of this but at the same time, we benefit from knowing it.
In preparation for this
article, I looked up the word "faith" in a little paperback Merriam-Webster Dictionary I have curious
as to what I would find. I found 4
meanings listed as follows: (1) allegiance
to duty or a person which you could call loyalty (2) belief or trust in God (3)
complete trust and (4) a system of religious beliefs.
I then went to another
book I have entitled An Expository Dictionary
of New Testament Words by W. E. Vine.
This is a standard work, a word definition book quite well known by
Bible students. This book allows you to
take the English word found in your King James Bible, look it up, and it will give
you the Greek word or words behind the English, and give you the meaning of
those Greek words as used in the scriptures in the first century.
When I looked up the
word "faith" in Vine's dictionary I found the Greek word behind it to
be "pistis." Vine says the
word means, depending on the passage in which it is being used, (a) trust (b)
trustworthiness or faithfulness (c) what is believed, the contents of belief
(d) the grounds for faith, assurance, and (d) a pledge of fidelity. He gives scriptural references for each of
these usages.
We can see then that the
word “faith” has different meanings in different contexts in which it is found.
Generally speaking, as
it relates to the New Testament, we think faith means trust in God or the Lord
Jesus and it most certainly does. The
word is used with this meaning more than any other meaning given the word in
the New Testament scriptures. I think
the classic example of this kind of faith (trust in God) found in the New
Testament is found in Heb. 11:17-19 referring back to Abraham. The text reads as follows:
"By faith Abraham,
when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises
offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'In Isaac your seed
shall be called,' accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the
dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense." (Heb.
11:17-19 NKJV)
That is trust (or faith)
in God to the utmost degree. It is a
faith we all need to develop but note one thing about this faith--note what it
is based on. It is based on the
"word of God." What had God
promised Abraham concerning Isaac?
Abraham had been given God's word and was thoroughly convinced God could,
would not, lie (Titus 1:2). "So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom. 10:17
KJV)
Scriptural faith is
never based on what a man thinks, a man's opinions or ideas, but upon God's
word. If there is no word from God then
whatever a man believes is not faith but opinion. Abraham had word from God--"In Isaac
your seed shall be called." Noah
had the same faith regarding the coming flood and the need to build an
ark. It was not his opinion that a flood
was coming. He had God's word on it.
Another use of the word
faith that is an uncommon usage but a scriptural one is faith as a spiritual
gift. In 1 Cor. 12 the subject is spiritual
gifts (see verse 1). In verse 8 Paul
begins listing various spiritual gifts that had been given the Corinthians and
in verse 9 includes faith. He says,
"To another faith by the same Spirit." (1 Cor. 12:9 NKJV) I do not understand the nature of this faith
but it was of such strength, evidently, that it could only be acquired by a
direct spiritual impartation.
This might explain what
Jesus was talking about in Matt. 21:21.
"So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, if
you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig
tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,'
it will be done.'" (NKJV)
Another different use of
the word faith is found in Rom. 14:23, "But he who doubts is condemned if
he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is
sin." (NKJV) Here the word refers
to having a good conscience with regards to what you allow or do. If you violate your conscience in doing a
thing it is sin for one must act based on faith with the belief that
what he is doing is in accord with God's will.
One cannot doubt and do a thing without it being a sin.
Taken in context the
verse is found in a discussion about the eating of meats. Under the Law of Moses, certain meats were unclean, and eating them was sin. Under
Christ, this was no longer so but some doubted and thus for them to eat, thinking
it was possibly a sin to do so, and eating anyway, to them it became sin. Their conscience was not clean.
Faith is at times used
as a reference not to trust in God but as a reference for the whole Christian
system, the entirety of New Testament teaching.
The best example and one all can readily see for such a usage, is found
in Jude 3, "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning
our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to
contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the
saints." (NKJV) The phrase
"the faith" is a reference to the entire gospel system of
salvation.
What a lot of people do
not know is that the phrase "the faith" is found in your Bible more
times than you know. Why do I say
that? Because those who translated our
Bibles left it out (the “the” before the word “faith”) thinking it unnecessary
to translate both words. Let me give you
some examples.
Gal. 3:14, "That
the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we
might receive the promise of the Spirit through ('the' is in the Greek text here but omitted by most translations--DS)
faith." (NKJV)
Gal. 3:25, "But
after ('the' is in the Greek text
here but omitted by most translations--DS) faith has come, we are no longer
under a tutor." (NKJV)
Gal. 3:26, "For you
are all sons of God through ('the' is
in the Greek text here but omitted by most translations--DS) faith in Christ
Jesus." (NKJV)
There is a difference
between "the faith" and "faith" thus such omissions are a
serious error in translations. If you
doubt me just type in "interlinear" in your search engine and check
me out. I used the interlinear at Biblos
but any of them should do just fine.
Young's Literal Translation accurately translates these verses leaving
the word "the" where it belongs.
Other places where
"the faith" is used to mean the gospel system is 1 Tim. 4:1,
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from
the faith," (NKJV) "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the
faith," (2 Cor. 13:5 NKJV) "… and a great many of the priests were
obedient to the faith." (Acts 6:7 NKJV)
In fact, the phrase "the faith" is used 39 times (without the
omissions already mentioned) in the New King James Version. I do not claim every single instance refers
to the gospel but many of them do.
Another phrase often
used in the Bible is the phrase "by faith." One finds this, especially, in Hebrews chapter
11. By faith, this man or this woman did
this or that. We read of that in verse
after verse. The phrase generally means
they "acted" based on faith, because of faith, or out of faith. One would be hard-pressed in life to find any
meaningful act ever done by a rational person without a motivation of one kind or
another behind it. Faith is the
motivating factor for the man or woman of God.
People act on God's word because they believe it. When one does not believe one does not
obey. This disbelief is one reason so
many who claim the name Christian are never baptized. They do not believe what the Bible says about
it. Others who do believe are baptized.
Actually, the Hebrew
writer explains this earlier in the book.
In Hebrews chapter 3 the writer is talking about those who came out of
Egypt with Moses headed to the promised land.
As you know that generation did not enter therein for they refused to go
up and fight in direct violation of God's command. The Hebrew writer is talking about those
people when he says, "And to whom did He swear that they would not enter
His rest, but to those who did not obey?
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." (Heb. 3:18-19 NKJV) He ties their disobedience in directly with
their unbelief. They did not trust God's
word and thus refused to obey. So it is
today. Jesus is "the author of
eternal salvation to all who obey him." (Heb. 5:9 NKJV) Only those who believe will obey.
There is no such thing
as saving faith without diligent seeking of God which means in part obeying him
in all he commands us to do. "But
without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek
him." (Heb. 11:6 NKJV)
A good goal for all of
us would be to so live that when we die it could be said of us that we lived by
faith while living and then died in faith in passing. We all ought to try and live such a life. "The just shall live by faith."
(Heb. 10:38 NKJV)
Finally, let us all try
and read the Bible with more discernment.
I include myself in that. We will
all get more out of it if we put more time into it instead of just rapidly
passing over the text. It is great to
read the Bible but far better to read it and study it.
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