Faith in God, in his promises and in his salvation is an essential theme throughout the Bible. The Bible defines faith as “…the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11.1). Later in that same passage we’re reminded that “Without faith, it is impossible to please God“. (Hebrews 11.6).
How to know if we have faith
When we accept Christ as our personal savior, we put our trust in him for salvation. Keep in mind though, that “faith without works is dead” (James 2.20). That is, our lives should reflect God’s presence in us by our words and actions. It’s important to remember that our works don’t make us Christians: Faith in Christ does. When we become Christians, God’s spirit indwells us because of what Christ accomplished for us. Our good works or righteousnesses had nothing to do with it. Once we’ve accepted Christ, we then live a normal Christian life by “yielding… our members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6.13).
Faith vs Understanding
Faith and understanding are often at odds with each other. When we read something in the Bible that seems impossible to our modern scientific mindset, we might tend to disbelieve what the Bible says. If we wait until we understand to have faith, then it isn’t faith. God’s formula instead is that we choose to believe his word BEFORE we understand just because he says so. Keep in mind that God is looking for people who, despite the difficulty, WILL believe what he says – no matter what! If you’re having a tough time with this point, write down or better yet memorize Hebrews 11.3. God will give you the understanding you crave, but only after you give him the faith that he wants from you.
David and Goliath
In the picture above, David proves his faith that God will give him victory over Goliath (1 Samuel chapter 17). In the story David chooses five round stones for the battle. Some suggest that if David had real faith, he’d have needed only one stone. The text suggests though, that Goliath may not have been the only giant on the scene. He had four brothers (2 Samuel 21.15-22)