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Belief and Faith
Faith and belief are not, and should never be, esoteric “think only things†or just a mental exercise, but rather, a conviction that result in a change of behavior or sets into motion a course of action that pleases and glorifies God.
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance (foundation or support) of things hoped for, the evidence (proof or reality) of things not seen. KJV (Italics mine)Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe (to put reliance upon and confidence in) that He IS (self existent, The only God and sufficient), and that He is a rewarder (a place made for us in His house for His children) of them that diligently seek Him. KJV (Italics mine)
Faith is not just a conviction, but conviction combined with, and results in, action. The word for faith in Greek is pis’tis. It is the root of the word, pistyoo’o, the word we get “believe†from. Faith and belief are one and the same.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.John 3:36
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
John 3:36 gives meaning to what belief is. “But he who does not obeyâ€; The word obey is apitheh’o. It is literally, obey not, disbelieve, disobedient, unbelieving. “Faithâ€, “Belief†and “Obedience†are tied together: They cannot be separated.
When the KJV was translated into English, the words pistyoo’o, “Believe†and apitheh’o, “obey†were both rendered, “Believe†in John 3:36 because the meanings resulted in the same outcome in old English: “To put your confidence in and your reliance upon,†to obey. Our modern English definitions of believe have rendered an inferior meaning.
Belief is more than a mental exercise. To have real faith and belief, will always result in action to back it up. That action is obedience.
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.â€He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. John 14:15, 21, 23-24
James 2:17-26
… faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
To have faith and believe is to repent of my unbelief, my Godless, sinful life and actions and in humility fall before Jesus the Christ and acknowledge His Lordship and ownership over me. In return for the forgiveness of my sins, which were many, we become the willing and obedient disciple of Jesus. It is Jesus Christ who owns my allegiance. His commands for His faithful disciples are recorded in God’s Word, the Bible. His disciples obey Him.