The Nature of Biblical Faith.

     And 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 seek Him.
                                                              Hebrews 11:6 NASB

     For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.
                                                                Ephesians 2:8 NASB

     Faith is one of the most important, yet one of the least understood elements of Christianity. If it is through faith that we obtain saving grace, and if it is impossible to please God without faith, it is of absolute necessity that we have a good working knowledge of what true faith really is. We cannot afford to be wrong in our definition of faith; there is no room for error. Our very souls depend upon our having a solid biblical understanding of what constitutes faith.
     I would like to look at some very important elements of faith as found in the scriptures; elements that are sadly overlooked, or often explained away, yet these things are found in scripture nonetheless.
     
     1. Faith is taking God at His word.
     2. Faith is active.
     3. Faith leads to obedience.
     4. Faith works by love.
     5. Faith overcomes.

     1. Faith is taking God at His word.
     We read of faith in Hebrews 11, and discover right away that one must believe that God exists, and rewards those who seek after Him. If we are to exercise faith, we must start here with the belief that God means what He says. His word is filled with warnings and promises, blessings and curses. If we have faith, we will believe what God says to us. To ignore or disregard what He says, is to lack faith. The Bible tells us that faith comes from hearing the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Many people make the mistake of thinking that faith consists in believing what they want, and God is bound to honor that faith. This is not so. True faith believes what God says, no matter how unrealistic it may seem. Take Noah for example. God told Him that He was about to destroy the world with a flood as a judgment of its sin. He told him to build an ark for the salvation of his family. As absurd as this might have seemed, Noah took God at His word, and did what he was commanded to do (Genesis 6:5-21; Hebrews 11:7). He believed the word of the Lord. We too must believe the word of the Lord as well. Imagine what it must look like to God when He fills His word with promises and commands, but we fail to believe what God says. Unbelief in effect is calling God a liar.

     2. Faith is active.
     Look at the example of Noah again. Noah believed what God told him. He believed that a flood was going to destroy the world. He also believed that God would spare him and his family if he would build an ark. this belief caused him to act. As ridiculous as it must have appeared to those around him, Noah began to build an ark, a task that took around one hundred years to complete. There was plenty of time to get discouraged, and plenty of time to decide that maybe God was going to change His mind and not send a flood. Noah believed God, and acted upon that belief. He persevered over a period of one hundred years, and at the command of God, he and his family, along with pairs of animals entered the ark, and were saved. When the multitude asked Jesus what they must do to do the works of god, Jesus responded by telling them that the work of God was to believe upon the one that He sent (John 6:28-29). If they had truly believed in Christ, that faith would have manifested itself in works. James tells us that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). A man sitting in his recliner, reading the paper is suddenly interrupted by a pounding on his door, and cries of "Fire! Get out, your house is on fire!" If he has faith, he will put down the paper, get out of his chair, and escape his burning house. It is that simple. James gives us several examples of men and women who acted upon their belief, as does the book of Hebrews in the eleventh chapter. (James 2:21-26; Hebrews 11:1-40).

     3. Faith leads to obedience.
     Paul refers to the obedience of faith in Romans 16:26. What is this obedience of faith? Jesus asks "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord', and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46) We are called to obey Jesus Christ, to follow Him, and to walk as He walked. This amounts to us living out our faith in Him with an active obedience. The true disciple hears the commands of Jesus, and believes what he hears with an active faith. It is futile to say that we are Christians, followers of Jesus, yet we balk at His commands. Just as a soldier obeys his commanding officer, or an employee obeys his boss, we are called to obey Jesus Christ, if we are going to follow Him.

     4. Faith works by love.
     We read in Galatians 5:6, that what really counts in the eyes of God is faith working by love. This is the opposite of dead works-things that we do to earn God's favor. Legalism, the keeping of commandments, observance of rituals or traditions, is based upon selfish motives. An individual who "obeys" God out of a sense of obligation or fear of punishment cannot please God, as this individual is merely serving God for reward. True faith is motivated by love for God. This is why Jesus could say that those who love Him will obey Him (John 14:23-24). Love will motivate us to what Jesus commands, not for our sake, but for His. This is the difference between a "legal" salvation, which is no salvation at all, and a salvation where the law is fulfilled in those who believe, through love (Romans 8:4, 13:9-10).

     5. Faith overcomes.
     We read in 1 John that if we love God we will keep His commandments. The passage goes on to show us that those who have faith, who believe in the Son of God, overcome the world (1 John 5:3-5).  It is impossible to love the world, and yet love God at the same time (1 John 2:15-16). The world will throw every temptation and trial at us with the intention of drawing our hearts away from Christ. Here is where the grave danger lies. If we are not overcoming, we are being overcome. Only the one who overcomes will inherit eternal life in the end (Rev 21:7). Once again, this is not legalism; trying to earn salvation by works. Jesus came to deliver us from this present evil age (Galatians 1:4). By faith in Him, we overcome. It is by faith we win the victory over sin and temptation. It is by faith that we stand strong in the face of danger and persecution. If we do not overcome by faith in Christ, we are then ensnared once again in this present evil age. Jesus came to destroy the devil's works (1 John 3:8). By faith in Him, we walk this out in our daily lives. The one who has become aware of the depths of depravity in his unregenerate heart, will by faith, cast himself at the feet of the one who will deliver him from the power of sin, and then continue to trust in the Savior moment by moment until this life is over.

     There is so much more that one could discuss concerning faith, but I hope that this will encourage you to walk in the power and victory that God intends for each one of us, as we walk by faith in Christ Jesus.