“Trust me!” spouted the salesman with an unnerving grin assuring me that I was getting the deal of a lifetime. Instead, red flags were popping up in every corner of my mind. We develop trust over time based on reliable evidence. I knew nothing about this salesman. With no foundation for his demand, the salesman was asking me to have faith in him. However, trust or faith must be established on creditable information. By the way, he did not make his sale.
Faith and trust are important words in the Bible because scripture tells us to trust and to have faith in God. I have wrestled for some time with the basic meaning of the word that we translate as faith. I am a ‘word person.’ I want to know the Biblical meaning of every single word I read. I want to know the definition that was in Paul’s mind or Peter’s understanding of the words he wrote. If a preacher or teacher says, “Webster’s dictionary defines this word as . . .”, he has just lost my attention. Using a modern day dictionary can and does result in false teaching. Faith is one of those incorrectly defined words.
The biblical definition of faith differs from its modern definition. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines faith as a “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” Or as Mark Twain remarked, “faith is believing in what ain’t so.” This meaning leads people to think the Bible asks people to believe without evidence, and as a result, individuals perceive the Bible as an unreasonable and illogical book, and thus reject it. Some have even gone as far as saying that faith is the opposite of reason. Biblical faith is not a “blind leap” into the unknown. Scripture is not opposed to reason or logic and much evidence exist confirming its validity.
The word faith in the original Greek text of the Bible is pistis. It means trust, confidence in, or assurance. In our contemporary context, translating pistis as ‘trust’ rather than ‘faith’ brings a much clearer understand of the correct Biblical meanings. Note a few of the 243 uses of the word: For you are all sons of God through faith [trust] in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26); For by grace you have been saved through faith [trust] and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8); And without faith [trust] it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe [trust] that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6); BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH [TRUST] (Rom 1:17).
We can have faith and trust in God and the Bible because it is reasonable, logical, and confirmed by thousands of years of evidence. It is by far the most accurate historical document in existence. The writers of the New Testament base the truth of Christianity on a historical event. John says that he wrote what he saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears.
If believers do not embrace the Biblical definition of faith, they can find themselves disappointed and bewildered especially if they follow the teachings of those who define faith as an intellectual assent that guarantees one will receive anything they desire if they put enough mental energy into it. I would label this ‘blind leap’ as presumption, not faith.
Pistis is simply trust in God and trust in the truth of His Word. Faith or trust always begins small, but it grows as God proves Himself and His promises. Jesus compared it to the small mustard seed that can mature into a large tree-like plant. I will be the first to acknowledge that I am not a trusting person. As far back as I can remember, for some reason, my mother taught me not to trust people. Combine that with a lot of bad life experiences, trust comes slow. The person I trust most is my wife. Why? I base my trust on years of evidence and proof of her love for me. I confess that even my trust or faith in God has also grown slow. Yet, I now have years of evidence and proof of His love for me, along with my continual validation of the truth of the Bible.
The LORD has challenged me during my study on faith. It is easy to say the words, “I have faith in God.” However, after I had a deeper understanding of the Biblical meaning, I began asking myself, “Do I trust God?” For me, that brought a whole new meaning to all the scriptures on faith. Do I absolutely trust Him, because without trust it is impossible? My faith/trust continues to grow.
One conclusion I have drawn is that mature faith is not a mental exercise. It is not something I have to convince myself of every morning; rather it is a settled attitude.
Sustaining Word for the Week:
Despite the assault by non-Christians today on the existence of God and the validity of the Bible, it is reasonable, logical, and based on reliable evidence. You can trust God and trust the promises of His Word.