What is Faith?
The word faith is found over 247 times in the King James Version of the Bible, and 278 times in the English Standard Version. Translators of the Bible will use English words that they feel are best suited based on the context, or situation of that passage, and various other things. Exegesis is a very complex study, of which I am no expert. However, we are looking at the basics, and I like to refer to it’s usage as simply as possible. To keep things simple, here is a breakdown of a couple of usages.
Faith, in the Old Testament typically speaks of a breach of faith, or broken faith.
Faith, in the New Testament typically speaks of faith in the message of Jesus Christ. Faith is a state of mind, as well as a thing. Examples of the usage can vary.
Strong’s H530
Faith: Old Testament (Resource: BlueLetterBible)
1. Firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness
Strong’s G4102
Faith: New Testament (Resource: Blueletterbible)
- conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
I have my faith in God. (a state of mind/heart)
Learn to faith in the Lord. (an action)
We learn about the Christian faith. (a thing; a general category of religious belief)
Faith, by definition found in idictionary, is defined as:
(noun)
a (1) belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) :belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b (1) firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2):complete trust
It is also used as a verb:
Faith is something you cannot see. I have had people ask me, “How do you know that God is real? There is no proof.”
To them, my answer would be,
“If there would ever be any proof of God, then there would be no such word as faith.”
