What Is Faith?

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
(Hebrews 11:1 NASB)

FAITH: “PISTIS” (Strong’s): Implies such a knowledge of, and confident belief and agreement in certain divine truths, especially those of the Gospel (The Word of God) that produces good works.

One of the best ways to find out what something is, is to take a look at what something is not. When you find out what it is not, you have a better understanding of what it actually is! As we journey down this road of understanding what faith is, we need to understand that true biblical faith is not hope. Faith gives substance to things hoped for. You see, hope has no substance at all. Faith takes hold of the unseen realm of hope, and brings it into the realm of reality. You might hope for finances to meet a particular obligation, but faith gives you the assurance that you’ll have the money when you need it. The only kind of faith that gets the job done is the Bible-kind of faith, which believes God and acts on that belief.

If someone came up to you and said that they hoped to be saved one day, what would you tell them? I’m sure that you would share with them what the scriptures say, wouldn’t you? You would tell them that salvation isn’t based on hope, but by the grace of God, they can be saved right now through faith in Him!

Ephesians 2:8 …by grace you are saved through faith…

Romans 10:9, 10 That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Romans 10:13 For “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

You would tell a person who was seeking salvation what the Word says and endeavor to get them to act on the Word right then and there. However, when it comes to receiving Spirit Baptism, healing for our body, or an answer to a prayer, we seem to “hope for the best.” Unfortunately we’ve been conditioned to think that whatever the outcome, it must be God’s will, when GOD has ALREADY spoken on His will for us in these areas. That is why it’s so important that we know His Word!! People are not always taught faith to receive – they are taught hope and that won’t get the job done. Some people always believe that God is going to do something for them, sometime in the future, when faith believes that He has already done something, and is doing something right now.

How do we know if we are praying prayers of faith or only prayers of hope? Listen to the way you pray. Are you praying in present tense or future tense? Hope is always future tense for it’s always looking to the future.

HOPE SAYS: “I hope to be saved when Jesus comes.”
FAITH SAYS: “I am saved!”
HOPE SAYS: “I hope that I get the healing that I need, for I’d like it to be mine one day.”
FAITH SAYS: “God’s Word says that I have been healed, and therefore I AM healed.”

I remember praying for people who had come in need of some kind of physical healing, and at the time I was uncertain if the Lord would actually heal them or not. I knew He could, but wasn’t sure if He would. At that time, I did not know the Word of God concerning healing and how the Bible clearly states that healing and health is in fact God’s will for our lives. But as I began to study, seek, and ask the Lord for revelation in this area, I became aware of how our healing has already taken place through the death, burial, and resurrection of Lord Jesus.

ISAIAH 53:4-5 – “Surely our griefs (sicknesses) He Himself bore, and our sorrows (pain) He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.”

 

MATTHEW 8:17 – “This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took away our infirmities and carried our diseases.” (past sense)

 

1 PETER 2:24 – “And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” (also past tense)

Now – with such a knowledge of, and confident belief and agreement in the Word of God concerning healing, I pray the prayer of faith knowing with all assurance in my heart that God will heal!  And the crazy thing is???  I see more miracles today in faith then I did back then with uncertainty!

I have had several conversations with people in the past who love God, but became offended at the possibility that it might their lack of faith that was keeping them from receiving that which they were in need of. Upon asking them to share with me some of what the Word of God says concerning that need, they only had second hand knowledge of someone else’s communicated revelation, therefore revealing that their personal level of revelatory knowledge of God’s Word was minimal. Being that faith is the knowledge and confident belief and agreement in the word of God, and they were lacking in this very thing, it could’ve very well been keeping them from receiving what they were asking for.

Their confession of faith was based off of someone else’s revelation and not their own. But after taking the time to sit down with some of them and walk them through the scriptures, the eyes of their heart where enlightened, and they began to received a personal revelation of God’s Word for their circumstances, and in most cases – those circumstances began to change almost immediately!

Some people say “Billy Bob, I don’t know why I haven’t received my healing yet. I know God promised to heal me.” Well, actually, God has not promised to heal us at all. You may say, “but doesn’t the Word of God say “…HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES” (MATTHEW 8.17). Isn’t that a promise? No, that isn’t a promise. That, my friend, is a statement of fact. It tells us that something has already taken place. We’ve called this scripture and others like it promises, when in reality; they are statements of fact that tell us of our provisions in Christ. They tell us what Jesus has already provided for us (ALSO SEE 1 PETER 2:24).

Now, the Church of the Lord Jesus does have a blessed hope of Jesus’ return, but that is future. But if you were seeking healing, it’s not in the future that you want to be healed. You want to be healed right now!!
 Look at the first three words of Hebrews 11:1. “Now Faith Is…” If it is not now, it is not faith. Faith is always in the present tense. As long as you and I put off believing we’ve received the blessing, the blessing will always be in the future where it will stay.

Are you in need of finances? Healing? What about forgiveness? Are you praying, hoping to overcome depression, anxiety, and/or fear? Do you need freedom from a habitual sin, or maybe you are praying for a loved one’s salvation? I urge you…plead with you…study the Word of God, for it is “life to all who find them, and health to a man’s whole body” (Proverbs 4:20-22) Then pray your prayer of faith with the assurance of what you are hoping for will definitely come to pass, for the evidence – the proof – is the Word of God!

I want to give you some tools that will help equip you in this area. Please visit the bible study center on our website at www.WarriorMinistries.org for more information.