ACD Series or booklet: Part II of VI

First Principles of the Christian Faith – Part II

by Brian Knowles

n the King James Version of Hebrews 6:1, “faith toward God” is the second listed foundational principle of the Christian faith. When we use the word “faith” in certain circles, it elicits some negative imagery: “blind faith,” stubborn belief without evidence, or circus tent “faith healers” who put on an Elmer Gantry-like show, whipping up audience emotions to a state of expectation. None of these things is really what is meant by “faith in -- or toward -- God.”

            To understand how Jesus and his apostles comprehended faith, we must begin in the Old Testament. In later times, other influences came into both Judaism and Christianity, changing the meaning of faith into “belief.” David Blumenthal explains: “During the Middle Ages, under the influence of Islam and Christianity, Judaism came to understand ‘faith’ as a matter of belief. Quickly, the sage-rabbis distinguished between faith based on reason and faith based on authority…This, however, is not the deepest understanding of faith” (The Place of Faith & Grace in Judaism, p. 19).

            A deeper, and earlier, understanding of faith, according to Blumenthal, is “bound up with the Hebrew word, emunah” (ibid.). To grasp the implications of this word, we will examine the story of Joshua’s battle against Amalek. The account is found in Exodus 17: 8 ff. 

Moses and Emunah

“The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.

            “So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other -- so that his hands remained steady [emunah] till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword” (Exodus 17:8-13 NIV).

            Emunah, here translated “steady,” in this context means “firmness.” That meaning establishes the tone for subsequent uses, according to Blumenthal. In II Chronicles 20:20, we find this concept described in a clear play on words: “Be faithful to God and you will be firmly established.”  The Hebrew is: ha’aminu ba-Adonai…v’te’amnu. Note the reverberation of the word emunah in this verse. When Moses displayed firmness in his obligation toward God; God reciprocated by demonstrating his power on behalf of Joshua and his soldiers.  

Heschel’s Insight

The late Abraham Joshua Heschel was a philosopher of Judaism whose insights into faith and other issues have benefited many long after his decease. He explains, eloquently, what faith is not, and what it is, from a Jewish perspective. “To have no faith is callousness, to have undiscerning faith is superstition. ‘The simple believeth every word’ (Proverbs 14:15), frittering away his faith on things explorable but not yet explored. By confounding ignorance with faith he is inclined to regard as exalted whatever he fails to understand, as if faith began where understanding ended; as if it were a supreme virtue to be convinced without proofs, to be ready to believe” (Man is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion by Abraham Joshua Heschel, p. 159).

            Heschel has here penetrated to one of the great errors of a popular Christian conception of faith: plunging recklessly ahead on the basis of ignorance. Faith is not ignorance, nor is it blind. Faith is not superstitious naiveté. It is not the exaltation of the incomprehensible or mere belief without evidence. So what then is faith?

            We can understand something of the meaning of faith by the example of Abraham, the “Father of the Faithful.” In Hebrews 11:8 ff. we read: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country…By faith Abraham, even though he was past age – and Sarah herself was barren – was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.”

            The key to understanding Abraham’s faith does not lie in what he did not know, but in what he did know. He knew that God was faithful. God was the object of Abraham’s faith: “…he considered him faithful who had made the promise” (v. 11).  

            It was Abraham’s recognition of God’s faithfulness that enabled his own faithfulness to God, despite the physical evidence that he and Sarah could not again become parents.

            Heschel further defines faith as it was understood in Old Testament times: “To have faith does not mean, however, to dwell in the shadow of old ideas conceived by prophets and sages, to live off an inherited estate of doctrines and dogmas. In the realm of the spirit only he who is a pioneer is able to be an heir. The wages of spiritual plagiarism is the loss of integrity; self-aggrandizement is self-betrayal.

            “Authentic faith is more than an echo of tradition. It is a creative situation, an event. For God is not always silent, and man is not always blind. In every man’s life there are moments when there is a lifting of the veil at the horizon of the known, opening a sight of the eternal. Each of us has caught a glimpse of the beauty, peace and power that flow through the souls of those who are devoted to Him. But such experiences are rare events. To some people they are like shooting stars, passing and unremembered. In others they kindle a light that is never quenched. The remembrance of that experience and the loyalty to the response of that moment are the forces that sustain our faith. In this sense, faith is faithfulness, loyalty to an event, loyalty to our response” (Man is Not Alone, pp. 164-165).

            The idea of faith as faithfulness is the deeper understanding of emunah. It is the older and more authentic understanding of “faith.” In Genesis 15: 6, we are told, “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (NIV). The Jewish Translation renders this verse as follows: “And because he put his trust in the Lord, He reckoned it to his merit.” Blumenthal translates: “And Abraham had faith in God.”

            Abraham’s faith in God was a response to God’s faithfulness to Abraham. Abraham was loyal to God; he trusted God to do whatever he said he’d do, despite any evidence to the contrary, or any lack of evidence. All the evidence he needed was God’s own faithfulness to his human creation. God’s character, in other words, was Abraham’s evidence.

            God is always the object of faith. Jesus said, simply, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). The writer of Hebrews said, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for” (Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV). Why can we be sure we’ll receive what we hope for? -- Because of God’s faithfulness to us. God is reliable, predictable and trustworthy. He will do what he says he’ll do, no matter the evidence to the contrary, or the apparent lack of evidence.            

Faith a two-way street

Faith as faithfulness is a two-way street. God is described in the Bible as “faithful.” God always keeps his part of any agreement: “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands” (Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV). Because God is faithful to us, we should be faithful to him. Faith is a reciprocal phenomenon.

            Blumenthal adds another important insight to this discussion of faith toward God: “I should note that, for God, faith as faithfulness also has the nuance of faithfulness despite the evidence. God is faithful to the human race despite the evidence of its sinfulness, and He is faithful to His people even though the evidence of their waywardness is undeniable” (Faith and Grace in Judaism, p. 21).

            In the same chapter where the faithfulness of Abraham is discussed, we find this statement: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). God rewards. God responds, because God is faithful to those who seriously seek him. The word “earnestly” is from the Greek ekzeteo meaning “to seek out” or “search for.” Because God is invisible, he must be sought out. Those who have diligently sought out God have often been rewarded with a divine response. The phenomenon of conversion itself is a supernatural act performed by a force that originates outside of oneself. Yet, it is also an act of yielding one’s will to a higher will – that of God. A converted person is a changed person; one who is actively involved with God in a transformation of the whole person, beginning at the level of the mind (Romans 12:1-2). As we undergo this personal transformation, we find ourselves developing new capacities of self-control, love, patience and other products of the indwelling Spirit of God (cf. Galatians 5:22).

            As we experience God in our lives, our faith in him grows. This was also something the Jewish people learned long ago. Abraham Heschel writes: “Memory is a source of faith. To have faith is to remember. Jewish faith is a recollection of that which happened to Israel in the past. The events in which the spirit of God became a reality stand before our eyes painted in colors that never fade. Much of what the Bible demands can be comprised in one word: Remember. ‘Take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from they heart all the days of thy life; make them known unto thy children and thy children’s children’ (Deuteronomy 4:9) (Man is Not Alone, p. 162).

            When my children and grandchildren and I get together, we often reiterate some of the incredible things God has done in our lives over the years. We talk about the healings we have participated in, witnessed or experienced. We tell of how God changed our lives, converted us, prospered us, blessed us, answered prayers, saved our bacon and protected us. The telling of these true stories builds and shores up our faith in God. We also talk about all of the wonderful things God has done for his people Israel, and for the many great characters of Biblical times. “So then faith comes by hearing…” (Romans 10:17a).

            As Heschel writes, “With sustaining vitality the past survives in their thoughts, hearts, rituals. Recollection is a holy act: we sanctify the present by remembering the past” (ibid. p. 163).

            Once we have experienced the reality of God in our personal lives, we no longer have need of academic “proofs” for his existence. Paul wrote: “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

            “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17).

            The last statement in verse 17 is a quotation from the prophet Habakkuk. In the KJV version of that verse, it reads, “…the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). In Romans, the KJV leaves out the word “his” – which should be included in the verse. This is an important thought for Paul quotes this verse twice in his writings (Romans 1:17 & Galatians 3:11). The writer of Hebrews also quotes it (Hebrews 10:38).

            Faith is what sustains us. It keeps us going in the face of adversity. The Jewish translation of Habakkuk 2:4 more accurately captures the idea of faith as faithfulness: “But the righteous man is rewarded with life for his fidelity [emunah].” “Fidelity” is loyalty, faithfulness, a willingness to stick with, and believe in, God no matter what happens around us or to us. We know that God is there for us, no matter the evidence to the contrary. He lives in our memories of the times when he did intervene for us. We are propelled ahead by our memories and our experiences with God. For people of faith, God is no mere intellectual abstraction but a living reality whom they have experienced. Without this kind of faith, we simply cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6).

            The world we live in is a frightening place, full of threat and danger. Evil in our time is growing and the darkness seems to be inexorably advancing. The hand of the Enemy is everywhere present. Christians today live with large targets on their backs. We are under attack by militant Muslims, the political Left, Academia, the Press & Media, Communists and neo-communists, socialists, neo-Nazis, and even other Christians. Yet, as Paul wrote, “We live by faith, not by sight” (II Corinthians 5:7). If we governed ourselves by what we see around us, we would be filled with fear and apprehension. As Christians, we have few friends in the world. We live in faith that God is there for us, that He will see us through. We believe that God is faithful to us because of His divine character – because of whom and what He is. We are faithful to God because we know He is faithful to us. As the prophet Jeremiah wrote when God’s people were living under divine chastisement: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). The word translated “faithfulness” here is emunah = firmness. The Jewish translation renders it “grace.” As in the case of Moses and the Amalekites, the word literally means “firmness, steadfastness, fidelity” (see Bauer, Arndt-Gingrich lexicon, p. 53 c). “Faithfulness” – emunah -- is a divine attribute.

            A person who is faithful to God will be rewarded by a manifestation of God’s faithfulness to those who show fidelity to Him. As we read in Proverbs: “A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent” (Proverbs 28:20). This is a similar thought to something Jesus taught. If we show fidelity to God, trusting him for our “daily bread,” we will be blessed: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these [material] things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33 and verses 25-34). To place emphasis on the things of God – on the advance of His kingdom in the world – is to show fidelity to the divine agenda. Those of us who show firmness in looking out for divine interests will experience God’s ongoing provision. This is faith as faithfulness.  

Examples of Faithfulness

Hebrews 11 is traditionally called “the faith chapter,” and not without good reason. It offers us some sixteen examples of faithfulness toward God that paid off in major spiritual dividends. Abraham’s example is paramount because he became known as the “father of the faithful.” The apostle Paul also wrote glowingly of Abraham’s faithfulness to God: “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, ‘In thee shall nations be blessed,’ So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham” (Galatians 3:6-9).

            If we will be faithful to God like Abraham was faithful, we will also be blessed as Abraham was blessed. Abraham believed whatever God said, simply because he knew that the God who said it was faithful. He could be relied upon, trusted and believed in.

            Moses, who also was faithful to God, wrote of God: “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9).

            To have faith in God is to tie our lives in a bundle with His life. Abraham and Sarah connected their lives to God at every level. Sarah, like her husband, responded to God’s faithfulness with faithfulness of her own: “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11). God was faithful, so Sarah had faith that whatever He promised would happen, would happen.  She knew God’s character.

            In all of the examples of faith in Hebrews 11, the common denominator is the faithfulness of God. God did what he said he’d do through the people who believed in Him. Moses was able to burn the bridges of Egypt behind him because he tied his life up with God: “By faith he [Moses] forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:22). Moses knew that God was there for him. Consequently, the full wrath and power of the most powerful man on earth in those days meant nothing to him. His spiritual eyes were fixed on the invisible God who would see him and his people through all trials and tests if they were faithful.

            Faith in God is a powerful thing. It can transform the world. The writer of Hebrews said that there were people – prophets – who through faith, “…subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again, and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:33-38).

            Because of their faith in God, all these received “…a good report.” They were assured of a place in the world to come. Their faith in God gave them the capacity to endure otherwise unbearable suffering for His sake. They knew that on the other side of the pain, God was waiting for them. Their hope, their future, their very existences were tied up with their faithful Creator.

            Their fear of man dissipated, and their reverence for and awe of God increased (cf. Matthew 10:28; Acts 5:29; II Timothy 1:7 & Hebrews 13:6).

            These deeds of faith are not limited to Biblical times. Today, the Church is experiencing many of the same kinds of things the heroes of faith of Biblical days experienced. Because of their faith in God, even newborn “baby” Christians have been willing to lay their lives on the line for Christ. Some have died, some have seen miracles, but the same God is doing the same things for those who have faith in Him that he did in Biblical times.            

Justification by Faith?

The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). What does it mean to be “justified by faith”?

            To fully grasp the implications of Paul’s theology on this issue, we must first clear the decks of a major misunderstanding on the part of us Christians. Prof. Marvin Wilson explains the nature of this error: “There is a common belief in today’s Church that Judaism – whether in Paul’s day or our own – teaches salvation by works of the Law, whereas Christianity is a religion of grace. Such an understanding of Judaism is in reality far more a caricature or misrepresentation than the truth. Indeed, as one Christian scholar explains, ‘to the extent that we propagate this view in our preaching and our teaching, we are guilty of bearing false witness’” (Our Father Abraham, by Marvin Wilson, pp. 20-21).

            The Christian scholar to whom Wilson refers is Carl D. Evans writing in “The Church’s False Witness Against the Jews” (Christian Century, May 5, 1982, p. 531).

            Wilson also cites a well-known Jewish scholar, Pinchas Lapide, who wrote, “The rabbinate has never considered the Torah as a way of salvation to God…[we Jews] regard salvation as God’s exclusive prerogative, so we Jews are the advocates of ‘pure grace.’” (Wilson, p. 21).

            Lapide wrote that all masters of the Talmud taught that salvation can be attained “only through God’s gracious love.”  

            When the apostle Paul wrote to Titus that it was “Not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…” (Titus 3:5), he was not stating something new but something that was as old as Judaism.

            When Paul also wrote, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9), he was stating what had long been taught in Judaism.

            When Paul wrote the Romans: “But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Romans 2:29), he was repeating something that Moses had written more than a millennium earlier: “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked” (Deuteronomy 10:16).

            Centuries later, Jeremiah echoed the same thought: “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 4:4).

            Summing it up, Wilson writes, “It is important for today’s Christian community to understand, however, that Judaism does not teach that participation in the olam ha-ba, ‘the coming world,’ is achieved by works, but through the gratuitous mercy of God” (Wilson, p. 21).  

Luther & Romans

Much of the confusion in the Church about the roles of law, faith, works and grace can be laid at the feet of Martin Luther and his commentary on Romans. Dan Gruber writes: “Martin Luther’s Commentary on Romans is considered one of the most influential books of all time. It formed a major part of the foundation on which the Reformation was built…Concerning the scriptures in Romans that speak of a continuing role for the Jewish people in God’s plan of redemption for the world, Luther responds basically in two ways: He says nothing at all, or he greatly distorts the text, sometimes maintaining that it means the opposite of what it says” (The Church and the Jews – The Biblical Relationship, by Dan Gruber, p. 282).

            A fuller discussion of Luther’s commentary on Romans, and its impact on Protestant theology, is found in Chapter 41 of Gruber’s book. As I write, I have before me a copy of Luther’s commentary, and I concur with Gruber’s remarks.

            Writes Wilson, “The Protestant tradition, especially Lutheranism, has tended to see the leitmotif for Paul’s understanding of the gospel in the emphasis on justification by faith as opposed to works of the Law. Though this theme is certainly important to Paul, we are in essential agreement with Davies, who finds the locus of Paul elsewhere, namely, his ‘subordination of the Law to Christ as in Himself a New Torah – new not in the sense that He contravened the old but that He revealed its true character, or put it in a new light’” (Wilson, pp. 28-29).

            Jesus and Paul were not antinomian – that is, they were not against the Torah. At the same time, they did not espouse the notion that no works were necessary because we are “saved by grace through faith…” Christians are called to perform “good works” – not to earn salvation by doing them, but because that is the way God’s people are called to live. In fact, right after explaining that justification is not achieved by works, Paul writes, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

            Christians should perform good works just as Jesus performed good works. In fact, we should perform the same works that he performed. Yet there is no work we can perform that can save us. We must have faith in the fact that only God, in his grace, and out of his mercy, can justify us, save us and grant us eternal life.  

Faith in the New Testament

In the three instances in the New Testament where Paul and the writer of Hebrews quote Habakkuk 2:4 – “the just shall live by his faith [emunah = faithfulness]” – the word “his” is omitted, and the Greek word used is pisteoos. It is from pistis which basically means “faith, trust.” It is used in various ways in the New Testament; therefore meaning must be determined by context and usage.

            In Romans 3:3, it is used of the faithfulness or reliability of God: “For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith [faithfulness] of God without effect?” Paul is here speaking of the unbelieving Israelites of the Exodus who were skeptical about God’s ability, or willingness, to deliver them through all of the trials of the Exodus. God did not waver; he was firm in his commitment to them and he faithfully carried out what he said he would do for them, despite their doubt.

            The word pistis can also mean “trust, confidence or faith.” It is the word used in the famous verse quoted earlier: And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). Jesus is teaching us to place our trust and confidence in God, but it can also have the meaning of being faithful to God – that is, loyal and steadfast, for that meaning is part of the baggage carried by the word. We are called to be firmly confident in God. If we stick with him, God will come through for us.

            So our basic working definition of “faith” is faithfulness toward God. This is the older, Hebraic understanding. This meaning is confirmed for the Greek word pistis in the Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich Greek-English Lexicon (BAG), p. 662: “1. that which causes trust and faith – a. faithfulness, reliability.” It is used of the faithfulness of God, as we saw above (Romans 3:3). In Titus 2:10, in reference to slaves, the word is translated “fully trusted” (NIV) or “fidelity” (ENT). Moffat reads, “faithful.” The Amplified version says, “truly loyal and entirely reliable.” “Faithfulness” (pistis) is listed as one of the fruits or products of the indwelling Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22.

            God wants his children to be loyal to him, to stick with him like glue, to express absolute fidelity, reliability, trustworthiness, firmness, faithfulness and unflinching adherence to him, for he demonstrates all of these things to his children. If we are faithful to God, then God’s faithfulness to us will be richly manifested.  

Unwavering Faithfulness

God does not seek in his children a wishy-washy kind of faithfulness. As Moses’ assistants firmly held up Moses’ hands during the battle with Amalek, we too must maintain a firm faithfulness to God. Jesus’ half-brother, James, speaks of this kind of unwavering firmness in his letter: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe, and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” (James 1:5-8).

            When he wrote this, James may have had one of David’s Psalms in mind in which he writes, “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name” (Psalm 86:11). God seeks in us an “undivided heart” – that is, absolute loyalty that is not split by loyalty to anyone or anything else. In ancient Israel, for example, there were times when the people worshiped Yahweh while at the same time serving pagan idols. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God addressed this split loyalty: “They will return to it [the land of Israel] and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit into them…” (Ezekiel 11:18).

            God seeks in his children undivided loyalty and faithfulness. Our hearts and minds must be single, not split. God is not willing to share his rightful glory with others; either we are wholly committed to God, or we are not.

            To doubt God is to waver in faith. To worship God and idols is to divide faith. God wants from us faith that is unwavering and undivided. Consider I Kings 18 in this regard. In Elijah’s day, some of the people worshiped Baal, while at the same time claiming to worship Yahweh. Elijah confronted them on their double-mindedness: “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (I Kings 18:21). Study the whole chapter to understand the context and circumstances of Elijah’s question. Throughout Israel’s history, the problem of double-mindedness was acute. Their worship of Yahweh was often split. They were not utterly faithful to him. They tried to have it both ways: “Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did” (II Kings 17:41).

            God seeks our undivided attention. He wants us to worship him and him alone. He desires a firm, unwavering, constant devotion to him that he might fully bless us. He desires emunah: faithfulness, fidelity, firmness, loyalty and unswerving devotion. Wherever the New Testament writers quote the Old Testament (TaNaKh), and the OT uses the word emunah that is what is meant by it.

 Other Meanings of Pistis

The Greek word pistis is used in two other fundamental ways in the New Testament. It can mean “trust, confidence, faith” (BAG, p. 662, meaning No. 2). It is the word used in Mark 11:22, referenced earlier, showing that God is the only legitimate object of faith: “Have faith in God…”

            Speaking of Jesus Christ, the apostle Peter writes: “Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith [pistis] and hope are in God” (I Peter 1:21). Here the word means “trust and confidence.” It is in this sense that Paul seems to use the word in Romans:

            “But now righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…faith in his blood…faith in Jesus…justified by faith” (Romans 3:21-28, excerpts).

            To be “justified” means to be declared innocent. If we rely on our own ability to rigorously obey those parts of Torah (God’s instruction or direction) that apply to us as a means of becoming justified, we’re doomed. Later law-keeping cannot erase the penalty for earlier law-breaking. All of us have sinned, no exceptions: Romans 3:23; I John 1:8 &10; Proverbs 20:9 etc. The wages of those sins is eternal death: Romans 6:23; Revelation 21:8. Before Christ came into our lives, we “were dead in…transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).

            Now, in the wake of sin and death, we can no longer rely upon our own efforts to save ourselves. As Paul writes: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law…” (Romans 3:20). To be justified – that is “declared righteous” – we must rely not upon ourselves but upon Jesus Christ. Our trust, our confidence, and our faith must reside in what God, in Christ, has done for us by way of redemption. The righteous status that we now enjoy came not through our own efforts, but, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in [trust or confidence in] Jesus Christ…” (Romans 3:22). “Righteousness” is a covenantal term. God’s righteousness is based upon his faithfulness to the covenants he makes with man.

            Of course the redemptive work of God in Christ in which we now have confidence does not relieve us of our obligation to keep those aspects of Torah that legitimately apply to us. As Paul writes, “Do we, then, nullify the law (Torah) by this faith? Not at all! Rather we uphold the law (Torah)” (Romans 3:31).

            [Note: The Hebrew word Torah which means “instruction,” or “direction” from God, is usually translated with the Greek word nomos in the New Testament. Nomos is not an exact equivalent, but when we know the Hebrew word behind the Greek word, we gain a better idea of the intent.]           

A Third Basic Meaning

The third basic meaning of pistis is “That which is believed, body of faith or belief, doctrine” (BAG, p. 664a). It is used this way by Paul in Romans 1:23: “They only heard the report: ‘The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”  Paul was speaking here of himself. He uses “the faith” as the body of beliefs and practices of the early Jewish Church, which he once opposed. Jude seems to use “the faith” in the same way in Jude 3. We speak today of “the Christian faith” as opposed to say, “The Jewish faith.”            

Summing Up

This article does not say everything that could be said about faith; but it does provide the basics. Faith (emunah in Hebrew, pistis in Greek) is faithfulness, firmness, fidelity to God. It is trusting God for that for which we cannot trust ourselves (i.e. justification). It is loyalty to God under any and all circumstances. It is placing confidence in God because he is faithful to us. It is God’s unwavering faithfulness to his children that makes our faith in him both possible and wholly valid. Faith is that which carries us forward in obedience to God. It enables us to trust God in otherwise threatening circumstances.

            It is the possession of faith that made the difference between the great men and woman of God, and ordinary people (Hebrews 11). As the writer of Hebrews puts it: “And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promise; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death with the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

            “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:32-40).

            It is little wonder then that the same author writes: “Without faith it is impossible to please God…” (Hebrews 11:6).