What Is Faith?

What is Faith

Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him;  for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Faith is perhaps one of the most misunderstood aspects of God’s Word.  Yet it is vitally important to God.  According to this verse in Hebrews, it is impossible to please God without faith.  Faith is important.  In some ways, it is the most important part of our walk with God.  Yet many of us do not understand what faith is. We can get a glimpse of its meaning from an earlier passage in Hebrews Chapter 11.

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

First, we must understand that faith is.  It is real.  If it is real it is understandable and if it is understandable we can learn about it and apply it in our lives.   So what is faith?  It is the substance of things hoped for.  The word for substance is the Greek word hupostatis[hupostatis], which means foundation, or superstructure.  We might say it is the underlying form upon which something is built.  In this case, it is what we build our hopes on.  Once again we must understand what hope is in order to continue.  Hope has come to mean a desire for something that is often not attainable.  This is not the meaning of the Greek word used for hope, though many seek to apply it that way.  Hope is a trusting that something expected or promised will come to pass.  It does not mean we wish it would come to pass; it is the idea that something will come to pass because it has been promised.  When I make an on-line purchase or through a mail-order catalog I expect that what I order will arrive.  Sometimes I have a promised delivery date.  Sometimes I do not, but once I order I expect the product to be delivered to me.  This is the meaning of hope.  Not that I wish something might happen, but that I know something will happen in the future because it has been promised.

Understanding these two words helps us to understand better what it means to have faith.  Faith is the underpinning foundational trust that a promised item or event will arrive or take place.  Not because we want it to happen, but because it has been promised to us.  And here is where many fail in their faith walk.  They hear about faith and that it is the substance of things hoped for and think about the wrong meaning of hope.  So they begin “hoping” for things that have no basis in the word of God, or with God’s promises to them.  When it comes to faith in the Word of God it is always in regards to the promises of God; whether it is a written promise from the scriptures, a spoken promise through a man or woman speaking for God or revelation revealed to the person.  True Word of God faith is always based on something God has said, not on something you want. And God’s promises almost always have a condition on them.  You must believe and act on the words of God.  You can’t expect prosperity if you don’t do as He says.  You can’t expect health and healing if you don’t apply the Word of God to your life.

Now we can begin to understand Hebrews 11:1. Faith is the underpinning foundation of trust that a promise from God which is not seen will come to  pass.  It is seeing and understanding the foundation on which the promise of God is based and knowing without a doubt that it will take place.

This is the kind of faith that will please God.  This is the true faith in God.  You must believe that God exists before you can apply this kind of faith.  Once you do believe that He exists, you must also trust that God is honorable, truthful and trustworthy and He will bring to pass the promises He has made in your life and you must act accordingly.  Faith in God is very simply trusting that God will do what He says He will do if you do what He asks you to do.