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Faith
In plain words
Trusting God and relying on Jesus, not just believing facts about Him.
Faith is not pretending, and it is not switching off your brain. It is trust in someone who is trustworthy. When you sit on a chair, you trust it to hold you. You can believe a chair is strong and still stand next to it. Faith is sitting down. The Bible says faith is being sure of what we hope for, even when we cannot see it yet (Hebrews 11:1).
Go further Growing
Faith grows by hearing God's word, especially the message about Jesus (Romans 10:17). It is not measured by how strong your feelings are, but by who you are trusting. Weak faith in a strong Saviour still saves. At the same time, real faith shows itself in what you do: "faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead" (James 2:17). It is like a living root that slowly produces fruit.
Go deeper Going deeper
Hebrew emunah carries the sense of firmness and faithfulness. Greek pistis means trust, belief and loyalty, and the same root gives the verb to believe. Hebrews 11 traces faith through Abraham, Moses and many others who trusted God's promises. Christians agree we are saved through faith, while they differ on how faith and baptism relate and on whether faith comes before or after new birth.
My verses
Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.