How to Strengthen Your FaithSample

What Is Faith? 

The goal of this Plan is to help you strengthen your faith. We’re kicking things off by laying out what faith is—and also what it isn’t—and the rest of this Plan will explore ways we can develop our faith. 

So, what is faith? 

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV 

That seems simple enough, but what exactly does that mean? Confidence in what we hope for? Assurance about what we do not see? Does this mean faith pretending to know what you don’t know? Or believing something without seeing it?

Not quite.  

If we want to learn what a verse of the Bible actually means, we have to look at the context. The context is the surrounding information that shapes the meaning of something. What’s the context of this verse? Well, let’s read it again together with the next verse: 

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV

The rest of this chapter is one example after another of the “ancients” living by faith. By adding these examples to the first verse, we are able to develop a much more complete definition of faith. 

In the modern world, we mostly use words and definitions to communicate ideas, but in the ancient world, they preferred using stories and images. This chapter starts with a definition of faith that gets expanded on and filled in by all the stories and examples that follow. 

It’s almost like the author of Hebrews is saying, “Look, I could just tell you what faith is, but actually, it would be better if I showed you …” 

So, with all that in mind, what is faith? 

Faith is trust based on evidence that leads to obedience. 

Faith starts with trust. It’s not just agreement with an idea, but commitment to a Person. Faith is less like 2 + 2 = 4, and more like trusting that your loved one will be there for you when you need them. Faith is relational. 

And faith is intellectual. Faith is based on evidence. God doesn’t want us to turn our brains off when we come to Him. As a matter of fact, Jesus tells us the greatest command is to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. Faithfully following Jesus requires the full engagement of our minds. We can look to history, science, philosophy, and personal experience and discover evidence that builds a case for the goodness of God and the truthfulness of Christianity. 

Finally, faith leads to obedience. Faith is more than just believing the right things, it’s trusting a Person—faith is about following Jesus. Our theology (study of God) must be a lived theology. In other words, what we trust in, we move toward. Our confident trust in God leads us to actually do what He says. Faith is missional. It leads us to play our part in the story God has been telling throughout history. And that cannot happen without obedience.

Challenge: Read Hebrews 11. Pay attention to the places where the different elements of faith show up: trust, evidence, and obedience.