The Truth About Faith
Faith is important — so much that the writer of Hebrews emphatically declares that you can’t please God without it (Hebrews 11:6). The prophet Habakkuk says the righteous will live by their faith in God (Habakkuk 2:4). But what is faith? Is true faith just a mental exercise with some sort of accompanying confession or acknowledgment of what you believe? Or is it deeper than this and where do you begin to try and understand it?
First, we must align our way of thought with the biblical writers and the context they speak from. It can be a difficult task to remove the lens of western perspective but it is necessary. God is not North American, or any other nationality for that matter. To understand scripture means we will sometimes have to study more to understand the culture from which it comes.
The Hebrew word for faith is emunah and is an action word that implies steadying or giving support to something. It comes from the root aman which means to be firm or secure. This is demonstrated by the actions of Aaron and Hur in Exodus 17:12. The emunah of Aaron and Hur held the arms of Moses, not the emunah of Moses himself. We tend to think of faith as putting the responsibility of action on the one we have faith in (God), but this is not the case. The Hebrew thought places the responsibility of action on the one who supports God in what He is doing.
This is the context of thought when James writes “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). You can see a brother or sister in need but realizing their need is not sufficient. He said that the knowledge of the need must produce good deeds or support, or it is dead. He likens this to the devil, who knows and fears God. He fully believes in God and His authority, but he does not submit to or support him. Likewise, our knowledge of God is not enough. Biblical faith requires a firm, confident action towards the will of God that is revealed in His Word.
Faith is not simply confessing that you believe God will act, it is doing what God asks of you to support Him. Don’t be fooled, God does not need anything from us to be God. He is not weak and will never grow weary as Moses did. But He does call us into relationship and service with Him. When we “live by faith” (emunah), which was quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 1:17, it means the actions of our life support God’s kingdom and will on the earth.
How are you supporting what God is doing in your life, church, and world? Faith in God is not revealed by a catchy social media post. You must get involved and support what God is doing all around you. If you have never been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ or received the gift of the Holy Spirit, now is the time! Do you know someone you could reach out to and share the Gospel with? Now is the time to teach a new Bible Study. We know that God is pouring out His Spirit upon people everywhere and it is time for us to support His will to be accomplished.
