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The word 'faith'


Pamelasv

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This is something that is kind of driving me bonkers.  This term is used often by the Apostle Paul, and in 1Timothy I wrote down these scriptures as I was reading it.  Does the word faith have more than one meaning? I know in Hebrews 11:1 it say "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." 

I guess tho I'm wondering if sometimes that word isnt used in place our our 'religion'.  Like in our times it is said, 'People of faiths', meaning different religions. 

 

1 Timothy 1:4 '...nor to pay attention to myths and endless geanealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.'

1:14 'and the grace of our Lord Jesus was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.' 

1:19 ''keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

2:7 (this one really gets me) 'For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying)as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

3:13For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. (well what other faith is their but one in Christ Jesus? Other religions arent even sure of what happens to them). 

2 Timothy2:22 'Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteiousness, faith, love and peace...'  How do you pursue faith?  Isnt that like the whole ball of wax?

 

I looked it up to see if it had other greek words, but it doesnt.  Says mainly a belief and trust in.  But that always doesnt make sense when I try to fit that in.  This word is often muddy in my brain when reading it in the bible.  Please shed some light on this for me if you can.  Thanks.

 

 

 

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This is something that is kind of driving me bonkers.  This term is used often by the Apostle Paul, and in 1Timothy I wrote down these scriptures as I was reading it.  Does the word faith have more than one meaning? I know in Hebrews 11:1 it say "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." 

I guess tho I'm wondering if sometimes that word isnt used in place our our 'religion'.  Like in our times it is said, 'People of faiths', meaning different religions. 

 

1 Timothy 1:4 '...nor to pay attention to myths and endless geneaologies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by Belief and Trust.'

1:14 'and the grace of our Lord Jesus was more than abundant, with the Belief and Trust.' and love which are found in Christ Jesus.' 

1:19 ''keeping Belief and Trust.' and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their Belief and Trust.'.

2:7 (this one really gets me) 'For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying)as a teacher of the Gentiles in Belief and Trust.' and truth.

3:13For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the Belief and Trust.' that is in Christ Jesus. (well what other faith is their but one in Christ Jesus? Other religions aren't even sure of what happens to them). 

2 Timothy2:22 'Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace...'  How do you pursue faith?  Isnt that like the whole ball of wax?

 

I looked it up to see if it had other Greek words, but it doesn't.  Says mainly a belief and trust in.  But that always doesnt make sense when I try to fit that in.  This word is often muddy in my brain when reading it in the bible.  Please shed some light on this for me if you can.  Thanks.

I replaced the word faith with Belief and Trust - read it through again and tell me what you think.

 

 

God Bless,

Hip

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Vine's expository dictionary says faith, Pistis, is firm persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing [the word of God], is used in the NT always of faith in God or Christ, or things spiritual.  

trust

trustworthyness

what is believed

a ground for faith, an assurance

a pledge for fidelity

 

The elements of faith in relationship to the invisible God and the corresponding verb pisteuo.   

1 a firm conviction , producing a full acknowledgement of God's revelation or truth

2  a personal surrender to Him

3. a conduct inspired by such surrender

 

So the word varies a little bit in meaning according to the context.  But as Hippie said, belief and trust can usually be used in place of faith.  

 

The word love in english can be just as confusing, but it is broken down better with different words by the greeks..  God's love is compassionate, sacrificial love.  To us it may mean strong desire or strong friendship;  so we have to figure out what it means by the context.

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'So the word varies a little bit in meaning according to the context.'  ---  Yes, I believe it does, because always putting the word 'belief and trust' in place of every word of faith does not always fit, tho it does often.  It is just plain weird to me, period. 

 

As far as love goes, I do believe you can go thru the motions of the definition of love and still be cold about it.  I guess that means being a hypocrite. lol.  Thanks for your reply's. 

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Your faith can be found by looking at what you are faithful too. My faith is in the God of the bible. That faith is evidenced by my faithfulness in obeying what I understand Him to have said is right and wrong.

Just look for obedience in your life and that is where your faith is. In that you will understand how to define faith.

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I would offer the opinion, that faith is determined by context. When speaking of the faith, we often mean all of the things, the beleifs and actions, that the Christian religion calls it's believers to.

 

To have faith, is to beleive in something, without needing certainty in a genuinely provable sense. For example, I beleive that my deceased wife, is with the Lord today. I cannot prove that with any sort of examinable evidense. My faith in this, is it's own evidence, and it dictates my feelings and behaviors will reflect what I beleive, just as if I know it to a certainty to be true.

 

This leads to another concept of faith, that I believe is too often over looked. That being that faith is accompanied by actions, faith is not only about things beleived, but if that faith is not acted upon, it is fair to say that we do not genuinely beleive. For example, many people play the lottery, with a certain amount of faith that they can actually win, in spite of the fact that the odds are heavily against them, that they will win in a big way. Because they beleive that they can win, they will risk losing a dollar, in the hope that they will win millions. Now, if that person had real, active faith, that faith will go beyond they idea of hope against the odds, and cross over to a beleive that compells action. That action, can go beyond risking a dollar. If I had a lottery ticket, that you really beleived would win you a million dollarts, you would gladly spend $990,000 to posess it. That is very different than the wishful thinking sort of faith, it is confidence that overcomes fears and doubts.

 

The spiritual application of this is, that real faith will spur you to take risks, invest money and time and even your life, in seeking to perform God's will. That faith, is not just a noun, it is almost a verb. Abraham is pointed out as an example of faith to us. His faith was so strong, so active, that he was willing to stab his own son at God's command, because he believed God's promise that Abraham's son, would be the first of huge line of descendants to Abraham. Abraham was so certain, that God would perform what He promised, that Abraham reasoned that God would raise Abraham's son from death, back to life, if that is what it took for God to fulfil His promise.

 

Faith, is very important to us. Our faith, our beleiving what God has said, is counted as if we were righteous. Without faith, it is impossible to please God, and it is on the basis of our faith, our trust, in what God has said, that we are spared from God's wrath that we deserve, and are granted eternity in Heaven with God, apart from any necessary good deeds that we might try to perform to earn our way to heaven. 

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Guest shiloh357

'So the word varies a little bit in meaning according to the context.'  ---  Yes, I believe it does, because always putting the word 'belief and trust' in place of every word of faith does not always fit, tho it does often.  It is just plain weird to me, period. 

 

As far as love goes, I do believe you can go thru the motions of the definition of love and still be cold about it.  I guess that means being a hypocrite. lol.  Thanks for your reply's. 

Words always vary in meaning depending on context.   I mean if I say, I love my son or daughter, it is different than if I say that I love ice cream.

 

Biblical faith is rooted in the integrity of God's integrity and His faithfulness to all He has promised and said in His Word.    That is why faith comes by means of God's word (Rom. 10:17)

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Faith and doubt work almost the same. It is what I came to this site to figure out.

Here is how I now understand them:

Faith is when your soul / awareness translates something potentially true into your spirit and body*. If your spirit desires it to be true it will be held in hope. When God sends you faith it will be something that confirms the things your spirit had put hope and trust into, thereby becoming the substance of things hoped for. So, faith from God is whatever he has given you that cements the trust in things hoped for - at that time it will become apart of your soul because you will become aware of its truth.

Opposite for doubt.

I guess a good lesson to take away from this is to learn to recognize when you are translating doubt / when you are seeing doubt.

*body / brain stores the awareness as images that are potentially true until it becomes confirmed, at which point it becomes apart of your soul / awareness.

Without thinking true or false, you will then see the things you have recieved faith in. (Just like you began to read these words without wondering if they were english or not.)

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Have you ever thought of how you can receive something from God as believer in Christ? And you can’t obtain anything from God when faith is absent in your life. That is why we are looking at this essential virtue in Christian life,

which is faith.

 

Christian journey is built on faith and without faith it is impossible to please God because anybody that comes to Him must believe that He is a re-warder of them that seek Him with a pure heart.

Faith is believing in unseen things, that is, trusting God to fulfill what he has said. This means you believe God’s promises even when what you requested from God is not yet in your hand. The Scripture puts it this way: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1.

 When there is faith, doubt will be absent. It makes you to obtain from God and gives you hope for the future and eternal life with God.

Many Christians today are suffering because; they have no faith in them. Without faith you are void of divine sustenance. In the scripture, elders obtained good report from God through faith – Hebrews 11: 2.

Before I end this post, I will like to highlight some of the elders that obtained good report through faith.

 

 

       Abel: Faith makes you to offer to God sacrificially without withholding good things from God. Abel’s sacrifices spoke for him even in the grave. We become testimony in our generation by the sacrifices we made here on earth, Genesis 4:4.

<>2    Enoch: His life pleased God to take him alive. Our faith will help us to do everything that pleases God because without faith it is impossible to please God. The Bible recorded that God translated him; ‘for before his translation, he had this testimony, that he pleased God.’ Our life must be a testimony before we will be translated.

<>3    Noah: Oh! This is one of the elders that his life and ministry was full of challenges to me, I hope to you also. His faith in God for the unseen future made him to begin to build an ark as instructed by God for the deliverance of his people. The scripture said he “...being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepare an ark to the saving of his house…” Hebrews 11: 7.

 

How many times have God given us instruction and vision to reach to the dying souls around us? This blog was designed not because I want to own a blog but it was purely Divine mandate given to me to use it to reach to souls around and far from me since I will not be able to travel round the world to preach the gospel of salvation to the dying souls.

 All of us, believers, should learn from the life of Noah, he got the vision and the mandate to build an ark, without procrastinating, made the ark for the purpose of saving generations. God wants us to exhibit this character of faith. 

 

 

<>4    Abraham:  This is yet another man that God respected. He was told to leave his country   to a country which He (He) will show him, he obeyed without doubt or murmuring or questioning God. He left his country, his brethren, and relatives to an unknown country by faith.

This is a man that God told to sacrifice his only son (Isaac), he obeyed, but God never allowed him to slew ‘the child of promise’, Isaac. Every action Abraham took was counted for him for righteousness.

How many of us have this kind of faith that Abraham had? Can we carry out any instruction without murmuring or complaining? Our obedience draws us to God and opens all closed doors for us. God said; “I know thy works: behold, I have  set before thee and open door, and no man can shut it, for thou hast little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.” Revelation 3:8. Our obedient life separates us from disobedient people.

 

 

      Sarah:  I so much admire this woman of faith. So found God to be faithful to His words. She never doubt God when she was told that she will conceive and bear a child but the scripture said she “laughed” because of her age, ninety-years of age. God’s word is true and he is faithful that promised. With faith, we can achieve the impossible. You don’t need to worry because of the condition you found yourself. Are you barren, impotent, failure in life, poor, struck with deadly sickness? Don’t worry, what God requires from you is your faithfulness to His promise, he will fulfill everything that concerns you in Jesus’ name!

 

 

<>6    Moses: I cannot conclude this post without remembering ‘father’ Moses who his life from birth to death was characterized with faith. He refused to associate himself with the Egyptians, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer with the children of God. What a life!

We need his kind if faith, he trusted God to deliver the Israelite out of Egypt, he trusted God to divide the red sea for them, feed them in the wilderness. Our faith makes a way for us.

 

 

 God is still searching for a man/woman of uncommon faith in this generation we are.

Faith is what we need if our life will be remembered in the future. Many people in the Bible days have demonstrated this faith and now the baton is in our hand to continue where they stop.

I will advise you to read the book of Hebrews chapter 11and you will be fully challenged and discover many elders of faith not forgetting Jacob, Joseph, The Harlot Rahab, Daniel, Elijah, Elisha, oh! The list is long.

God expects us to write our name among these faithful ‘Soldier’ from now onward and great will be your testimony.

 

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Please, do not post your blog in each thread.

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Guest Geoff Primanti

This is something that is kind of driving me bonkers.  This term is used often by the Apostle Paul, and in 1Timothy I wrote down these scriptures as I was reading it.  Does the word faith have more than one meaning? I know in Hebrews 11:1 it say "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." 

I guess tho I'm wondering if sometimes that word isnt used in place our our 'religion'.  Like in our times it is said, 'People of faiths', meaning different religions. 

 

1 Timothy 1:4 '...nor to pay attention to myths and endless geanealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.'

1:14 'and the grace of our Lord Jesus was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.' 

1:19 ''keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

2:7 (this one really gets me) 'For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying)as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

3:13For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. (well what other faith is their but one in Christ Jesus? Other religions arent even sure of what happens to them). 

2 Timothy2:22 'Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteiousness, faith, love and peace...'  How do you pursue faith?  Isnt that like the whole ball of wax?

 

I looked it up to see if it had other greek words, but it doesnt.  Says mainly a belief and trust in.  But that always doesnt make sense when I try to fit that in.  This word is often muddy in my brain when reading it in the bible.  Please shed some light on this for me if you can.  Thanks.

 

Consider what it says in 1 Timothy 4:1.  Here "the faith" refers to the religion of Christianity; while true Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. 

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