Faith: What is it?

[1Timothy115]

My question was about faith.

No, your question deals with practicing faith after saving faith. I have a question for you. Are you saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone?

[coc333]

No, your question deals with practicing faith after saving faith. I have a question for you. Are you saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone?

I am sure that if you have read my previous post you know what I believe. I am also sure that you are aware that I have been warned about what I say on here, but since you asked, I will answer your question.

I will allow the Bible to answer your question; my opinion doesn't matter.

1. Eph 2:8 - Saved by grace
2. Rom 8:24 - Saved by hope
3. 1 Peter 3:21 - Saved by water
4. Rom 5:9 - Justified by his blood; saved through Him

Here is a question for you. James in chapter 2:24 said, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." Paul in Romans chapters 3, 4, 5; Gal chapters 2, 3 etc. clearly states that a man is justified by faith and not by works. Clearly we know that they were not contradicting one another so how would you explain the difference?

[no name joe]

No, your question deals with practicing faith after saving faith. I have a question for you. Are you saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone?

Are the two things different? Do we have a saving faith if that faith is not exercised by action? The two cannot be separated. Jesus says, "Follow me." If we say I believe, and do not act and do not follow, there is no real saving faith. The book of James makes that clear. If we say we believe but that belief does not change our actions, that "faith" is dead.

[Saved IFB]

You guys are confusing me...

[coc333]

Are the two things different? Do we have a saving faith if that faith is not exercised by action? The two cannot be separated. Jesus says, "Follow me." If we say I believe, and do not act and do not follow, there is no real saving faith. The book of James makes that clear. If we say we believe but that belief does not change our actions, that "faith" is dead.

Very good points. Faith (saving faith) isn't simply believing. It isn't enough to simply say I believe as James clearly states in James 2:14ff. Saving faith is active, it is obeying.

[coc333]

You guys are confusing me...

Sorry, not trying to confuse anyone. Anything I can do to be a bit more clear?

[Saved IFB]

Coc33-

From my understanding the christian faith is believing that Jesus died for our sins; believing that there is a God and He sent his Son into the world as a replacement for our sins. We are to believe (have faith that all this took place) by reading and trusting the bible fully. If we have this faith and thus become saved, it will show in our daily lives...

Edited December 8, 2010 by Saved IFB

[1Timothy115]

I am sure that if you have read my previous post you know what I believe. I am also sure that you are aware that I have been warned about what I say on here, but since you asked, I will answer your question.

I will allow the Bible to answer your question; my opinion doesn't matter.

1. Eph 2:8 - Saved by grace
2. Rom 8:24 - Saved by hope
3. 1 Peter 3:21 - Saved by water
4. Rom 5:9 - Justified by his blood; saved through Him

Here is a question for you. James in chapter 2:24 said, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." Paul in Romans chapters 3, 4, 5; Gal chapters 2, 3 etc. clearly states that a man is justified by faith and not by works. Clearly we know that they were not contradicting one another so how would you explain the difference?

I see no contradiction at all. Paul speaks to those who are lost and James speaks to those who are saved. Paul is speaking of justification before God and James is speaking of justification before lost men.

I wouldn't attempt to deny the scriptures above, I may differ with you on the context of 1 Peter 3:21 "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:" If you're saying you obeyed Christ after you were saved and were baptised then I agree 100%. If you're interpolating this to mean the water has some redeeming value then I disagree.

I hope we reached an agreement here?

[1Timothy115]

Coc33-

From my understanding the christian faith is believing that Jesus died for our sins; believing that there is a God and He sent his Son into the world as a replacement for our sins. We are to believe (have faith that all this took place) by reading and trusting the bible fully. If we have this faith and thus become saved, it will show in our daily lives...

This sums it up for me...

God is love.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Sin and it’s result.
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent.

Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”

Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!

God’s plan to redeem us.
Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Jesus Christ died for us! Jesus' death paid the price for our sins. Jesus' resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus' death as the payment for our sins.

Romans 10:8-10
8 "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;"
9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
10 “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins - and we will be saved! Because of our Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death, witnessed by so many, we have that assurance he will keep his promise of eternal life for us.
Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Romans 4:21 "And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform."

Result of accepting God’s plan.
Romans 5:1 "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"
Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God.

Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins. Because Christ was raised from the dead, we have this precious promise of God.

Romans 8:38 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,”
Romans 8:39 “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Grace and Faith .

Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"
Ephesians 2:9 "Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Grace of God is unmerited (we can do nothing to receive it) favor of God. "Grace" is so much of a characteristic of God (like His love), that human words do not adequately express its meaning.

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Romans 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

No other way.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
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Simply stated, Jesus Christ, very God, came down from heaven, born of a virgin by the Spirit of God, lived a sinless life, was severely persecuted, died on the cross, arose from the dead, was seen of men, returned to heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for all who freely accept Him as the only sacrifice for their sins.

Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Ed: Also, I copied most of this from the web somewhere several years ago but have added to it since then. Edited December 8, 2010 by 1Tim115

[Brother Rick]

I see no contradiction at all. Paul speaks to those who are lost and James speaks to those who are saved. Paul is speaking of justification before God and James is speaking of justification before lost men.

I wouldn't attempt to deny the scriptures above, I may differ with you on the context of 1 Peter 3:21 "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:" If you're saying you obeyed Christ after you were saved and were baptised then I agree 100%. If you're interpolating this to mean the water has some redeeming value then I disagree.

I hope we reached an agreement here?

Don't hold your breath, brother. I have a feeling that coc333 is here to spread damnable heresy.

[JerryNumbers]

The child of God does not have blind faith. We have a book, called the "Holy Bible." This book tells us about both God, Jesus, and what He expects out of us. With it your faith is not blind faith.

[coc333]

I see no contradiction at all. Paul speaks to those who are lost and James speaks to those who are saved. Paul is speaking of justification before God and James is speaking of justification before lost men.

I wouldn't attempt to deny the scriptures above, I may differ with you on the context of 1 Peter 3:21 "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:" If you're saying you obeyed Christ after you were saved and were baptised then I agree 100%. If you're interpolating this to mean the water has some redeeming value then I disagree.

I hope we reached an agreement here?

I am glad that we can agree that there is no contradiction. Clearly, the Word of God does not contradict itself. Beyond that, I believe we do not agree with each other.

I do agree that water in and of itself is certainly not of any value. I could have someone baptize/immerse me in water all day long...I could do it myself by simply getting in the bathtub and achieve nothing if I have no faith, but the water is important in the sense that it is the mode of baptism which God has set forth.

[coc333]

The child of God does not have blind faith. We have a book, called the "Holy Bible." This book tells us about both God, Jesus, and what He expects out of us. With it your faith is not blind faith.

I believe that we can agree on that. Cetainly it is from the Word of God that we obtain faith (Rom 10:17) and it is the Word of God which provides us everything we need to live a Godly life (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Tim 3:16-17).

[irishman]

Faith is a lot of things; It cannot be defined in one word only.

Did the Philippian jailer exercise faith when he was told "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house? (Acts 16:31)

And when, or at what point, did the Ethiopian eunuch get saved? (Acts 8:37) We do not know their works, but we do know their profession of belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and we know that Christ accepted them on their word.

And what about Abraham, when "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." Heb. 11: 8) Didn't he step out "blindly"? If we knew all the details of faith, we would not venture to trust the Lord in some cases; it is the "not knowing" that makes it precious, in many cases.

what about Romans 10:9, 10 and even 13?


Everyone has faith, but not everyone has the faith of Christ. Everybody believes in something, and many trust what they believe to be right, but only the belief in the existence of, and the finished work of Christ will save us. True, as some one said, the devil has faith, and the Bible says he trembles at it; he also has works, although they are unfruitful works of darkness...so, what is faith? It is a belief in a system of laws and principles that are focused in one direction.

You may not like this, but Muslims have faith too, only not a saving faith; theirs is a nis-directed faith. Obedience is done in faith, so obeying is also an act of faith. We must separate an act of faith from saving faith, and still it is insufficient to totally explain what faith is. Roans 8:24, as already mentioned, describes faith too--it is hope, but if it is not "blind" it is not faith, for why shouldn't we believe that which we already see? Believing the impossible; believing the invisible; believing against all hope, is what faith is, but it is still more than that!

It is not merely believing that God is capable of doing anything, but it is also believing that He is willing to do it. God has promised to meet our needs, every last one of them, and we know He is able to do so, but few of us believe He will do what He said He would.

Faith is simple, yet it is complicated--how's that for confusing?

Edited December 9, 2010 by irishman

[1Timothy115]

Faith is a lot of things; It cannot be defined in one word only.

Did the Philippian jailer exercise faith when he was told "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house? (Acts 16:31)

And when, or at what point, did the Ethiopian eunuch get saved? (Acts 8:37) We do not know their works, but we do know their profession of belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and we know that Christ accepted them on their word.

And what about Abraham, when "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." Heb. 11: 8) Didn't he step out "blindly"? If we knew all the details of faith, we would not venture to trust the Lord in some cases; it is the "not knowing" that makes it precious, in many cases.

what about Romans 10:9, 10 and even 13?


Everyone has faith, but not everyone has the faith of Christ. Everybody believes in something, and many trust what they believe to be right, but only the belief in the existence of, and the finished work of Christ will save us. True, as some one said, the devil has faith, and the Bible says he trembles at it; he also has works, although they are unfruitful works of darkness...so, what is faith? It is a belief in a system of laws and principles that are focused in one direction.

You may not like this, but Muslims have faith too, only not a saving faith; theirs is a nis-directed faith. Obedience is done in faith, so obeying is also an act of faith. We must separate an act of faith from saving faith, and still it is insufficient to totally explain what faith is. Roans 8:24, as already mentioned, describes faith too--it is hope, but if it is not "blind" it is not faith, for why shouldn't we believe that which we already see? Believing the impossible; believing the invisible; believing against all hope, is what faith is, but it is still more than that!

It is not merely believing that God is capable of doing anything, but it is also believing that He is willing to do it. God has promised to meet our needs, every last one of them, and we know He is able to do so, but few of us believe He will do what He said He would.

Faith is simple, yet it is complicated--how's that for confusing?

Excuse me for bolding in but I must agree with you.