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What Does Faith Mean in the Bible?

A Simple, Biblical Explanation of Faith

Faith is essential to the Christian life. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without it, “it is impossible to please” God.

Yet few biblical words are more frequently misunderstood.

People speak of “having faith,” “losing faith,” or “taking a leap of faith.” Sometimes the word simply means hoping that everything will work out.

That is not the biblical idea.

Biblical faith is informed trust in God based upon who He is and what He has revealed.

It is not blind optimism. It is not positive thinking. And it is not confidence in our own ability to make something happen.

At its heart, true faith means trusting God.

Two Important Biblical Ideas

Scripture speaks about this subject in two closely related ways.

1. “The Faith” Refers to Christian Truth

Sometimes the New Testament uses the expression “the faith” to describe the body of truth Christians believe.

Jude urges believers to:

“earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3).

Here, Jude is not describing someone’s personal confidence. He is referring to the truth God has revealed and entrusted to His people.

This includes foundational Christian teachings such as:

• The deity of Jesus Christ
• His virgin birth
• His death for our sins
• His bodily resurrection
• Salvation through Christ
• His promised return
• The resurrection of the dead
• Eternal life with God
• Final judgment

Christianity rests upon revealed truth.

We do not invent what we believe according to our preferences. We receive what God has revealed through His Word.

2. Believing Means Trusting God

The New Testament also speaks repeatedly about believing.

This involves more than acknowledging that certain facts are true.

James reminds us:

“The devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19).

Demons know that God exists. They know who Jesus is. Yet that knowledge does not save them.

Saving belief involves personal reliance upon God and His promises.

Consider the difference between knowing that a chair can support your weight and actually sitting in it.

One is intellectual agreement.

The other is trust.

In the same way, biblical belief is not merely saying, “I believe Jesus existed.”

It means entrusting yourself to Him.

What Does Hebrews 11:1 Mean?

One of Scripture’s best-known descriptions appears in Hebrews:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

The word translated “substance” is the Greek hypostasis. It can convey the idea of confidence, assurance, or a firm foundation.

Our confidence does not rest upon wishful thinking.

It rests upon God Himself.

That distinction is crucial.

Christian trust is only as dependable as its object.

If I place complete confidence in something false, the strength of my confidence does not make it true.

But God is completely trustworthy.

He is:

• Holy
• All-knowing
• All-powerful
• Eternal
• Unchanging
• Faithful
• True

Therefore, Christians do not place their confidence in confidence itself.

We trust God because of who God is.

This Is Not a Blind Leap

Some people describe Christianity as a “leap of faith.”

That expression can be misleading.

God does not ask us to believe without reason or revelation. He has made Himself known through creation, Scripture, and ultimately through Jesus Christ.

Our trust is therefore informed trust.

We may not know everything God knows.

And we may not understand everything God does.

We may not see how a difficult situation will end.

But we know the One in whom we have placed our confidence.

Paul expressed this beautifully:

“I know whom I have believed” (2 Timothy 1:12).

Notice where Paul’s confidence rested:

• Not in himself.
• Not in circumstances.
• Not in positive thinking.

In God.

Trusting God When We Cannot See

Hebrews 11 speaks of “things not seen.”

Much of what Christians believe concerns realities we cannot presently see with our physical eyes.

We have not seen heaven nor the resurrection of the dead.

And we cannot see eternal life.

Yet our confidence does not depend upon sight. It depends upon the promises of the God who cannot lie.

Biblical hope is therefore much stronger than ordinary hope.

We often use the word hope to mean uncertainty:

• “I hope it doesn’t rain.”
• “I hope I get the job.”
• “I hope things work out.”

Christian hope is different.

It is confident expectation based upon God’s promises.

Trust Produces Action

Hebrews 11 does not merely give us a definition. It gives us examples.

Again and again, people trusted God enough to act.

Noah built an ark because he believed God’s warning.

Abraham left his homeland because he trusted God’s promise.

Moses chose identification with God’s people rather than the treasures of Egypt.

Their actions demonstrated what they believed.

This is why genuine trust produces obedience.

We do not obey God in order to prove ourselves worthy of salvation. We obey because we believe Him.

If God says something is right, we trust Him.

And if God says something is wrong, we trust Him.

If He tells us to go, we go.

And if He tells us to wait, we wait.

If He gives us a promise, we rely upon His character even when circumstances appear to say otherwise.

What About Saving Faith?

This becomes especially important when we consider salvation.

The Gospel does not merely ask whether we believe certain facts about Jesus.

It calls us to trust in Jesus.

We believe that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. But saving faith goes beyond knowing those facts.

We personally rely upon Him.

We stop trusting our morality, religion, good works, church membership, baptism, or personal goodness to make us right with God.

Instead, we rest our hope upon what Jesus Christ has accomplished.

Acts 16:31 says:

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

The object of saving faith is not our own sincerity.

The object is Jesus Christ.

When Circumstances Contradict God’s Promises

Trust becomes especially difficult when life does not make sense:

• We pray, but the answer does not come.
• We obey, but circumstances become harder.
• We believe God is good, but tragedy enters our lives.

Those moments reveal where our confidence rests.

Abraham waited years for the promised son.

Joseph endured slavery and imprisonment.

Job suffered without understanding why.

The disciples watched Jesus die before they understood the resurrection.

Trusting God does not mean pretending difficulties do not exist.

It means believing that God remains trustworthy even when we cannot understand what He is doing.

From Belief to a Life of Trust

Biblical faith is not a feeling.

It is not:

• a force.
• positive thinking.
• blind optimism.

And it is not the power to create reality by believing strongly enough.

It is informed trust in God.

We trust Him because He has revealed Himself to be trustworthy.

And we believe His Word because He is true.

We obey because we trust His wisdom.

And we face the future with hope because His promises do not fail.

And we entrust our salvation to Jesus Christ because He alone can save us.

The simplest definition may therefore be the best:

Faith is trusting God.

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Dr. Alan Holden has served in pastoral ministry for more than 35 years, preaching and teaching the Bible in churches across the United States. He holds a Doctor of Ministry from Luther Rice Seminary and a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Through What’s It Mean?, he seeks to help readers understand the meaning of Scripture and grow in their walk with Christ. He is currently the pastor of Lake Saunders Baptist Church in Tavares, FL.