FAITH,
DEFINITION OF
See also:Faith
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
The Bible, Hebrews 11:1
Faith is not believing that God can, but that God will!
Author unknown
Faith is not knowing what the future holds, but knowing who holds the future.
Author unknown
Faith is like electricity. You can’t see it, but you can see the light.
Author unknown
Faith is not a sword just to grab; faith is a way of life.
Author unknown
Faith is not without worry or care, but faith is fear that has said a prayer.
Author unknown
Faith is the effect of God illuminating the mind and sealing the heart, and it is His mere gift.
James Arminius
Now we shall possess a right definition of faith if we call it a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
John Calvin
Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.
Oswald Chambers
Faith is just that total reliance of human weakness on divine grace which allows the Spirit to operate most effectively within the human condition.
James D.G. Dunn
Faith is an act of self-consecration, in which the will, the intellect, and the affections all have their place.
William R. Inge
Faith is the power that moves our ship through the raging sea of this world.
Pishoy Kamel
Faith means just that blessed unrest, deep and strong, which so urges the believer onward that he cannot settle at ease in the world and anyone who was quite at ease would cease to be a believer.
Søren Kierkegaard
Faith is the refusal to panic.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Faith is the assent of any proposition not made out by the deduction of reason but upon the credit of the proposer.
John Locke
Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right.
Max Lucado
Faith is the bird that sings while it is yet dark.
Max Lucado
Faith is something that is busy, powerful and creative, though properly speaking, it is essentially an enduring than a doing. It changes the mind and heart.
Martin Luther
Faith is something that effects in us.
Martin Luther
Faith is nothing but believing what God promises or says. Whatever remarkable thing we read of happening in the Old or New Testament, we read that it was done by faith – not by works, not by a general faith, but by faith directed to the matter in hand.
Martin Luther
Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it.
Martin Luther
Faith is not something we can achieve; it is something achieved within us by God.
Alister McGrath
Faith is the beginning of that which is eternal, the operation of the indwelling Power which acts from within outwards and round about … pours itself out into our whole mind, runs over into our thoughts, desires, feelings, purposes, attempts, and works, combines them all together into one, makes the whole man its one instrument … one embodied act of faith.
J.H. Newman
This is faith: a renouncing of everything we are apt to call our own and relying wholly upon the blood, righteousness and intercession of Jesus.
John Newton
Faith is extending an empty hand to God to receive His gift of grace.
A.W. Pink
The essence of faith is being satisfied with all God is for us in Jesus.
John Piper
As the essence of courage is to stake one’s life on a possibility, so the essence of faith is to believe that the possibility exists.
William Salter
Faith is the subtle chain
Which binds us to the infinite.
Elizabeth Oakes Smith
Faith is nothing at all tangible. Faith is simply believing God; and, like sight, it is nothing apart from its object. You might as well shut your eyes and look inside to see whether you have sight, as to look inside to discover if you have faith.
Hannah Whitall Smith
Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.
Rabindranath Tagore
Faith is not the holding of correct doctrines, but personal fellowship with the Living God.
William Temple
Faith is the sense of life, that sense by virtue of which man does not destroy himself, but continues to live on. It is the force whereby we live.
Leo Tolstoy
Faith, as Paul saw it, was a living, flaming thing leading to surrender and obedience to the commandments of Christ.
A.W. Tozer
Faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God, a continuous gaze of the heart at the Triune God.
A.W. Tozer
Faith is not a once-done act, but a continuous gaze of the heart at the Triune God.
A.W. Tozer
Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservations.
Elton Trueblood
Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.
Mark Twain
Faith is, then, a lively and steadfast trust in the favor of God, wherewith we commit ourselves altogether unto God. And that trust is so surely grounded and sticks so fast in our hearts, that a man would not once doubt of it, although he should die a thousand times thereof.
William Tyndale
Faith is not a refuge from reality. It is a demand that we face reality, with all its difficulties, opportunities, and implications.
Evelyn Underhill
Faith,
Definition of
Martin Luther
Faith is not what some people think it is. Their human dream is a delusion. Because they observe that faith is not followed by good works or a better life, they fall into error, even though they speak and hear much about faith. “Faith is not enough,” they say, “you must do good works, you must be pious to be saved.’’ They think that, when you hear the gospel, you start working, creating by your own strength a thankful heart which says, “I believe.” That is what they think true faith is. But, because this is a human idea, a dream, the heart never learns anything from it, so it does nothing and reform doesn’t come from this “faith,” either.
Instead, faith is God’s work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God. (John 1:13). It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn’t stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever. He stumbles around and looks for faith and good works, even though he does not know what faith or good works are. Yet he gossips and chatters about faith and good works with many words.
Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God’s grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace. Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light from fire! Therefore, watch out for your own false ideas and guard against good-for-nothing gossips, who think they’re smart enough to define faith and works, but really are the greatest of fools. Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say or can do.
Martin Luther, An Introduction to St Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Luther’s German Bible of 1522
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