The following blog is taken with permission from the book What is Faith? by Justin Miller, published by Savoring the Savior on December 16, 2022

 

What is faith? If we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-10, Romans 3:21-26), shouldn't we understand what exactly faith is that lays hold of Christ Jesus' person and work to reconcile us to God? In Hebrews 11:1 we are given a definition of what Biblical faith is. A faith that is exhibited in the entirety of Holy Scripture. All who belonged to God had this type of faith and all who belong to God today have this type of faith today. The author of Hebrews writes:

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

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The word “faith” itself in Hebrews 11:1 is a noun translated from the original language of the New Testament (Koine Greek). The Greek word behind this word “faith” is “pistis” and this noun is used 243 times in 227 verses in the Greek New Testament. It means either to trust, to believe, or in some contexts it can mean the doctrine of what is believed.[1] In Hebrews 11:1 it is used as a belief; a trust that defines the person who belongs to God. This “faith” represents a trust that clings to something, like a child holding tight to the shirt of a father or a person clutching with all that is in them to a rail amid a tornado. It is this type of clinging that defines the person who has been forgiven of their sin; a person who has been redeemed.  William Ames wrote this about faith:

“Faith is a resting of the heart on God as on the author of life and eternal salvation. That is to say that by Him we may be freed from all evil and obtain all good.”[2]

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Faith is a resting on a certain object. It is a resting of one’s will on a certain object. The rest of Hebrews 11:1 helps us further understand faith and it’s proper object.

 

 

Things Hoped For/ Things Not Seen

In Hebrews 11:1 the author used two clauses to define faith. Both clauses are driving at the same thing from different angles. The author uses “the assurance of things hoped for” and “conviction of things not seen.” The key word in those phrases is “assurance” and “conviction.” The Greek word translated “the assurance” is “hypostasis” which is used 5 times in the Greek New Testament. In 2 Corinthians 9:4, 11:17 (in the English Standard Version, ESV) it is translated with the idea of being confident. In Hebrews 3:14 the ESV translates it “confidence” as well. The essence of this Greek word is being sure of, being convinced, trusting in. What exactly are we confident and trusting in?  Matthew Henry wrote concerning the confidence outlined here in this clause, “It is a firm persuasion and expectation that God will perform all that he has promised to us in Christ.”[3] Matthew Henry highlights what the author of Hebrews is driving at with regards to the object of one’s confidence (faith), namely the “things hoped for” (promises of God in Christ Jesus). Faith is a firm persuasion and expectation that God will perform His promises.

 

The Greek word translated “the conviction” is only used here in the Greek New Testament and it means “evidence for.” [4] It is knowing the reality of “things not seen”, which conveys the object of what is clung to. John Gill, the 18th century Baptist pastor and commentator, described “of things not seen” as:

“of things past, of what was done in eternity, in the council and covenant of grace and peace; of what has been in time, in creation, and providence; of the birth, miracles, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ; of things present, the being, perfections, love of God; of the session of Christ at God’s right hand, and his continual intercession; and of the various blessings of grace revealed in the Gospel; and of future ones, as the invisible realities of another world: faith has both certainty and evidence in it.” [5]

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Both “things not seen” and “things hoped for” convey the object of Biblical faith. The object of faith being God’s promises fulfilled in Christ Jesus. Assurance and conviction convey not a mere intellectual assent but a certain and confident trust in the promises given by God in His Word.

 

Only the Object Has the Power to Save

Every confidence, every faith must have an object it is confident of and trusting in. The object is what has the power to do something. Faith simply lays hold of it. For example, I may believe that I can fly. I may believe in the object of my ability to fly and power to do so to such a degree that I act on it. I climb the highest building and with much confidence jump. Would it be right to say my confidence was in a power that did not exist? I believe so.

 

The reality is that the object of our faith is what saves us and brings us to God, not what lays hold of that object. The object of our faith, per the author of Hebrews, is also described as the “things hoped for”. The phrase “things hoped for” are referring to the promises of God given to the people of God as the basis of their hope. God in the New Testament promises forgiveness of sin and the declaration of being right with Him by our faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus (Romans 10:13, Galatians 2:15-16). God promises that all those united to Jesus by faith will never be lost but endure to the end (John 10:27-30, Philippians 1:6, John 6:37). God promises all who are declared righteous (justified) will be changed more and more into the character of Christ Jesus (sanctification) (Romans 8:28, Hebrews 12:14). God promises that all those justified in Christ will someday be glorified (Romans 8:28-30). Being glorified is first being perfected as soul after death and in the future granted a raised immortal body upon the return of Christ (glorification) (Romans 8:28-30, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, Hebrews 12:23,1 Corinthians 15:50-58). All the promises of God are “yes” and find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20). Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:20:

“20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”

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The object of our faith is Christ Jesus, His person and His Work, by which all the promises of God find their yes. This object alone saves!

 

Bibliography

[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). “pistis” Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] Quote from Aimes, William. Marrow of Sacred Divinty, 5. This quote was read in Smith, Dale W. Ore From the Puritan’s Mine. Reformation Heritage Books. Grand Rapids, Michigan. 2020. 169.Emphasis mine.

[3] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 2397). Peabody: Hendrickson.

[4] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 672). New York: United Bible Societies.

[5] Gill, John. Hebrews. Exposition of the Old and New Testaments. Volume 9 of 9. Baptist Standard Bearer. Paris, Arkansas. 2016. 455.

 

The book in its entirety can be purchased here.

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About the Author:  Justin Miller serves as the Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church Puxico, MO.