What is Faith? Top Bible Verses On Faith

October 2, 2019

5

min read

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aith has been a word that I have heard my entire life. I am sure if you are reading this that the same is true for you. It has not been until my older years in the Lord that I have grown to learn the real reasons why faith is so important. Perhaps even more important is to understand when we are not “in” faith. Being “in” faith is something, Hebrews 11:6 teaches us, that truly pleases our Heavenly Father.

“But without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6)

If it is impossible to please God without faith, then we need to understand how to properly be “in” faith and where it comes from.

I recall one time, as I was reading a book by E.W Kenyon entitled “In His Presence”, a radical thought hit me. In one of his chapters, he referred to the world as being a “people of the senses.” This phrase rattled around in my brain for hours after I read it. Allow me to explain why.

Growing up, we learn that we have 5 major senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste. These are the senses that guide our natural lives. Without these senses, we would be numb to the amazing world around us. If these senses were not guiding our lives, we would never be able to taste the warmness of a chocolate chip cookie or the rich taste of honey. No doubt, we would still be alive, but our “senses” would be keeping us from experiencing all that the world has to offer.

Faith Is the Spiritual Sense

You see, as Christians, the spiritual “sense” that guides our lives is faith and allows us to trust in the Lord fully. For 2 Corinthians 5:7 teaches us, “we walk by faith and not by sight”.

Faith opens the door for heaven to walk into the earth. Hebrews 11:3 teaches us this, “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Notice the scripture says, “by faith we understand…” Do you see it? Faith is the spiritual sense that allows us to understand the deepest mysteries of the universe.

Faith is our spiritual sense, but just like our natural senses, our faith needs development. As a father of three boys, one of the primary senses that I try and teach my sons to develop is their “listening” skills. Sure, they can listen, but often, they don’t want to. Most of the time, they are more interested in playing outside then hearing to me telling them to “get ready for bed.” Just because they have a sense of hearing does not mean that they always choose to operate in it effectively. Our faith works the same way; just because we have faith does not mean that we are operating in it most the most effective way.

You see, as Christians, the spiritual “sense” that guides our lives is faith

To help understand what I mean, I think it is essential to understand what faith isn’t before we truly understand what it is. Faith is not a feeling, it’s not an emotion, and it’s not something we even do naturally. It’s the exact opposite.

Faith see’s what the natural eye cannot see. Faith goes where the natural man cannot go. Faith believes what the natural man cannot believe. Faith is not natural. It is supernatural. Jesus, the son of God, teaches us the supernatural possibilities for those who are “in” faith effectively in Mark 9:23, by saying, “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

Notice the word “if” in the statement. As Christians, we tend to spend more mental time thinking on the exciting supernatural possibilities of faith, while glossing over the word that will get us there. A person has supernatural solutions for natural problems only “if” they are “in” faith. In other words, only when faith is fully developed as a spiritual sense does the supernatural breakthrough into the natural.

An excellent question to consider now is this. If faith is to be developed as our supernatural sense in the same way our natural senses are, how do we do it? Where does faith come from?

Behind Romans 10:17

Romans 10:17 gives us the answer.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Faith is a supernatural gift that is released in our lives through the Word of God. If you want to increase your faith, find out what the Word of God says about your problem or situation. Again, faith is not anything that is rooted in the natural.

Faith is a supernatural gift that is released in our lives through the Word of God.

In my personal life, there are many times when I looked at circumstances surrounding me, and quite honestly, there was nothing about the situation that would build my faith. The opposite was true. When I looked at the problems surrounding me, my mind and heart would only be filled with fear and anxiety. However, it was when I went back into the Bible and read for myself what the Word of God said about my situation that I found faith. Once my faith was built, I could then release it back into the problem and situation.

To this day, I am still amazed at how effectively my faith is developed when I do this. Faith will begin to show me things I didn’t see before in the situation. Maybe it is a conversation, or a door opening, or something supernatural happening that I didn’t have access to before I found the Faith in God necessary to believe it.

To summarize, we need to understand this truth. The Word of God positions one’s heart to receive supernatural faith and release it back into a natural situation. As Christians, we live by faith. Without a true relationship with the Word of God, your faith sense will never be fully developed. When faced with a crisis, you will fall back into despair instead of hope. Let us not forget Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Being a minister over the past 15 years, there are many times i’ve been asked regarding a personal crisis, “Kyle; I don’t have any faith right now, can you help me?” Most of the time, my response to them is something like this, “Well I’m sorry to hear that, but what happened to the faith that was given to you?” To some, this may sound a little harsh, but to be honest, it’s the truth. Allow me to explain.

In Romans 12:3, Paul teaches us that everyone has been given a “measure of faith” through the grace of God. Thus, if everyone has been given a measure of faith, then the working out of that faith, or the development of that supernatural sense is on us to “stir” up. How do we stir it up? Again, it is through the Word of God. Find what the Word says about your situation, and stir up the measure of faith that was awarded to you by the grace of God through the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

Final Thought On Faith

To summarize, faith is a supernatural gift administered to every believer by the Holy Spirit. Faith is not rooted in emotion or feeling; it is rooted in the eternal life of the Word of God. It is a supernatural sense that is on the believer to develop through God’s Word. With faith, all things are possible (Mark 9:23).

Faith is not rooted in emotion or feeling; it is rooted in the Word of God.

In conclusion, I would like to give my personal top 10 verses about faith. These are scriptures that are battle tested for me, and scriptures that I have stood on for years. Through these scriptures, I have seen personal breakthroughs and miracles not only in my life but in the lives of those close around me.

My Top 10 Bible Verses on Faith

1. “If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you are not firm at all.” (Isaiah 7:9)

2. “Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.” (Matthew 21:21)

3. “ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9)

4. “Then Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty..” (John 6:35)

5. “I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” (Isaiah 46:11)

6. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8)

7. “Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my Word speak my Word faithfully.” (Jeremiah 23:28)

8. “….This is the victory that has overcome the world: your faith.” (1 John 5:4)

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

10. “He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

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