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There is no question, as we have said, that faith plays the central role in a man's salvation; that is, as far as his part is concerned. No other single thing is so immediately the condition of salvation. Repentance is previous to faith; obedience, works, fruit and holiness proceed from it; but faith is the most central thing.

To believe or have faith is relatively simple, but to understand or explain faith is quite difficult. If you dispute this, may I point you to the volumes of material written on faith by men in all ages who, though they may be sincere, nevertheless contradict one another. And yet, surely faith must not be so mysterious and elusive that it is impossible to understand or define. God tells us to have faith, or believe. These are words of language which, without doubt, is a series of symbols used to communicate ideas. When God says, "Believe," then, He has some express meaning, some idea in mind which may be understood, and if understood, explained. In seeking to understand what faith is, however, we must be careful to understand it only according to its Bible definition. What does God mean by "believe"?

Several things make it difficult to understand faith: 1) The term is so familiar to us and so elemental to us that we may have difficulty explaining it in words other than itself. We may tend to say, "Well, to believe is to believe; you know, to have faith." Yet, this does not define it or explain it. 2) There are many substitutes for faith as well as many things added to it or confused with it, owing to misunderstanding due to man's corrupt and feeble understanding as well as Satan's deception. 3) Many of us today have received false teaching on faith. It is difficult to divorce yourself from what you have heard and objectively consider faith, to "start all over from scratch" as they used to say. In our study of saving faith in these lessons, therefore, we will seek to rediscover (not redefine) what faith actually is. Let me say also that we will concentrate on saving faith, faith as it relates to salvation, not necessarily faith in its other general uses.

"If exercising faith is relatively simple while understanding it is difficult, why bother to try to understand it?" For two reasons: first, the better or more clearly we understand something (all other things being equal) the more useful it is to us; and second, if we are mistaken about faith (as I believe we are) we must be undeceived about it or we will perish. So, regardless of the difficulty involved, we need to understand what saving faith is.

In our attempt to rediscover faith, we will focus on these three things: 1) the meaning of the Greek words for faith used in the New Testament, 2) God's own definition for faith in Hebrews chapter 11, and 3) the example of Abraham.

The Greek words for "faith" and "believing" in the New Testament are all derived from the same basic "stem." This shows the fundamental relationship they have and that they all convey the same basic ideas. These Greek words for faith or believing are made up of two groups. The Greek word commonly translated "faith" (the noun) is "pistis." The verb, "believe," is derived from it-"pisteuo." The word "pistis" itself is derived from another verb, "peitho," which means "to convince or persuade." The noun from this verb "peitho" is "pepoithesis" which means "trust or confidence." These words (in their various forms)-"pisteuo/pistis" and "peitho/pepoithesis"-account for all the appearances of the words "faith," "believe," etc., in the New Testament. These Greek words appear in different forms with different prefixes and suffixes, depending upon the person (I, we, you, they, etc.) and the tense (past, present, future, etc.) of the verb and also the form of the noun, etc. But basically they can all be sorted into either the "pist-" group or the "peith-" group.

The "pist-" group occurs much more often than the "peith-"; nevertheless, the latter is common and very important to our understanding of faith. Now, are you still with me, or have I lost you already? I hope I haven't because I believe this study will be rewarding and not just academic. And it is my intention, as always, to be as clear and simple as possible (for my own sake as well as yours!).

I am indebted to the Greek scholars of The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology for my discussion of the Greek words for faith. Their comments are so helpful that I quote them here (slightly abridged):

Faith, persuade, belief, unbelief

The words dealt with here are basically concerned with that personal relationship with a person or thing which is established by trust and trustworthiness (including their negation). If this relationship comes about through persuasion or conviction, the verb peithomai is used. The perfect tense pepoitha expresses the firm conviction and confidence that has come about. The words of the pistis group are derived from the same verbal stem. They denoted originally the faithful relationship of partners in an agreement and the trustworthiness of their promises. In a broader sense they came to denote the credibility of statements, reports, and accounts in general, both sacred and secular. In NT Greek they gained a special importance and specific content through their application to the relationship with God in Christ: the trusting acceptance and recognition of what God has done and promised in him....

The stem peith- (pith-, poith-) has the basic meaning of trust (cf. Lat. fido, fides). The same stem is also the basis of the formations with pist- (pisteuo). Trust can refer to a statement, so that it has the meaning to put faith in, to let oneself be convinced, or to a demand, so that it gets the meaning of obey, be persuaded....

In the NT peitho, peithomai and pepoitha are quite common; they occur most frequently in Paul (22 times) and Acts (17 times).... The range of meaning of the verb may be ascertained by looking at its tenses.... (a) The active form of peitho in the aorist...always has the meaning of persuade, induce, and even to mislead or corrupt. But it has no special theological significance. By contrast, the imperfect expresses the attempt to influence a person to adopt a particular attitude or action...Acts 19:8 describes how Paul argued for three months in the synagogue attempting to convince the Jews of the kingdom of God (cf. 28:31, where his activity is also described as "teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ")...

...peithomai...stresses the result and outcome of the influence...(a) The aorist occurs 3 times [Acts 17:4; 5:36; 23:21].... The following are possible meanings: to be persuaded by someone to follow someone, to yield to (cf. Acts 23:21 RSV), to listen to someone in the sense of hearken and obey. (b) Similarly, the imperfect means to heed, to pay attention to someone's words, attitudes or actions, so that one is influenced by them [Acts 27:11; 5:36]...Acts 28:24 expresses a contrast: "And some were convinced [epeithonto] by what he said, while others disbelieved [epistoun]" (RSV). Peithomai here has the meaning of believe (Paul's words)...(d) The present has no particular theological significance in Acts 21:14 and 26:26, where it means to be persuaded, and Hebrews 13:18 ("we are sure" RSV). In other places it means to obey or follow (Gal. 5:7; Heb. 13:17; Jas. 3:3)...(e) The perfect always denotes a situation in which the act of examining and weighing up has been concluded, and where a firm conviction has already been reached (cf. Luke 20:6; Romans 8:38; 14:14; 15:14; 2 Timothy 1:5, 12; Hebrews 6:9). This can refer to convictions concerning facts or people (e.g. that John was a prophet, Luke 20:6), as well as to the all-embracing, unshakable certainty that has been attained in faith (Romans 8:38).

...pepoitha with the preposition epi always means to depend on, trust in, put one's confidence in. It indicates a conviction as the basis for further thought and action [Luke 18:9; 2 Corinthians 1:9; 2:3; 2 Thessalonians 3:4; Galatians 5:10; Philippians 2:24]...

The noun pepoithesis, confidence (Philippians 3:4), has the same meaning as the verb in verse 3. It is likewise connected with en sarki, "in the flesh," and refers to the self-confidence that grows out of observance of the law. On the other hand, 2 Corinthians 3:4 refers to the confidence that grows out of the apostolic commission....Confidence in men (2 Corinthians 8:22, where the preposition eis is used for "in"; cf. Galatians 5:10) is set in the context of confidence in God (pros ton theon, 2 Corinthians 3:4)....

In classical Greek literature pistis means the trust that a man places in men or the gods....Similarly, pisteuo means to trust something or someone....With reference to people, pisteuo means to obey....The adjective pistos means trusting....trustworthy...to piston means dependability or the faithfulness of those bound through an agreement....Originally, the word-group denoted the conduct that honoured an agreement or bond....Hence, experience of faithfulness and unfaithfulness belongs to the idea of faith from the beginning....

In the Helenistic [Greek] period during the struggle with scepticism and atheism pistis acquired the sense of conviction as to the existence and activity of the gods....pistis as faith in God stood for theoretical conviction. But stress was laid on the belief that life was constituted in accordance with this conviction....In the mystery religions faith denotes abandonment to the deity by following his instruction and teaching, and by putting oneself under his protection....(The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Colin Brown, ed.; Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI; 1971; pp. 587-599).

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (NASV). The two controlling words in this brief definition of faith found in God's own word are "assurance" (or confidence) and "conviction." Faith is an assurance, a confidence, a conviction. It is, according to the definition of the Greek word, a persuasion or a being persuaded. It is being persuaded of something, sure of something, confident of something, convinced of something.

Now, modern "faith" teachers say this means that we must be convinced that we already have something we desire (that all things already exist in the spirit realm), and that thus believing it is ours or that it is so, coupled with our firm affirmation, will make it so in the physical or manifest in appearance. But, as I have labored to show in my notebooks on the faith movement, this is merely a metaphysical (mind science), not a Biblical concept. In the examples of faith that follow in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, there is not a single case of someone believing he had a thing and affirming it in order to create it. What there is, however, is example after example of people who were so convinced of something they could not see that they took a particular course of action regarding it:

4. By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain....

5. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death...God had taken him away. [Not because he "believed God" for this, but because--] ...before he was taken he was commended as one who pleased God....

6. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

7. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family....

8. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

9. By faith he made his home in the promised land [KJV, sojourned] like a stranger in a foreign country.

10. For he was looking forward to the city without foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11. By faith Abraham, even though he was past age-and Sarah herself was barren-was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who made the promise.

13. All these people were still living by faith when they died....

14. ....they [were] looking for a country of their own.

16. ....they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one....

17. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice....

19. Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead....

20. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

21. By faith Jacob...blessed each of Joseph's sons....

22. By faith Joseph...spoke about the exodus...and gave instructions about his bones.

23. By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born....

24. By faith Moses,....refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

25. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin...

26. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of a greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

27. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

28. By faith he kept the Passover....

29. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea....

30. By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

31. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed...(Hebrews 11, NIV)

One thing is clear from all these examples: faith is not merely an assurance, a persuasion, or a conviction-it is a persuasion, assurance, or conviction that leads to a definite course of action. James, then, is certainly not the only place in the New Testament where saving faith is inseparably linked to action. And with many of these heroes of faith in Hebrews 11-Enoch, Noah, Abraham and the patriarchs, Moses-faith did not issue in a single action alone but a life-long course of action. They were convinced enough of what God said to take a life-long course of action concerning it. The very definitions of the Greek words for faith and God's own definition for faith in Hebrews 11:1, therefore, totally destroy the false notion that an assent to the fact that Jesus is Savior without necessarily following Him as Lord is sufficient for salvation. Note also that the definition and examples of faith in Hebrews 11 are brought up concerning faith for salvation. This is evident from the fact that the latter part of chapter 10 of Hebrews (leading into chapter 11) is a discussion of persevering in faith for final salvation in order to escape God's judgment and wrath (verses 23-39). Chapter 10 ends, "But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved" (10:39 NIV). Likewise, immediately following chapter 11, chapter 12 opens with, "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (v.1) and goes on to exhortations to "endure hardship as discipline" (v.7) and to "make every effort...to be holy" (v.14). In fact, the whole epistle of Hebrews is a call for the faith that perseveres to the end-final salvation.

Our definition for faith, then, joining the meaning of the Greek words with Hebrews 11:1, is simply this: faith is the conviction of the truth or trustworthiness of a statement or person that comes by persuasion and that leads to a particular course of action. It is the conviction that a statement or person is true, trustworthy. This conviction comes from persuasion: one comes to this conviction by being persuaded of the truth or trustworthiness of this statement or person. And this conviction is strong enough that it always (if it is true faith) leads to an appropriate course of action.

As I said, we can see the validity of this definition of faith in the meaning of the Greek words for it, especially the "peith-" family of words. Let us look at some of the occurrences of these words to establish this:

In Matthew 27:20 we read:

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask for Barabas and destroy Jesus.

The word for "persuaded" here is "epeisan," a form of the Greek word "peitho" which means, you remember, "to convince or persuade." Now, what happened here at the trial of Jesus is that "the chief priests persuaded the multitude" to ask for Barabas' release and demand Jesus' crucifixion. (Pilate, you remember, had said they should let a prisoner go, according to the governor's custom, because it was a feast day.) The point to see is this-the chief priests did not intend to bring the multitude into a mere "belief" concerning Jesus, but to persuade them to take a particular course of action. Their aim was not just to bring the people to look at each other, nod their heads and say, "Yes, that's what I believe," but to persuade them to take a particular course of action, which was to loudly demand Jesus' crucifixion and Barabas' release! And it worked:

"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. "Barabas," they answered. "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" Then he released Barabas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified (Matthew 27:21-25, NIV).

The people were so convinced that they insisted upon Barabas' release and Jesus' crucifixion with increasing vehemence even when questioned and challenged by Pilate, the governor and judge. Rather than be deterred from their course, they persisted in it all the more firmly. This is a good illustration of saving faith. The crowd's conviction came from persuasion by the chief priests and that by their "preaching," their rallying speech. We can also see that a false faith or conviction can be as strong (or, more often, stronger) than a true faith. A false or faulty faith comes through false or faulty persuasion. We see, then, not only how faith works but also deception.

After Jesus' death, the chief priests persuaded Pilate to give the order to make the tomb "secure." Guards were posted who put a seal on the entrance of the closed tomb. A failure in the guards' duty, then, would mean punishment or death. But God raised Jesus from the dead and an angel rolled the stone away from the entrance of the tomb. The guards "shook and became like dead men" (Matthew 28:4, NIV), then "went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened"-

And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money to the soldiers, saying, "Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you" (Matthew 28:12-14).

The chief priests here promised to persuade ("peis-omen") the governor to take this course of action-not to execute or punish the guards for going to sleep on duty (according to the false report).

In Luke 16 Jesus gave us the horrible scene of the rich man in hell, who first pled with Abraham across the great gulf fixed to "send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame" (v.24), but he was refused.

Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded ("peisthasontai"), though one rose from the dead (Luke 16:27-31).

The rich man requested that Lazarus be sent to his five brothers to warn (NASV) them not to take this particular course of action-not to come to "this place of torment." Again the rich man was refused. "Let them hear Moses and the prophets," Abraham said. Now Moses and the prophets warned generally of the judgment of God, but not specifically too often about hell itself. What Moses and the prophets did do constantly, however, was to turn people away from sin to righteousness. You see, sin is the pathway to hell. It is broad because mankind loves sin. Only a few people take the other path-righteousness. So, in effect, Moses and the prophets did nothing but turn people from hell by turning people away from the road that leads there which is sin. The prophets, especially, as we have seen in our study on repentance, are full of exhortations to repent, that is, to turn.

"Let them hear them." Friend, do you hear "Moses and the prophets" trying to persuade you to repent and do righteousness so that you do not go to the place of torment called hell where the rich man is? If not, what are you waiting for, someone to rise from the dead to convince you? "If [you] hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will [you] be persuaded (NIV, convinced) though one rose from the dead." In fact, one has risen from the dead-the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Now we have not only Moses and the prophets but Jesus and the apostles to solemnly testify to us-for what end? All to persuade us to take a certain course of action, which is to repent, turn from our sins, and walk the narrow road of righteousness, love, and holiness lest we also go to that place of torment spoken of. No, it's not that by "living right" we can escape hell and go to heaven-we must be born again and have Jesus Christ to come live within us. But a true faith, a true conviction, will issue in our taking this different course of action than the rest of the godless world. You see, I'm convinced, I'm persuaded, that not only what Jesus told us here in Luke 16, but also everything else that is recorded that He said, is true. Moses, the prophets, Jesus and the apostles (in short, the Word of God, the Bible) have persuaded me of the reality, though unseen, of the torment of hell's all-consuming flame and the reality also of a place called paradise (formerly "Abraham's bosom," in the heart of the earth, now the very presence of God in heaven where Jesus is) where the righteous are "comforted." My faith, the conviction of the reality of these unseen things, leads me to take a certain course of action daily-to say "no" to self (Luke 9:23), to sin, to all "ungodliness and worldly lusts" and to "live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:12). Not only that, but perhaps even more important, I am convinced by the Bible's persuasion that my former sins, which were many, were damning my soul. So, by God's grace, I have turned from them, forsaken them. I am also convinced that Jesus is the only Lord and Saviour, Son of God and Messiah, and that He died on the cross for my sins and was raised again for my justification-my forgiveness of and cleansing from sin. I am so convinced of these things that I have forsaken my sins and now follow Jesus in an entirely different course of action than what I did formerly and which even now the overwhelming majority of the world (as well as most professing Christians!) still take. This is faith. It is a conviction of the truth or trustworthiness of a statement or person that comes from persuasion and that leads to a particular course of action. Are you convinced of these things? Are you persuaded that they are so? Do you believe? The course of action you are taking right now tells whether you do or do not.

In Acts chapter 5 Peter and other apostles were put in prison, but an angel opened the prison doors at night and sent them back to preach again in the temple early the next morning. The chief priests had them arrested and brought again before the Jewish council. Angered at the apostles' lack of compliance, the council sought to kill them. But at this critical moment, one Gamaliel, a respected teacher, more wise than most, restrained them:

35. Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. 36. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to naught. 37. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. 38. And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught: 39. But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. 40. And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go (Acts 5:35-40).

The Greek word for "obeyed" in verses 36 and 37 is in the aorist tense, "epeithonto," which, as The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology said, carries the meaning "follow." The "four hundred" and the "much people" were "joined to" and "drawn after" this Theudas and Judas no doubt by their persuasive speech. They were convinced of the truth and trustworthiness of their statements and persons (albeit it was all deception) enough to join themselves to them and follow or obey them. This is faulty faith, a deception, but it is faith nonetheless. Their conviction coming from persuasion led to a particular course of action. The purpose of Gamaliel's speech was to convince or persuade the council, in this case, not to take the course of action to which they were disposed. And he succeeded: the word for "they agreed" is "epeisthasan." The NIV reads, "His speech persuaded them." The course of action this conviction coming from Gamaliel's persuasion was, though they did beat the apostles, they did not kill them as they would have done, but let them go.

Charles G. Finney put it succinctly:

What is faith? It is that confidence in God which leads us to love and obey him (True and False Repentance, Charles G. Finney; Kregel: Grand Rapids, MI; 1966, p. 67).

Faith in God or Christ means that we are convinced of the truth and trustworthiness of His statements and His Person. God and Christ give us commands, threats, promises, and statements of fact. All these come from the same God, the same Jesus. All, then, are equally reliable and call for an equally serious response on our part. We cannot, as so many attempt to do today, take His promises seriously and trust them while we disregard His threats and commands. Conversely, neither must we take His threats and commands seriously yet not cleave to His promises. Christ commands obedience and warns of hell if we do not obey. God promises us forgiveness of sins and eternal life if we repent and believe on Christ. And it is a statement of fact that He was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:25). The promise is that righteousness will be imputed to us (Romans 4:24) if we thus believe on the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Friend, are you convinced that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men" (including your own sin) Romans 1:18? Are you persuaded to turn from all your sins and seek Jesus Christ for salvation? Do you believe God raised Him from the dead for your righteousness? Are you persuaded to take up the course of action the Lord prescribed when He said, "Follow me"? Do you have this faith, this conviction of unseen things?

If not, I exhort you to turn from your sins right now, open your heart to the Spirit of God, and avail yourself of the true preaching (and personal reading) of the true Word as a means of obtaining that conviction which comes from such persuasion that leads to the action God requires for entering heaven. Just make sure that what you hear preached is the true Word of God, because a false persuasion will inevitably lead to a faulty conviction and a false course of action that will end in hell.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).

Leon Stump, Pastor of Victory Christian Center

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