An Overview of Faith in the Bible and

Christian History

Old Testament Hebrew “aman” – “to be firm, solid, true” Greek – “pisteuein” “to accept something as true, but implying a personal relationship, acceptance of the person who tells you something” example: Israelites had faith in Moses because of their experience of trusting him

In the OT the foundation for faith is God- seen as the one who created all and the

one who is depended on for survival

OT faith is expressed through trust and obedience (very active, not just belief)

OT faith is directly related to the Covenant with Yahweh—”We are your People, You are our God.”

New Testament – Gospels Jesus demanded faith and praised it when

he witnessed it: “Your faith has saved you”

Faith is directed to God, then to Jesus—the acceptance of Jesus to be who he claims to be

After Jesus’ resurrection, the shift is clearly to faith in Jesus (and Jesus is seen as being one with God)

New Testament – Act of the Apostles Faith is the acceptance of the message of

the Apostles “Believers” join the community of Christians

Acceptance of “Jesus as Lord” is expressed through repentance and Baptism

It is belief in God’s word, as personified in Christ, so faith necessarily involves a personal relationship with Christ

Paul’s Epistles “If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and

if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

Faith in History St. Justin – The believer is one who assents

to certain truths St. Augustine – We do not work to get

faith. It is a free gift from God we can accept or reject.

St. Thomas Aquinas – Faith is essentially an act of the intellect, but not only of the intellect

Theology Theology is faith seeking understanding Faith is handed on through theology Theology is faith expressed in words, art,

music, dance, architecture, etc. Not all theology is good theology—we can

incorrectly translate our experience of knowledge of God

When theology does not come from faith, it is really a philosophy of religion

ConclusionFaith in Jesus is not an assent to doctrine but

a living relationship with Jesus that affects all other relationships we have and ties us to a community which worships and has moral norms.

“Perhaps we later Christian communities aren’t as unique as the biblical Christian communities because many of us have replaced an experience of the risen Jesus with an experience of doctrine.”