What Faith Is

[Soulsnaxx]

During a recent broadcast of the Narrow Path radio program, a caller asked, "Isn't faith something God has to give, that we can't voluntarily perform?" Later during the same call, the caller asked if it is God's right not to respond to someone who tries to believe in Christ.

Those are interesting questions. For Steve's answers, please click on this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlMST5U5IxU&feature=plcp

[Paidion]

I believe Steve is correct in his basic premise that faith comes naturally to human beings. Indeed, there is virtually nothing we can do in life without exercising faith. When a person sits in a chair, he has faith that it will support him. It doesn't HAVE to support him. Indeed, I once saw a person, with perfect confidence, begin to sit in a chair and it collapsed beneath him. When someone enters his car and turns the key, he believes that it will start (sometimes a car won't start under those conditions). But when we entrust ourselves to Christ, and believe what He said and taught, we will never be let down.

If we had absolutely no faith, it would be impossible for us to live our lives. For "Faith is the essence of things expected, the proving out of things not yet experienced" (Hebrews 11:1)

[Candlepower]

Indeed, there is virtually nothing we can do in life without exercising faith. When a person sits in a chair, he has faith that it will support him. It doesn't HAVE to support him. Indeed, I once saw a person, with perfect confidence, begin to sit in a chair and it collapsed beneath him. When someone enters his car and turns the key, he believes that it will start (sometimes a car won't start under those conditions). But when we entrust ourselves to Christ, and believe what He said and taught, we will never be let down.

Well said, Paidion. Good analogies. Here's another: When I tie my shoes, I trust that a shoestring won't snap, and am surprised when one does!

That we are creatures endowed with the ability to believe is indisputable, it seems to me. We do it all the time. One of the most often repeated calls in Scripture is for people to believe/trust God. Those calls would be absurd if people were incapable of trusting. And they would be unnecessary calls if faith in God were merely a conditioned response programmed into a select few. Such responses would be fake, it seems to me. God could do that with rocks. People are not rocks. The call is real, and the ability to believe is real.

[Paidion]

However, "faith" is also a gift of the Spirit (1Corinthians 12:9). This kind of faith which God imparts to man appears to be either faith of a different order or faith of a different degree from the natural faith which everyone possesses.

[MMathis]

Faith means belief on any person without proof and in other words it is called hope, trust or belief. "

I don't think the word hope has any place in defining Faith regarding God. What?.....you hope it's true?