What Is True Faith?

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Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Heb 11:1 NLT

Faith is relying on God’s character, standing on God’s promises, believing Christ’s Cross, and obeying God’s Spirit with a certainty that surpasses physical sight and human reasoning. Faith is the firm, solid confidence that God will be steadfast to his promises and true to his Word. Faith holds God’s Word as an absolute conviction in our hearts even though we cannot physically see God or his promises.  Faith is not blind nor is it a leap into the dark nor a wish upon a star. Faith is believing what God has said and basing your entire life upon it.

Faith is a response of the heart which receives what God has already done for us in Christ. Faith says that Christ’s shed blood is more than sufficient to forgive our sins, Christ’s death on the Cross defeats Satan’s hold on our lives, and Christ’s glorious resurrection conquers the world’s influence, the flesh’s control, sin’s grip, and death’s defeat over us.

True faith is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in his Word is true; it is also a deep-rooted assurance, created in me by the Holy Spirit through the gospel, that, out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation.

The Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 21