Intro: Faith is fundamental to Christian doctrine and conduct. It is the one thing which above all others Christ recognized as the paramount virtue. The Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 8), humility; the blind man (Mk. 10), earnestness. But what Jesus saw and rewarded in each of these cases was faith. Faith is the foundation of Peter's spiritual temple (2 Pet. 1:5-7); and first in Paul's trinity of graces (1 Cor. 13:13). In faith all the other graces find their source.

I. THE DEFINITION OF FAITH:

Faith is used in Scripture in a general and a particular sense.

[1]. Its General Meaning:

A. Knowledge -

(Ps. 9:10) - "And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee."

(Rom. 10:17) - "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

Faith is not believing a thing without evidence; on the contrary, faith rests upon the best evidence, namely the Word of God. An act of faith denotes a manifestation of the intelligence: "How shall they believe in whom they have not heard?" A man may believe with his head without believing with his heart; but he cannot believe with his heart without believing with his head too.

B. Assent -

There must not only be knowledge that Jesus is able to save, and that He is the Saviour of the world; there must be also an assent of the heart to these claims - (Mk. 12:32-34).

C. Appropriation -

(Jn. 1:12; 2:24) - There must be an appropriation of the things which we know and assent to concerning the Christ and His work. Intelligent perception is not faith. Knowledge affirms the reality of these things but neither accepts nor rejects them. Nor is assent to faith. There is an assent of the mind which does not mean a surrender of the heart and affections. Faith is the consent of the will to the assent of the understanding (Jn. 8:30-32).

[2]. The Meaning of Faith in Particular:

A. When used in connection with the name of God -

There can be no dealings with the invisible God unless there is absolute faith in his existence. We must believe in His reality, even though He is unseen. Faith believes all that God says as being absolutely true, even though circumstances seem to be against its fulfillment. (See - Heb. 11:6; Acts 27:22-25; Rom. 4:19-21; Gen. 15:4-6).

B. When used in connection with the person and work of Christ -

Recall the three elements of faith, and apply them here.

[1]. Knowledge of the claims of Christ - (Jn. 9:35-38; 10:30; Phil. 2:6-11; Matt. 20:28; 26:26-28; Lk. 24:27,44).
[2]. Assent to the claims - (Jn. 16:30; 20:28; Matt. 16:16; 6:68,69).
[3]. Personal appropriation - (Jn. 1:12; 8:21,24; 5:24).

C. When used in connection with prayer -

(1 Jn. 5:14,15; Ja. 1:5-7; Mk. 11:24) - There must be no hesitation which balances between belief and unbelief. To "doubt" means to reason whether or not the thing concerning which you are requesting can be done (Acts 10:20; Rom. 4:20).

D. When used in connection with the Word and promises of God -

First, we should know whether the particular promise in question is intended for us in particular. There are dispensational aspects to many of the promises of the Bible.

Second, when once we are persuaded that a promise is for us, we must believe that God means all he says in that promise; we must assent to all its truth; we must not diminish nor discount it. God will not, cannot lie (Tit. 1:2).

Third, we must appropriate and act upon the promises. Herein lies the difference between belief and faith. Belief is mental; faith adds the volitional. Faith is acting upon what you believe (Heb. 11:1,11,17,35; 1 Kings 18:41-43).