Since faith is the key word in understanding the power of the gospel to transform our lives, we must look at it a little more closely. If the New Testament idea is not clear, the entire subject of righteousness by faith will be confusing to us, and boring as well.
I am sure some are asking the questions, "What about the many Christian writers and speakers who have defined faith as mere trust? Could they be wrong? And doesn't the author of Hebrews, in his classic definition in chapter 2, define faith as trust?"
The apostle Paul never uses the noun faith or the verb to believe with the meaning of trust as we use that word today. The most common verb used for trust is elpizo, which means "to hope." Here are a few examples: "In him shall the Gentiles trust." Romans 15:12. "I trust to see you in my journey," says the apostle. Romans 15:24. "I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy," he adds. Philippians 2:19. "We trust in the living God." 1 Timothy 4:10. "A widow ... trusteth in God." 1 Timothy 5:5. In each of these and other passages, it is obvious that "hope" is what is meant. In none of them does Paul use the word pisteuo, to believe or to have faith.
When the Jews said of Christ on His cross, "He trusted in God; let him deliver him" (Matthew 27:43), the word used is peitho, the common everyday word for trust. The same
word is used in the following places: "How hard ... for them that trust in riches" (Mark 10:24); "I trust ... in God" 2 Corinthians 1:9; "I will put my trust in him" (Hebrews 2:13). Here the meaning is clearly equivalent to that of our ordinary word trust, which means "to have confidence." Why is pisteuo, (believe) never used by Paul to express such confidence or trust?
Paul appears to make two exceptions, but they are not exceptions. We shall examine them. Neither, if properly translated, expresses man's trust in God, but God's trust in man! It is interesting to study these uses of pisteuo, which appear on the surface to require the translation of "trust'' or "entrusted." In each instance the subject is the gospel being entrusted to the care and ministry of Paul himself. No English word can properly convey the sublime thought contained in what Paul is saying. His use of pisteuo here must borrow its luster from its usage elsewhere in the New Testament—that of a heart-appreciation of the love of God revealed at the cross. Two passages from Paul, and one from Luke, must be considered:
1 Thessalonians 2:4: "We speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel." NIV. Translators obsessed with the natural immortality idea have failed to see the depth of meaning in this passage. It is not by accident that Paul uses this word pisteuo, which is so freighted with the content of human appreciation for the cross of Christ. What he says is this: "We speak as men approved by God to be appreciative of the gospel," or "as men approved by God to be enamored with or captivated by the gospel." Again this pregnant word pisteuo must be understood in the light of Christ's own use of it in John 3:16.
1 Timothy 1:11: "The glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted [episteuthen] to me." NIV. Here we have the same idea again linked with an appreciation of the "glorious gospel." Is Paul so arrogant as to claim that this "glorious gospel" was "entrusted" to him as a kind of exelusive franchise? Hardly. The point he is making in all Christian humility (see his context) is that the Lord found in him one who had a heart-appreciation of the good news. He was captivated by it. This was his qualification for proclaiming the gospel—he loved it. And this is the thought he expresses in the next verse: "Our Lord ... considered me faithful," that is, full of faith in the sense of an appreciation for His grace, for this reason "appointing me to his service." While he was "once a blasphemer," he was "shown mercy" because he acted "in ignorance and unbelief," that is, non-faith. In those dark days his hard heart knew no contrite appreciation of what the cross meant. But "the grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love [agape] that are in Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 1:13, 14, NIV. In neither of these passages is pisteuo used with any semblance of egocentric trust.
Luke 16:12: "If you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you [pisteusei] of your own?" NIV. Here is an instance where pisteuo has the meaning of trust, but its usage is not related to righteousness by faith or the content of the gospel. Jesus was here using the word in its common everyday meaning, as understood by the people of His day before the tremendous disclosure of the cross event. Both words, agape and faith, were immeasurably enriched with meaning as a result of the crucifixion, so much so that they virtually took on new meaning. God's love revealed on Calvary invested the word agape with a meaning far beyond itself; and likewise its dependent word, faith, acquired a meaning never before comprehended. It was as if new terminology had to be invented.
Thus the passage in Luke is not an excuse for restricting faith in Paul's letters. We have no alternative but to view his use of the word faith in the light of the cross.
The assumed definition of faith in Hebrews next deserves our attention: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1. Or, "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for." Hebrews 11:2, 3, NIV. This passage definitely does not deine faith as an egocentric trust. Several factors need to be considered:
1. The immediate context is discussing righteousness by faith. (See Hebrews 10:38: "Now the just shall live by faith."). Unless this one passage is out of harmony with Paul's voluminous discussions elsewhere of justification by faith, the meaning of faith here must be the same as we find in all his epistles. Even if Paul were not the author of Hebrews, we should not expect to find a contradiction because the same Holy Spirit who inspired the writer of Hebrews inspired Paul.
2. It is possible to hope for things "not seen" without the necessity of a self-centered motivation being involved. We can hope for the vindication of God's cause without our hope growing out of our own sense of personal insecurity. True faith includes a desire for the honor and glory of Christ. Our concern is not that we shall wear a crown in our Father's house, but that we see Him crowned King of kings and Lord of lords.
3. If Paul should indeed be the author of Hebrews (as good authorities say is possible), we may have here a profound insight into his high regard for faith, an insight complementary to his frequent use of the word in his other letters. After discussing in the close of chapter 10 the efficacy of faith in the experience of justification by faith, in Hebrews 11:1 he says in effect: "This phenomenon that we know as faith, this heart-moving appreciation we feel for the sacrifice of the Son of God which has so transformed our lives, this faith experience is the guarantee or down payment that guarantees all the promises of God will be fulfilled in due course. This human faith which is complementary to God's divine agape is itself a miracle, and thus it is the 'substance' underlying all miracles we yet expect." This verse, if this is correct, is not intended to be understood as a definition of faith.
4. The author proceeds throughout chapter 11 to cite examples of Old Testament heroes whose motivation of faith was anything but self-centered. Noah became "heir of the righteousness which is by faith" (Hebrews 11:7), but the fear which moved him was not phobos, a craven self-centered dread, but a godly reverence (eulabeia). The "father" of all who believe, Abraham, demonstrated in type the glorious meaning of faith when he "offered up Isaac" as God offered up His only-begotten Son. See Hebrews 11:17. Here was a miniature reflection of John 3:16. And so all the "elders" of ancient times, weak and imperfect as they were, in some way partook of this phenomenon of New Testament faith, for like Abraham they "saw" Christ's day and were glad. They somehow sensed that the Lamb had been slain from the foundation of the world, and though none saw it as crystal clear as did the apostles, they all had some concept of the cross, and their hearts were deeply moved by it. This was their faith.
But does not verse 6 declare that faith is a grasping for reward? "Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Of the versions in common use the KJV alone indicates for us which English words are supplied in that they are printed in italics to show that they are not in the original language. The literal Greek reads as follows: "Without faith impossible [it is] to please Him, for he that comes to God must believe that He is; and to those seeking Him, a rewarder He becomes." Note that in the KJV the third "that" is a supplied word; the Greek here does not support the idea that faith is a self-centered seeking for reward.
With this key, one can unlock treasures of truth in the Bible. Faith is not a set of doctrines or a creed assented to intellectually. As matrix and type are related to each other, so God's prodigious love is related to our human faith. The sacrifice of Christ elicits from otherwise hopeless sinners its complementary heart response—"faith in his blood." Abraham knew it; tears rolled down his cheeks as he "believed God, and [his faith] was counted unto him for righteousness." Romans 4:3. It moved his soul even to the sacrifice of his son on Mount Moriah.
Perhaps the most sobering statement in Paul's writings is this: "Whatsoever is not of [this] faith is sin." Romans 14:23. Only with the heart can one "believe unto righteousness." Romans 10:10. If salvation were by works, multitudes could qualify themselves, although none would be fit to enter heaven; but salvation is by faith alone, and Jesus foresaw that "when the Son of man cometh" He would find precious few who have it. Luke 18:8.
Why? Because "iniquity shall abound, [and] the love [agape] of many shall wax cold"? Matthew 24:12. "Iniquity" here is anomia, hatred of God's law of agape {"agape is the fulfilling of the law," Romans 13:10). The greatest sin of all time is that which kept ancient Israel out of their Promised Land—unbelief (see Hebrews 3:19), hardheartedness, lack of appreciation of the cross where the Prince of glory was to die for us.
Speaking of Israel's unbelief, the author of Hebrews pleads with us, "Let us therefore fear, lest ... any of you should seem to come short." Hebrews 4:1. While fear is not the proper gospel motivation, an absence of gospel faith should cause us to fear, because this fatal unbelief is sure to rule the human heart where the gospel is not understood. Unbelief carries its own built-in incapacity for sensibility. It is to "crucify ... the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame" without realizing what we do. Hebrews 6:6.
One thoughtful writer has offered us a virtual definition of faith that is in perfect harmony with the New Testament concept: "You may say that you believe in Jesus, when you have an appreciation of the cost of salvation. You may make this claim, when you feel that Jesus died for you on the cruel cross of Calvary; when you have an intelligent, understanding faith that his death makes it possible for you to cease from sin, and to perfect a righteous character through the grace of God, bestowed upon you as the purchase of Christ's blood."—Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, July 24, 1888.
Charles Wesley understood it. He prayed:
O for a heart to praise my GodIt would not be amiss for us to pray with John Newton, "The feeling heart, the melting eye, the humble mind, bestow."
A heart from sin set free,
A heart that always feels Thy blood,
So freely shed for me.