Faith Obeys

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

The above passage is Christianity’s theme scripture. We use it to explain how anyone can have eternal life. Ephesians 2:8 goes on further to say: “For by grace you have been saved through faith…” This explains that we were saved by grace but through Faith. Faith is the very conduit through which we are saved. Hebrews 11:6 says, “without Faith, is it impossible to please God” So, not only is Faith the conduit through which we are saved (coupled with the grace of God), without it, we cannot even please God.

Faith in Jesus is a foundational element that must be understood before a person even becomes a Christian. The Father certainly doesn’t want us to be ignorant on a matter such as this. To misunderstand Faith in Jesus puts a person in grave danger and screws up their entire life. So, to understand Faith, let’s grab a bunch of dictionaries, American and Strong’s, and the famous Hebrews 11 passage, and you will probably get a good definition of what Faith means. Then, all you have to do is apply the definition to Jesus and here’s what you get:

Faith in Jesus means to entrust one’s life to Jesus Christ for salvation, to trust and believe his words; and be convinced, assured and be in agreement with and in full confidence in who Jesus says he is; and what he has and is going to do, even though you have never seen, heard, or touched him.

Fully believing in Jesus is the essential step of Faith. But there is one thing that is overlooked and often left out of this definition: Faith obeys. Real Faith in Jesus leads to obedience. Obedience is the one aspect of Faith that is never associated with Faith when defined by a dictionary. Obedience can only be applied to Faith when that Faith is placed in Jesus Christ.

Where did I get this from? I got it from Jesus himself and from his Word, the Bible. As you recall, in the first chapter, I talked about wanting to know what it meant to have Faith in Jesus, so I asked the author. I said, “Jesus, what does it mean to have ‘Faith in you’, what does ‘Faith in you’ really mean?” He said this:

“All those who believe, keep my commandments.”

This is what I heard as I listened to my audio Bible read by Max McLean one evening. I remember listening to John chapter 14, when the sound faded to the background and I heard Jesus speak over Max. I jumped off the bed and hit the pause button. I searched for that passage, but those exact words couldn’t be found in the text. I had no doubt it was the voice of Jesus giving me the answer.

I didn’t have a preconceived theory that I was waiting for confirmation on. I wasn’t even expecting to actually hear Jesus, but he spoke that evening and it was enlightening. A simple, seven word answer delivered by Jesus. I knew it was Jesus because his answer lined up with the Bible.

A note about the words: Faith & Believe

Both words are used interchangeably by Jesus and others in the Bible. Jesus says, “Believes in Me” in John 6:47.But when talking to Saul on the road to Damascus, Jesus says, “Faith in Me”, in Acts 26:18. The book of Hebrews 10:32-39 uses both words in the same context as well. And if you look up the Greek definition of Faith and Believe in the Strong’s Dictionary, you will get two different meanings, but the word Believe comes from the word Faith.

Believe – G4100
pisteuo (pist-yoo’-o)
From G4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is, credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well being to Christ):—believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.

Faith – G4102
pistis (pis’-tis)
From G3982; persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:—assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

Because the words Believe and Faith are used interchangeably and because Believe means: to have Faith, I use the word Faith as the choice in this book. Now, back to obedience and how it relates to Faith in Jesus.

“Keep My Commandments”

I remembered Jesus referring to “keeping his commandments” before in John 14:15: “If you love Me, keep My commandments”. But now he was telling me that believers, people who claim to have Faith in him, are people who keep his commandments. The Strong’s Greek dictionary defines “keep” (G5083) as: to guard and prevent from loss, hold fast, fulfill a command. The NIV Bible translates John14:15 and “keep” as: obeying what Jesus commands. In other words: “All those who have Faith in me, obey my commandments.”

The Strong’s Greek Dictionary also speaks to the fact that obedience is tied to Faith in Jesus. Notice that Faith comes from the word “persuade” and the word “obey” is included in the list of definitions.

Persuade – G3982
peitho (pi’-tho)
A primary verb; to convince (by argument, true or false); by analogy to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); reflexively or passively to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty):—agree, assure, believe, have confidence, be (wax) content, make friend, obey, persuade, trust, yield.

This finding doesn’t mean that “persuade” can be used interchangeably with “Faith” or “believe”, but it does mean that to understand Faith, you will have to understand the word it was taken from to grasp its full meaning. But putting aside Greek dictionaries, I believe a full and correct understanding of Faith can only come by the Word of God through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. We can’t always understand the meaning of certain words and principles in the Bible by our own fleshly intellect, Greek dictionaries, and the opinions of old seminary professors; these are spiritual things; we need the help of the author himself, Jesus Christ.

Biblical Proof →