What is Faith?

[joevberry3]

What is Faith?
Can we be Saved without Faith? Can we be justified without Faith? Can we be healed without Faith?


I hear people say all the time, well he/she had to have Faith to be obedient and accept Christ in to their heart, but is this always true?
I know people that said the prayer to get someone off their back, and I have known people that I believe were too young to really know what they were doing when they accepted Christ. Explain your opinions on this matter please


God Bless,
Joe

[eldermike]

Hi Joe,
Romans is the best study of faith. Faith is a gift. If we could have saving faith without God's hand in it, we would only boast about it.

RO 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

The answers to your questions: No, No and No.

[countrymousenc]

Saying the "prayer" to get someone off your back isn't faith; it's hypocrisy and deception. The problem with a lot of modern thinking about faith is that we've reduced it to a momentary warm fuzzy feeling, or mountaintop experience, or intellectual opinion. It isn't any of those things.

Real faith begins when real repentance begins, and continues to produce the fruit of love and righteousness throughout our lives. As the apostle James wrote, "without works, faith is dead." Just like love, faith is active and can be observed. Also, faith grows as it is tested. But, just like love, faith is not proud, but humble and grateful for the grace to get through the tests in one piece.

I hope that helps,
Dianne