When you ask about someone’s faith, usually they will tell you about their church (or lack of church) or about how they believe in God and try to live a good life. Asking about faith has become more a question of “what religion are you?” “I’m Methodist.” But the Bible doesn’t talk about Methodists directly. It does, however, speak a lot about faith.
According to Hebrews 11:6, there are two parts to Biblical faith: we must believe that God is and that He rewards those who seek Him. First, we must acknowledge that God is the I AM. When Moses met God on Mount Sinai and asked His name, God replied, “I Am Who I Am.” Faith requires us to acknowledge this fact. God is. And He is who He says He is. So who is He?
He is the Creator, Preserver, Master, and Lord. He is the Almighty, All Sufficient King. He is a Covenant God who heals, provides, sanctifies, sees our deepest parts, and delivers us. He is our Banner, our Peace, our Righteousness, our Judge, our Rock, and our Hope. He is the Shepherd, the Savior, the Redeemer, and the Most High God. He is the Lord of Hosts, the Mighty One, our Shield and Strength. He is Jealous, Holy, and Everlasting. He is Always There, First and Last, the Living God. He is our Father. He is our Husband. He is the Breath of Life. He Is.
Next, we are told that God rewards those who seek Him. Usually we can acknowledge that God exists. But the part that He is good gets a bit difficult.
In Genesis 3, Satan lied to Eve about God’s character. He stated that God was holding out on them, not wanting them to be like Him, and so He was withholding the knowledge of good and evil. In essence, Satan was accusing God of not being good. And so, Scripture tells us to believe the truth. Faith is both acknowledging that God is THE God, and believing, contrary to the lies we have heard about Him, that He is very good.
So when someone asks about your faith, what will you say now?