What Is Faith?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  

Hebrews 11:1 

What is faith? We use the word, but what is it really? Our text offers the divine definition, but in order for us to understand even that definition, it requires some consideration. What is substance? We would say substance is that which can be empirically experienced. What is evidence? Evidence is the objective, substantive proof of the reality of an event or a thing’s existence. So faith is in what is evidently real and genuinely substantive, even though we have not seen it as yet. What we hope for is based upon all we know of the character of God. It rests upon the presupposition that God ‘is and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,’ as a later verse in the chapter says. Thus faith is treating as fact what God has said will be, without actually having seen it as yet. We need to have a working definition of faith if we are going to consider the heroes of the faith who appear in the rest of this chapter. Most of all, faith relates us to Christ. The whole book of Hebrews is to point the readers to Christ as the Mediator of the new covenant.  

Our God of Grace and Glory, 
we rejoice that You give us every reason to have faith in You. 
We praise You that all Your works 
point us to Christ. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning