…In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith ‘I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by my deeds-James 2:17-18 

…And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace-Romans 11:6

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith.-Romans 10:10

Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not afraid; Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. – Joshua 1:9

 For we considered that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law.”- Romans 3:28 

Faith and Belief

You wonder if faith and belief are interchangeable,
Are they different or one and the same?
And what difference can it possibly make,
If they lead to the same endgame?

Relying on words to express ourselves
Has always been imprecise.
I may feel you’ve invaded my privacy,
While you intended only to give me advice.

Many things are hard to put into words,
Some more important than others.
It is easy to describe a colorful sunrise,
More difficult One’s love for a brother.

Most words are not interchangeable,
Not even the synonyms.
For, they each have their own connotation,
Just compare formal and prim.

Belief comes to us through knowledge,
Evidenced by that which we’ve seen.
Whereas, faith is a sacred certainty
of that which remains unseen.

Beliefs can be changed by changing our thoughts,
Whereas, only faith can change our behavior.
Through belief we can know the prophet;
But through faith, He becomes the Savior!
© Linda Troxell 02/11/17

 

Have you ever been confused about the difference between faith and belief? I have. Words are very important to me. In fact, you could say I am something of a word geek. So, I have often thought about the difference between faith and belief. It is very difficult to tease out the difference between the two words, as they are interrelated. Faith definitely has a component of belief inherent in its meaning but belief does not tell the whole story of faith. The main difference, I think, is that belief indicates simple acceptance or agreement of a fact, whereas faith indicates belief plus trust that gives one the confidence and motivation to act on that fact, “proven” or not. Certainly, faith cannot exist without belief. However, to believe does not require faith.

We can believe in a God who formed the universe as well as His son who died on the cross without having any faith that it has any meaning for us. To believe merely means that we have accepted the fact. As James says in James 2:19, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder” But when mere belief in God and His son, grows into the faith that my God sent His Son to die for me, and trust that if I believe in Him He will grant to me eternal life, then we become confident in who we are in Christ. That, then, leads us to become motivated by what it means to be a Christian. It motivates us to tell others the good news; it motivates us to get up and do good works. In Romans 10:10 Paul tells us, “for, it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” So it seems that being saved encompasses not only believing and having faith but professing that faith out loud. When a belief becomes faith we are motivated to confess and share our faith, to share the word of God, and one way to profess our faith out loud is to help God’s children in need through our good works.

There has long been an argument among Christians regarding what is required in order for us to be saved. One group insists that we are saved by grace, the underserved, unmerited favor of God, alone; that there is no need to do good works to get to heaven. This group sites many scriptures to bolster their claim, but their favorites seem to be what Paul wrote in his epistle to the Roman Church recorded in Romans 11:6 and Romans 3:28. “And if (being saved is) by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”-Romans 11:6 and “For we considered that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law.”-Romans 3:28  The other group says that we need to do good works to get to heaven. If grace was all we needed to get to heaven, they say, Christians would have no motivation to avoid sin or do good works. The good works group often bolster their argument by citing James 2:17 wherein James says; “… faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.“

I don’t believe that there is actually an argument between what James is saying and what Paul is saying in these examples apart from the fact that they were supporting two different parts of the same argument. Paul, who was writing to dispute the Pharisees claim that believers still needed to live according to the Old Testament law in order to be saved, is not indicating that there is no need for Christians to do good works after being saved by grace. He is simply saying that while it is grace by which we are saved, once saved we become a new person who is ordained by God to do good works. In essence, what Paul is saying is that we are not saved by good works but we are saved to do good works. So, while we cannot earn our way to heaven by our good works, that only happens by the grace of God, neither can we be saved and not be motivated to do good works, for that too is done by the grace of God.

Likewise, James, who in Chapter 2  of the Book of James was arguing against the view held by some that saving faith did not necessarily result in good works when he said, “…faith by itself, not accompanied by action is dead.-James 2:17, was not indicating that believers were saved by good works and not by grace. But, he was arguing that once we are saved we are always motivated to do good works.  James was saying not that one must have good works to be saved, but that because faith alone, without good works, renders this life and Christianity itself meaningless, that once a believer is saved by grace, once a belief becomes faith, it motivates the believer giving them the confidence and desire to act on that faith. Only then does the belief have any meaning; only then does it become tangible.

As Christians, we often hear that we should be easily identifiable as such without ever having to say a word. Well, I think James and Paul are both telling us that we will easily be identified as Christians by the good deeds we do when we are given confidence and motivation to act, through faith. Joyce Meyer explains why there is no disagreement between what Paul says and what James says like this, “We are justified before God by our faith but we are justified before man by our works.” In other words, good works are faith in action.

Faith and motivation to do good deeds do not apply only to what we do for others. I believe it also applies to the good deeds we do for ourselves. In the beginning, when we are new Christians, faith can give us confidence that our prayers are heard and answered. Faith affords us the motivation to ask God for what we want and the confidence to walk in faith that we will be granted that which we ask for in accordance with His will. As we grow in Christ our faith begins to give us the understanding that we are never alone and we begin to have a new confidence in ourselves and our abilities. Later, as our faith grows, we begin to realize what it means when we are told to glorify God in our body because we are bought with a price; for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body–1 Corinthians 6:20. Therefore, we begin to take better care of ourselves because we believe our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

The Bible is full of God’s promises. And real faith, unlike mere belief, gives us the confidence to depend on God’s promises and to act on them. From Exodus 14:14 where God promises that “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” to Isaiah 40:29 where He promises that He “gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” God promises us that He will be there to help us. In Jeremiah 29:11 He promises us He has plans to prosper us and to give us a future of hope. And in Malachi 3:10 we are promised that if we tithe He will bring us blessings that we will not have room enough to store. As Christians, our faith allows us confidence to believe these promises. To know that although there will be times of pain, even devastation, in our lives, we will not be alone. We know this because one of the major themes of the Bible is that through our faith we are consecrated to God as His children whom He will never forsake. We know it because as God tells us in Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” He also tells us in many other scriptures, in many other ways, that He loves us and He will never leave us. 

 

Points of Prayer and Pondering

1. In relation to the above definition of faith and belief, do you believe that you have faith or belief? If you think you have faith write a bit about why you think it is faith and not only a belief. If you think it is a mere belief, what do you think you can do to bring it to faith? 
2. If you are still at the stage of only believing, are you striving to move to faith? What are some things you are doing or could do to strengthen your belief to become faith? 
3. Write a paragraph on the motivation and confidence faith has provided for you. Or if you are still in the belief stage write about the motivation you are looking forward to faith providing for you.