Understanding Biblical Faith

Copyright © 2023 M. Alan Miller, PhD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

844-714-3454

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9388-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9389-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023904082

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/13/2023

CONTENTS

FAITH: WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT, ALFIE?

INTRODUCTION

PREVIEW

FAITH IS THE KEY TO PLEASING GOD

WHY AREN’T ALL OF MY PRAYERS ANSWERED?

FAITH CONNECTS ME TO GOD’S WILL

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT FAITH?

FAITH – SECULAR VS SPIRITUAL

GOD’S DEFINITION OF FAITH: PART II

TWO WORLDS: ONE TRUE & ONE COUNTERFEIT FAITH

THE SOURCE OF BIBLICAL FAITH

WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT OF ME?

SELF CHECK

MINOR CONTROVERSY

GOD EXPECTS UNINTERRUPTED FAITH

FAITH CONTROVERSY CAMPS

INADEQUACY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

EXPLORING TRUTH

FAITH: ADVENTURE ON THE RIGHTEOUS PATH

ON APPLYING YOUR FAITH

OLD TESTAMENT

NEW TESTAMENT

APPENDIX

FAITH: WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT, ALFIE?

The 1966 song written by Burt Bacharach for the British comedy-drama movie Alfie, was popularized in the U.S. by superb song stylist, Dionne Warwick (See lyrics at end). The words clearly depict a person at a crossroads searching earnestly for the meaning of life. As born-again believers you and I know that the person simply needs to turn his/her life over to Jesus, who is the Life of God (John 14:6) and that through faith in Him the seeker will be made into a new creation through His indwelling Spirit, become right with God, have a personal relationship with Him, walk with Him through this life, and be destined to join Him in eternity at physical death.

INTRODUCTION

Faith is at the same time a simple yet profound topic. Through its simplicity it can secure salvation and a modest amount of spiritual growth but if we are to move on to maturity we must get a firm grip on exactly what faith is as well as what it isn’t. If that is your sincere desire, I encourage you to continue reading and join me in an exploratory journey that promises to take us to new heights in our walk with Christ Jesus.

Along the way you will undoubtedly come across points in this study that will bring to mind possible contradictions with your concept of faith, so I encourage you to keep an open mind and search out a particular verse in the Appendix that you think contradicts the point in question. There you will find relevant verses in order of appearance in the Bible (New American Standard translation) then read the commentary that follows which explains how it may not contradict to the point being made.

The term faith is one that is tossed about lightly as if everyone knows what it means. In fact, other than saving faith, the topic itself is seldom preached or taught leaving it up to us to create our own interpretation of the many facets of its meaning and use. I think that you will agree that it is the key to not only favor with God but for our individual Christian walk, so it behooves each of us to carefully excavate the deep meaning of faith from the rich soil of God’s Word. And as we become thoroughly knowledgeable about it we will then be able to execute it properly and walk confidently in its path. (Hebrews 11:1c, 2 Timothy 3:17)

To begin our faith exploration, let us agree on three general faith terms:

√ The faith: a belief system stemming from the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ/Messiah) i.e. the Christian faith as opposed to others

√ Faith, a relational faculty that all Christian believers possess and may exercise for putting their confidence in Jesus and His Truths

√ The spiritual gift of faith/faithfulness allotted exclusively to a select few believers through whom God can display his power

A deep dive into the Biblical concept of faith is a complex undertaking, and if you have never taken the plunge I can assure you that if you are like most believers you will find it somewhat to very different from what you now perceive it to be. If you are typical, what you think you know about the nature of faith will be severely challenged and you will be reluctant to give up your long-held assumptions about it. This study will not rely on persuasion but on solid Biblical proof and it may not even be until near the end that you will completely buy into what God lays out in His Word about this key element of Christian Truth.

PREVIEW

By way of a preview allow me to expose you to a few of the topics that will be covered in much more detail (along with Biblical support) in the body of the study:

• Faith has a precise Biblical meaning and it is not up to believers to define it.

• Faith must be based on Truth.

• A Biblically accurate acronym for faith is "Fully Anticipating