The objective of this article is to show that saving faith is a lot more than mere belief. Merely accepting with the mind that there is a God and that Jesus is his son won’t save anyone. Even demons have that kind of faith. Saving faith includes trust and faithfulness. Only those who are faithful to God will go to heaven.

Faith in the Old Testament

The following is the Hebrew word family related to faith.

Emunah can be used to describe people’s character.

[1 Samuel 26:23] The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness.

[2 Kings 12:15] They did not ask for an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money … for they dealt honestly (lit. in emunah).

[2 Chronicles 31:18] They were faithful (lit. in emunah) in keeping themselves holy.

[Proverbs 12:22] Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully (lit. do emunah) are his delight.

Emunah is also an attribute of God.

[Deuteronomy 32:4] The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

[Psalms 100:5] For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

The same word also means physical firmness, steadiness.

[Exodus 17:12] Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady (lit. emunah) until the going down of the sun.

It is also translated as stability in this verse.

[Isaiah 33:6] He will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.

Lastly, in its very last occurrence in the Bible, emunah is surprisingly rendered by most translations as faith rather than faithfulness. I wonder why this inconsistency in such an important verse.

[Habakkuk 2:4] The just/righteous will live by his faith.

But there are also exceptions. For instance, the NIV, which often sacrifices accuracy for readability, is consistent in rendering emunah as faithfulness here.

[Habakkuk 2:4] The righteous person will live by his faithfulness.

Faith in the New Testament

The following is the Greek word family related to faith.

Pistis can mean belief, being convinced that something is true. But in the Bible it’s more than that. It’s something that is the opposite of fear or doubt. Strongly implied is the idea of trust.

[Matthew 8:10] With no one in Israel have I found such faith.

[Matthew 9:22] Your faith has made you well.

[Matthew 9:29] According to your faith be it done to you.

[Matthew 21:21] If you have faith and do not doubt…

[Mark 4:40] Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?

[Mark 11:22] Have faith in God.

[Luke 17:5] The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

Pistis can be used to describe people’s character.

[Matthew 23:23] You have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.

[Galatians 5:22] The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Pistis is also an attribute of God.

[Romans 3:3] What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?

The related adjective pistós can refer to someone who believes something to be true.

[John 20:27] Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.

In Greek, adjectives can function as nouns. In the following verses, pistos is rendered as believer, that is, a believing person.

[Acts 10:45] The believers from among the circumcised…

[2 Corinthians 6:15] What portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?

Pistos can be used to describe someone’s character

[Matthew 25:21] Well done, good and faithful servant.

[Acts 16:15] If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord…

[1 Corinthians 4:3] It is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

[Revelation 2:10] Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Pistos is also an attribute of God.

[1 Corinthians 1:9] God is faithful, by whom you were called…

[1 Thessalonians 5:24] He who calls you is faithful.

[1 John 1:9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us…

Saving faith

We all believe in God and in what the Bible reveals about Him. That’s all very good, but so do the demons. The more important questions are: Do we trust God? Are we faithful to Him?

It’s precisely the trust and faithfulness aspects of faith that are requirements for salvation. No one is saved by mental assent to some theological truths. No one is saved by merely believing the correct doctrines.

Saving faith includes trust and faithfulness.

[Ephesians 2:8] For by grace you have been saved through faith.

Let’s talk about trust. Do you trust God? Then why do you fear the future? If you trust God, why were you so scared by a virus with a death rate not much worse than the flu? Why do you fear death at all? Is it because deep in your heart you know you’re not right with God?

[Psalms 116:15] Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

[2 Corinthians 5:8] We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Let’s now talk about faithfulness. Are you faithful to God? Do you obey Him? Have you stopped every known sin? Are you walking in the light? Or are you still playing games, beLIEving the lie that the blood of Jesus covers you in your sins?

[1 John 1:7] But IF we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

You say you have faith. Consider then the faith of Abraham. When God told him to leave the comfort and familiarity of his homeland, he obeyed. When God told him to sacrifice his only son, he obeyed.

[Hebrews 11:8] By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Do you have the faith of Abraham? Do you obey God like he did? If God told you to leave the country you live in now, would you do it? If God told you to sacrifice what you hold most dear, would you do it?

[Hebrews 11:17] By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac … his only son.

Faith is shown through what we do, through the decisions me make. Mere belief is dead faith. The demons believe too. True faith is active and obedient.

[James 2:20-21] Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

Our faith will be tested, since only testing shows the quality of our faith. God tests His people many times and in many ways. When you are tested, will you be found faithful to Him?

[Psalms 11:5] The LORD tests the righteous.

[1 Peter 1:7] … so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

A time of testing like never before is coming on the whole world, a difficult time of judgments and persecution. Is your faith strong enough to go through it? Will your faith survive when everything around you collapses? Or will you fall away, blaming God and turning your back on Him?

[Mark 4:17] They have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

Most Christians will fall away during the coming time of testing.

[2 Thessalonians 2:3] Let no one deceive you in any way. For the Day of the Lord will not come, unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.

Don’t be one of the many who will fall away. The time to strengthen your faith and become stronger in spirit is now. Take advantage of this time of grace. Don’t keep on sleeping. Wake up and start preparing. Seek God with all your heart and ask Him to increase your faith.

[Hebrews 10:38-39] “My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Do not be deceived. If you fall away during persecution you won’t be saved, no matter what various wolves in sheep’s clothing tell you. God might give you a second chance, like He gave Peter, or maybe He won’t.

[Matthew 24:13] The one who endures to the end will be saved.

[2 Timothy 2:12] If we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us.

[Revelation 2:11] The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.

Be strong in faith and don’t abandon the race no matter what. Set your eyes on the great rewards that await you in heaven.

May the Lord give you the strength to be an overcomer.