FAITH

Faith is the willingness to trust and obey God without ever having seen him personally. It is not a gullible "leap in the dark," as existential "faith" postulates; rather, it is based upon evidence that allows one to maintain a prima facie (self-evident) case for belief. Faith involves believing truth, not myth. Faith is grounded in testimony -- the abstract testimony of the creation (Psa. 19:1; Rom. 1:20; Heb. 11:1ff), and the concrete testimony of Scripture (Rom. 10:17). The term "faith" may be used subjectively, i.e., having to do with one's personal faith (Rom. 1:8), or it may be employed objectively, i.e., standing for the body of truth (the gospel) revealed to man via inspired spokesmen (Gal. 1:23; 1 Tim. 5:8; Jude 3). Faith that does not express itself in obedience to God is no faith (Gal. 5:6; Jas. 2:14ff). Note how the expression "by faith" is manifested in action in Hebrews 11. See also BELIEF.