What Faith Isn’t

Last time, we looked at what faith is:

Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

This time, we will emphasize some things that faith isn’t.  Of course, once you know what faith is, it becomes fairly clear what it isn’t, but there are so many popular misconceptions about the subject, it is important to show what is dead tradition and what is Scriptural teaching.
 

Faith Is Not a Religious Belief in General

Sometimes people use “faith” to indicate “religious persuasion,” as in, “That man is of the Buddhist faith, and his sister-in-law is of the Hindu faith, and in Thus-and-Such-a-Country there are people of many faiths.”  Actually, it would be more correct to say, “That man is of the Buddhist unbelief, and his sister-in-law is of the Hindu unbelief, and in Thus-and-Such-a-Country there are people of many unbeliefs.” (This is theologically correct, not “politically correct.”)  While Christianity is referred to even in the Bible as “the faith,” you can be in “the faith” as far as being a Christian, but not be “in faith” for specific needs.
 

Faith Is Not Hope or Wishful Thinking

People today misuse the word faith to indicate hope or mere wishful thinking.  For example, “I'm really sick and I don't know if I'm going to die or not, but I just have faith!” No, if you had faith, you would know that you were not going to die of your illness; you wouldn’t be wondering about it.
 

Faith Is Not an Abstract Belief that God Exists

James said that demons believe there is one God -- and tremble.  If you simply assent to the fact that God exists, you and demons are on the same level of faith.  The world calls that faith, but the Bible does not.  You cannot get saved by simply believing that God exists. This is obvious, since demons are not saved.
 

Faith Is Not Denial

Faith does not deny that you have a problem; it denies that problem the right to continue. For example, it is not faith, and can be dangerous or even fatal, to just ignore symptoms in your body.  You cannot just ignore them and think that they have to go away by themselves. Trying to make yourself stop thinking about your body is not faith, either. You must consider God's Word more powerful than anything going on in your body.  Simply not thinking about your problems is denial, not faith. Wishing you did not have a problem will not make your problem go away. Hoping your problem will go away will not make your problem go away. Believing God and receiving the answer by faith WILL make your problem go away.

Some people talk about blind faith, but faith is not blind.  It sees the promises of God!  Faith faces and acknowledges whatever challenge comes before it, but declares the victory to be already won. There is a difference between claiming victory in a fight and refusing to believe that a fight is going on.

Denial can be dangerous. If you need medical help, get it.  If you are really in faith, the doctor will vouch for your healing. If you're not, he may well save your life.
 

Faith Is Not Resignation

“I’m not going to pray about it anymore. I’ve just put this matter into God's hands; let Him do what He thinks is best.” What this may really mean is, “I am going to let God decide whether or not to heal me.  I am not actively believing for anything. If nothing happens, I will not be at all surprised. Whatever happens, happens. I've done the best I can.” That's resignation, not faith. Faith does not put anything into God's hands, it takes something from God's hands that God is already offering!

Even those who know the Word can drift from faith into resignation if they do not keep their faith active.  You can stop praying about it because you know you have received your answer on the inside.  However, you can also stop praying about it because you have simply given up! Make sure you know which applies to you.  If you believe you have received the answer, your prayers concerning the matter will be prayers of praise and thanksgiving to God for what you already have.
 

Faith Is Not Expecting Something to Happen in the Future

You cannot “believe” for a healing in the future.  To say “I have faith that God will heal me” or “I believe I’m going to be healed” is a mistake..  This actually means, “I hope that God will heal me, but I am not in faith for it.” Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the assurance of things not seen. If you do not have the assurance that you have something that you cannot see now, you are not in faith. If you think you will get something in the future, you do not have the assurance that you have the unseen thing right now.

There is nothing wrong with hope.  Faith, hope and love abide, but none is a substitute for the others.  You cannot get saved by hoping that you will go to heaven.  You cannot get healed by hoping that God will heal you in the future. You will fool most Christians today saying that you have faith that God will heal you, but you will not fool God, or your sick body!
 

Faith Is Not Struggling to Believe Something

Hebrews 4:3: For we who have believed do enter that rest…

If you haven't entered into rest, you haven't entered into faith.  If you are struggling to make yourself believe something, you are not ready to pray in faith.  Hear the Word on a continual basis on the topic of your prayer. If you need healing, go over and over the scriptures on healing. Instead of straining to believe, hear the Word enough and faith will come automatically. This can take time. If you need to take the time, take it! It beats staying sick. Even if you aren't successful at first, it's worth developing the discipline so that down the road you can succeed at it.  The best time to put the Word in your heart is before you need it, not during your trial! Many are in no position to believe for anything during a trial because they never “exercised themselves unto godliness” before the trial started.

“Trying to believe” is unscriptural. Jesus never said, “Repent and TRY TO BELIEVE the Gospel!” Instead of trying to believe, hear the Word on the subject, and faith will come.
 

Faith Is Not Will Power

Faith is not a matter of trying to “will something away.”  Again, we who believe enter into rest, not struggling to try to “will” something to happen. You are trusting in God's power, not your own will power.  Your will power is not going to fix your problem, but your faith can receive the answer to your problem from God.
 

Faith Is Not Mind Over Matter

You receive healing from God through your spirit, not through your mind. You are not attempting to “psyche” yourself into anything or control your body with your mind.  Faith does not try to heal yourself by thinking healing thoughts. Faith receives from the hand of God. Remember, real faith does not struggle to make something happen.  It receives from God something that He has already made available to you as a believer.
 

Faith Is Not Throwing Away Your Medicine

This could be harmful or fatal.  Throwing away your medicine neither proves your faith nor compels God to heal you supernaturally.  God is only compelled to heal you when you approach Him in faith.  It is possible to put Him to a foolish test by throwing out your medicine.  If you are not in faith, you have not met God's condition for healing, and you will need that medicine you just threw out. You will make your doctor mad and look like a fool in front of unbelievers.  Objectors to divine healing could make you another object lesson in their books. Whether or not you are in faith has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not there is medicine in your cabinet.  It is not necessary to throw out your medicine or stomp on your glasses to receive healing by faith. Get healed first, and then once you have physical proof of it, do what you want with your medicine or your glasses.  God is not against doctors! The doctor can confirm for you what you have received from God.
 

Faith Is Not Mimicking the Words of Someone Else Who Is in Faith

You cannot get the same results as someone else simply by saying the same words that he does.  For example, you cannot just parrot the words, “I believe I receive my healing.  Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus!” just because someone else did so and received his healing.  It worked for the other person because he believed in his heart and spoke with his mouth.  If you just speak with your mouth but don't believe it in your heart, nothing will happen.  I prayed a “sinner’s prayer” with someone once just to make him happy and remained just as unsaved when he was done because I didn’t mean it.  (I did pray it and mean it later.)

There is the confession of faith and there is the confession unto faith.  The first speaks what you already believe. The second is simply speaking God’s Word to yourself to build faith your faith, which is a valuable practice that every Christian should do (see an Old Testament example of this in Joshua 1:7-8). Just don’t confuse the two or kid yourself about which you are doing.

Paul cast out demons in the name of Jesus. When the sons of Sceva mimicked Paul’s words and ordered a demon to leave in the name of Jesus whom Paul preached, they were the ones who ended up leaving the house, not the demon. They used the same name, but Paul was in faith while the sons of Sceva weren’t. (See Acts 19:13-17.)
 

Faith Is Not Being Pretty Sure of Something

There is a difference between being pretty sure of something and really believing something. If you have hands laid on you for healing, and you answer someone who asks if you got your healing, “I think so,” you are not in faith. If you are in faith, you know it.  If you don’t know if you’re in faith, you aren’t. Being in faith is like being pregnant -- you either are or you aren’t. You can’t be “sort of” in faith any more than you can be “sort of” pregnant.
 

Faith Is Not Trying to Feel Better

Real faith does not consider your body, just as Abraham did not consider his body. See Romans 4:16-21. You do not have to “psyche” yourself into thinking that you feel better. Don’t even try.  It doesn’t matter if you feel worse just after you pray. If you are in faith, your healing will manifest itself. Sometimes a healing minister who has laid hands on people asks for a show of hands of people who feel physically better already, and it is tempting to try to convince yourself that you feel at least a little better so that you can raise your hand.  Don’t bother. It should not hurt the minister’s feelings if you don’t see any change yet!  Some people do not notice a change right away.  That is normal and nothing to worry about.

Likewise, you don’t have to keep checking your body every five minutes for the next day trying to convince yourself that you feel at least a little improvement.  That is counterproductive; it will get you focused on the problem instead of the solution.  If you are really in faith, you have entered into rest and you are confident that God’s power is working in you.  Continue to thank God for your healing and make that your focus.
 

Faith Is Not Trying to Have Faith in Your Faith

Jesus said, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).  He did not say, “Have faith in your faith.” Always remember that your basis for believing that you have received something is God’s Word on the matter. God’s Word cannot change.  The devil will try to challenge you with thought that you aren’t really in faith.  He will try to make you question whether you could really believe God like that. The way to conquer such thoughts is to remind the devil and yourself that God says you have whatever it is because you are a Christian, and you are simply agreeing with God's present statements concerning you. Don’t make your faith the issue. God's Word is the issue. You have the right to speak it continually, not just when you first pray, because it is continually true.
 

Faith Is Not Just Quoting Lots of Scripture

You could fool people even in most “faith churches” with the following answer to the question, “Are you healed?”  “According to 1 Peter 2:24, I was healed by the stripes of Jesus. God’s Word says that I was healed, therefore I am healed.  God is the Lord that healeth me.  Jesus bore the curse of the Law for me and I am redeemed from sickness.”

This seems like a good answer, but a person who is really in faith would more likely respond, “Yes!” He would not try to defend his answer or talk himself into it. The Scriptures are nice and they are true, but they do not prove that you have actually believed that you have received anything at all. They simply prove that you know the Bible’s teaching on the subject of healing, which is a different matter from appropriating that for yourself.

Take as an example your eternal salvation. If someone asked you if you are saved, you would say, “Yes.”  You would not get theological and say, “According to 1 Peter 2:24, my sins were borne by Jesus in his own body on the tree.  By grace I am saved through faith.  The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”  In other words, you would not sound like you are still trying to talk yourself into believing something, which is what you would be doing, when you get right down to it.

You can and you should quote Scripture about yourself. But the quoting of Scripture is distinct from the actual prayer of faith that receives something that God has provided for you in Christ.
 

Faith Is Not Just Mental Assent to the Doctrine of Divine Healing, Prosperity, etc.

You can have a mental assent to a doctrine without exercising faith to actually receive the benefit yourself.  It is not enough to believe that the benefit is available; you must actively receive it by faith. For example, simply saying, “I believe in divine healing” is not enough – you must go the next step to “I have received the healing God offers, and I am healed NOW!”

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