Defining Faith: 3 Easy Steps To Unlocking Its MeaningPrimjer

In order to define “faith” we must first define a few other words.

First, let’s take a look at “confidence”. Confidence (which we saw in Hebrews 11) is a feeling or belief of certainty or trust. 

The second word I want us to define is “assurance” (also found in Hebrews 11). This word is very closely related to confidence. In fact, one of the top definitions (and synonyms) for assurance is “certainty.”

Before we move any further, let’s also take a look at the definition and history of the word "expectation." Expectation traces its roots back to Latin words meaning to “await” and “look out for.” If we go one level deeper, we see the root word “expect” means to “regard as about to happen.”

I hope you’re starting to see the connection here. Confidence, assurance, expectation—all of these words have to do with being certain. 

Faith, then, is also about what WILL happen. Faith is expectation.

To have faith is to wait on God, to actively look for His intervention, and to regard His work as about to happen. 

To be a Christian requires us to have faith. To have faith requires us to have expectations. 

Tomorrow we will take one more look at faith and discover a final powerful way to define it!