Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

As Hebrews 11:1 puts it, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hope is a wish or desire. Faith gives substance to that hope, turning it into an assured expectation of receipt or realization of the thing hoped for based on evidence (even if that evidence does not include actually seeing the full realization of the thing hoped for). (Even Paul (to whom Jesus actually appeared (Acts 9:3-6; 1 Corinthians 15:8)) said in 2 Corinthians 5:7, "We walk by faith, not by sight.") 

I have never seen Jesus. But I have faith in Him based on the accounts of both the Bible (written by people who DID see Him) and secular history (with which events in the Bible are in agreement). While I have hope of eternal life, I also have faith (not just hope) that I do in fact have that eternal life, based on His recorded words, and by the reality of His resurrection from the dead (again, as attested to by witnesses (who, in addition to their testimony of what they had witnessed, were willing to die for that testimony).

July 10 2018 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Croach

This faith is a complete trust or confidence in something. Faith involves intellectual assent to a set of facts and trust in those facts. For example, we have faith in Jesus Christ. This means we completely trust Jesus for our eternal destiny. We give intellectual assent to the facts of His substitutionary death and bodily resurrection, and we then trust in His death and resurrection for our salvation.

Biblical hope is built on faith. Hope is the earnest anticipation that comes with believing something good. Hope is a confident expectation that naturally stems from faith. Hope is a peaceful assurance that something that hasn’t happened yet will indeed happen. Hope must involve something that is as yet unseen: “Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?” (Romans 8:24). Jesus’ return is our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13)—we can’t see Him yet, but we know He’s coming, and we anticipate that event with joy.

July 10 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

michael ATKINS

Hebrew 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The prophecy of Christ is our substance for the hope of salvation. Walking in a fallen world and fearing no evil is our evidence of things not seen, (we being saved by the blood of Christ).

July 10 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

James Kraft 74 year old retired pipeline worker

Faith is believing that we could do nothing so good to merit heaven, and nothing so bad that grace does not cover it.

John 11:25-26 Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die. Believest thou this?

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name. 

First John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may KNOW YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. We believe what Jesus said because He can not lie. John 3:36 All believers have eternal life, all unbelievers are under the wrath of God. 

So if you have believed on Jesus as the only way of salvation by grace, you are going to heaven because you have believed. What do we believe?

The gospel. First Corinthians 15:3-4 That Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, that He was buried and rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures. When we believe He did it for us we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and are given eternal life. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, and we all sin, but the GIFT of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We do not get saved by following Jesus. We do not get saved by making Jesus Lord of our life. We are saved by believing He paid our sin debt in full and we can no longer be condemned. John 3:18

We all deserve to go to hell. But Jesus, just because He loved us, paid the penalty for all sin so that anyone could be saved just by believing on His name. He paid our sin debt in full when He said it is finished. That is an accounting term. Paid in full. 

Jesus said, John 10:28-29 And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. And My Father who is greater than all, no one can pluck them out of His hand. When we trust Jesus plus nothing, then we know we have His promises. He can not lie. We know we have eternal life because He said so.

October 26 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report