Faith & Believe a Word History






When I am looking for the definition of a word found in the Bible, I look first to see what the original Greek or Hebrew word means. In this case the Greek New Testament word that is translated as faith is the word "pisitis".

Vine, in his expository says that "pistis" means a strong conviction based on persuasion from hearing. In the New Testament "pistis" is always used in relation to Jesus, God, or things spiritual.

Holman’s Bible Dictionary thus defines faith as a "trusting commitment to a person, and especially to God".

From our Greek definition of "pistis" and Holman’s definition of the word "faith" we conclude that faith is a "loving commitment to a person". It is based on "hearing something about that person and being persuaded that he is trustworthy". As a result of hearing and being persuaded you put your faith in him. The New Testament uses the word faith in relation to God and to Christ.

We as Christians have heard the gospel of a faithful God. We have been persuaded that this is the truth. We thus put our faith in Him. By this we mean that we have "committed ourselves to Him in a trustworthy relationship".

We have watered down the word over the years. We should also note that the word believe in the New Testament is also from the word "pistis". When you see Jesus telling us to believe in Him, He is actually telling us to have a "committed relationship" with him. He is not telling us to mentally accept His existence or what He has to say.

It is very interesting to note the evolution of the word believe. Read what Holman’s Bible Dictionary says about the words faith and believe. What we see is a new definition of the word believe, that came about around 1150 and 1475 AD. Prior to then faith and believe both meant a committed relationship to a person. During that time period the word believe came to mean a mental ascent to an idea. This new definition for the word believe is a departure from the New Testament way of thinking. This departure has remained with us to this very day and has effected us in a negative way.

We now tell people that they need to believe in Jesus in order to be saved, but what definition are we using for the word believe? When we tell people to believe, what is their definition for the word? They are most likely using the new definition. So what we are saying for the most part is, give mental ascent, believe what we are telling you about Jesus and you will be saved. Or to put it another way. We are saying, "just accept what we are saying". Then they say, "O yea, no problem, I can agree with that". This is not what Jesus meant when He told people to believe in order to be saved. Jesus meant to give oneself to Him in a loving committed way and then you would be saved. He means to trust Him alone for your salvation.

Our Christian faith is more than a belief system that people need to accept. Our faith is a committed relationship with the Lord Jesus. Mental ascent to the gospel is only a step towards salvation. It is not salvation.

When Jesus tells us to believe and have faith, He is telling us to come to Him and have a trusting relationship with Him. THIS IS THE GOSPEL THAT SAVES US.