The Difference Between Belief and Faith

First of all, faith originates through hearing the Word of God; the Bible knows no other avenue or supply for faith; only the Bible produces faith – faith comes by hearing the Word of God. This is the clear testimony of Romans 10:17.

We must appreciate that the Bible itself is a gracious gift of God. The Divine revelation in the Scripture cannot be found anywhere else. What God reveals in the Bible is not knowable in any other way or from any other source.

Likewise, in parallel with the gift of the scripture, one's initial faith – when you first believed – is God's gracious gift.

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

John 1:12-13 "To all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God."

John 6:44 "No one can come to me unless the Father draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day."

Just as one begins the Christian experience by faith, one must thereafter continue the Christian experience by faith.

"We walk by faith and not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

THE SUBTLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BELIEF AND FAITH…

"Without faith is is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6).

Unquestionably, the one thing a person absolutely must have in order to please God is FAITH. More specifically, one's faith must be in His Son, Jesus Christ. It is a Satanic fraud that a person can please God without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I John 5:11-12 "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."

Christ responds to faith because that is how he made us. He created us to be a people of faith; a people centered and dependent on Him, not independent and self-centered.

God has chosen to limit his interaction with human beings by the law of faith. Faith in God is essential, irreplaceable. Pleasing God is NOT a matter of enthusiasm, dedication, education, discipline, experience, will power, etc. It is a matter of FAITH.

Merely "believing" is not enough! James 2:19 says the Devil believes… and trembles. Do you believe you can get on a plane and fly to Florida in just a few hours? Do you truly believe that? Alright then, you are in Florida, yes? Of course not! That's foolishness.

You see, just "believing" doesn't do anybody any good.

Consider an electric lamp. The lap is designed to give light. It is structured and wired to do that very thing. But if it simply sits or hangs in a room without the electricity turned on, it does nothing. Without electricity, the lamp is useless as far as its intended purpose is concerned.

God's purpose in creating humankind was for them to have faith in His instructions and promises; to have faith to obey His Word.

Do you believe John 3:16? I mean really believe it? Well, so what? Merely believing it won't do you a bit of good.

How about deadly poison, some deadly neurotoxin? Do you believe if you drink it or ingest it in some way that you will surely die? You really do believe that? Well then, are you dead?

Only when you ACT in faith in what you believe does it become actual and effective. Only by acting upon your belief and allowing the object of your faith to do what you believe it is capable of doing… only then can you turn your belief into faith.

Note carefully: your faith doesn't do anything to the whatever it is you put your faith in. It simply allows your act of faith to permit the object of your faith to accomplish its nature – the poison kills; electricity gives light.

So when I have faith in Christ, it is not my FAITH that accomplishes anything but Christ – who by the power and authority to do what He alone can do, does it; namely, become your Savior from sin.

Do you believe in chairs? There is only one way for you to turn your belief into faith – sit on the chair! Your faith does nothing for the chair. Your faith in the chair simply allows the chair to exercise its chairness; its ability to support you when you sit down on it.

Note this well – the more confident you are in the object of your faith, the less conscious you are of the faith you are exercising in that object.

For Christians, where does faith come from? Faith comes from hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). The more you "hear" the Word of God, the more your faith will develop, because the Word of God produces faith.

But take heed to the principle expressed in Hebrews 4:2; "…the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith."

The Word of God cannot profit you unless you "combine it with faith." Indeed, the Word will tell you what to believe, but you must put into action by faith what that belief is all about.

This is how God operates. He does not impose himself upon people apart from faith. God restricts his interaction with people to the law of faith. To believe God is a good thing, but to have FAITH in God is essential.

You say you believe in God?

Very well, do you have faith in Jesus Christ, His Son, as YOUR savior from sin?

The message of the Christian gospel is that Jesus Christ is God's only Son who became human – the God-man – to live, to die, to be buried, to be raised from the dead and ascend into heaven… all in order to become YOUR Savior from sin!

Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."