Faith in biblical context: part 1

Something valuable that I have learned over the past two years concerns the concept of faith in the Bible. The gist of it is that very often the Bible is speaking of faithfulness and trust, rather than the kind of 'faith' so strongly and widely emphasized in charismatic churches and the Word of Faith movement. Faithfulness is about being faithful on an ongoing basis. Trust is what I would call a 'resting belief'; it's not about winding oneself up to believe harder, it's about resting in the belief that the LORD will answer one's prayer.

In the Hebrew scriptures, there is no word that corresponds exactly to our English word 'faith'. Rather, the words used to convey a similar meaning are the verb אָמַן (aman, roughly pronounced uh-mun) and its cognates -- related words from the same root. Aman, in one of its forms (hifil), means 'to believe, put faith, trust, have confidence... believe to be true, be confident of' [1]. It is related to the word 'amen', which we typically use to affirm our prayers. The cognates of aman are אֵמוּן emun: eh-muhn) and אֱמוּנָה (emunah: eh-moo-nah). Emun can be an adjective meaning 'faithful, reliable, trustworthy', or a noun meaning 'faithfulness, reliability, trustworthiness', and emunah is a noun primarily meaning 'faithfulness, trustworthiness, steadiness' [2]. And there is yet another word with essentially the same meaning, אֱמֶת (emet: eh-met): 'faithfulness, reliability, trustworthiness' [2]. Emet and emunah occur 'in the context of moral language (steadfast love, righteousness, justice, etc.) and [are] used to reveal God's character, often in the language of praise.' There are many worship songs which praise God's faithfulness to us, or his faithfulness to his promises or covenants, with scriptures to support them like Lamentations 3:23 and Deuteronomy 32:4. Habakkuk 2:4 is worthy of special mention, as it is quoted three times in the New Testament (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). Traditionally the second half of the verse is translated 'the just [or righteous] shall live by his faith', but some newer translations are using 'faithfulness'. The NET is one example, as its translators' notes explain,

Or “loyalty”; or “integrity.” The Hebrew word אֱמוּנָה (’emunah) has traditionally been translated “faith,” but the term nowhere else refers to “belief” as such. When used of human character and conduct it carries the notion of “honesty, integrity, reliability, faithfulness.”... In this case the LORD is assuring Habakkuk that those who are truly innocent will be preserved through the coming oppression and judgment by their godly lifestyle, for God ultimately rewards this type of conduct. [3, colour added]

Interestingly, the word 'faith' is hardly found in English translations of the Hebrew scriptures: 10 times in the NET, 28 times in the ESV. (The difference is largely explained in the ESV's preference to say 'breach of faith' or 'break faith' instead of 'unfaithful' (NET), for example, and 'acted in good faith' (ESV) instead of 'shown loyalty' (NET).)

The New Testament writers (except perhaps Luke) were living, thinking, and writing from a foundation of the Hebrew scriptures, even when writing in Greek, so there ought to be a continuity of meaning that flows into the New Testament. That is, the three quotations made of Habakkuk 2:4 I mentioned above should likely be interpreted, 'the righteous [person] shall live by his faithfulness'. In the NET it is, 'the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness.' Certainly faith is needed, but the emphasis is on faithfulness.

The biblical Greek word for faith is πίστις (pistis), meaning trust, trustworthiness, belief, confidence, faith or faithfulness. So, are we saved by faith or by faithfulness? And if by faithfulness, whose faithfulness -- ours, or the Lords? The answer to both questions is: Yes! Amen! If that doesn't make sense to you, consider that we are saved by faith in Jesus, which is expressed through faithfulness to him throughout the rest of our days; yet we are also saved by his faithfulness to us, and to the covenant that binds us to him. Consider Romans 3:22; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 3:12 and Philippians 3:9 which all speak of the faithfulness of Jesus. Many Bibles have translated the phrase as 'faith in Jesus' which has merit in that we are required to believe in him, but it doesn't seem to be what the text is saying in those places. Rather, it is saying 'that we may be justified... by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ' (Galatians 2:16 NET).

The next post will discuss what I think is the wrong use of the concept of faith promoted in many churches today, particularly those aligned with the Word of Faith movement.

---

[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] Mounce, W. D. (2006). Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Hab 2:4). Biblical Studies Press.