The Difference Between Belief and True Faith

Carol Plafcan
2 days ago
6 min read

Believing is not faith. One of the misunderstandings today among many people is that simple believing in God, that He exists, makes someone a Christian. I see so many people living in unrepentant sin, saying they believe in God and are "trying" to do their best. They never go to church, never read their Bible, and never pray, but insist they are Christians.

Obedience as Evidence of True Faith

Not that following rules makes you a Christian. But obedience to God is expected of a Christian (John 14:15) and is the evidence of our faith. Obedience naturally flows from a transformed heart because our love for Him compels us to obey (John 14:23).

The Difference Between Belief and True Faith

Many point to Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." They ask, "Doesn't that say to just believe?" But this raises an important question, the difference between belief and true faith. What does 'believe' actually mean in that promise? This is no mere assent to the fact that Jesus was real, not even just an acknowledgement that He died and rose again for our sins.

As Gill's Exposition of the Bible explains belief means, "to look unto him alone for life and salvation, to rely upon him, and trust in him; to commit himself, and the care of his immortal soul unto him, and to expect peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life from him."

Faith Transforms Us

Faith is so much more than just agreeing with an idea or acknowledging a fact. Faith is a path to transformation. Faith is, defined as, "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). It is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Faith allows us to have a relationship with our Father God.

One example of a transformed life is Lee Strobel, the author of "The Case for Christ". As an atheist he had committed himself to disproving Christianity but after much research he ultimately became a Christian. His entire life was changed by his encounter with Christ.

Knowing vs. Relating to a Father

You can have knowledge of your father but no trust in him, no ability to rely on him, and no commitment to him. Much like knowing that your biological father exists somewhere doesn't mean you have a relationship with him. You have no desire to obey him because you have never experienced his love.

The Bible describes relationship with God as like that of a loving Father to His child. We love Him because He first loved us. We want to be obedient because of our love. If I had no relationship with my father, never spoke to or never knew anything about them, how could I possibly really love him?

The Call to Repentance

In Matthew 4:17 we are told that "Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In 2 Peter 3:9 Peter tells us, "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."

The Lord Himself calls us to repent. When He spoke to the woman caught in adultery, the last thing he told her was, "Go and sin no more" (John 8:11). When we repent, we turn from sin and turn towards God. We can't really separate faith and repentance. To be saved by faith means we can't continue to live an unholy life.

Communication as Love

And when you love, don't you want to communicate? When you were dating your future spouse, wasn't one of your joys just getting to talk to them? Why was that so wonderful? Because you knew that actually cared about you. They wanted to know more about you and you wanted to know more about them. God wants us to share our lives with Him; not just our wants, but our thanks, praise, and our joys and sorrows.

Yet some people say they are Christian and never talk to Him. How is this possible? The sad truth is that it isn't. They say they love Him, but care nothing about obedience. They live lives that prove they don't rely on Him and most importantly don't trust Him.

Faith In Action: Works and Love

The evidence of our faith is what we do, how we live. In James 2:14-26, James tells us that faith must produce works. If there are no works, there is no faith. If there is no faith, there are no works. James explains that even demons believe in God.

Galatians 5:6 explains that only faith working through love counts for anything. The Holy Spirit in us allows us to grow in holiness and obedience. It is only because of God's love toward us and the Holy Spirit producing love in us that we can serve each other lovingly. Therefore no fruit we produce is by just our own efforts. It is the Holy Spirit working in us that accomplishes this.

Pastor David Wilkerson, famous for his book, "The Cross and the Switchblade", began his ministry in 1958 in New York City. He targeted the unlovable, like gang members and drug addicts, as a street preacher in Times Square. Pastor Wilkerson was able to share the transforming power of faith that changes how a person lives through his love. He was led by the Holy Spirit to be a light in a very dark place.

Unity of Will and Heart

When we have faith we want to do God's will, but love helps us understand what God's will is. McClaren's Expositions on Galatians sums it up well, "He who is one in will and heart with God is a Christian. He who loves God is one in will and heart with Him. He who trusts Christ loves God."

Recognizing Need for Jesus

To have faith you must see a need in your life for Jesus. We can understand that He is God made man, that He came to redeem the world, that He even loves us. But do we see that each of us, individually, needs Him to forgive our own personal sin? In J. Gresham Machen's book, "What is Faith?" he says, "If there is no absolute law of God, there can be no consciousness of sin; and if there be no consciousness of sin, there can be no faith in the Savior Jesus Christ."

Luke 17: Mustard-Seed Faith & Servant’s Heart

We live out our faith dependent entirely on God. When the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith in Luke 17:5, He tells them two stories. The first is the story of faith the size of a mustard seed. This tiny amount of faith can uproot a tree and throw it into the sea. The point here is that it is not the quantity of faith we have but who the faith is in. God is moving the tree, not us. This helps us not worry about how much faith we have, because it is God, not us, that does the miracle.

We may not have enough faith to move a mountain (Matthew 17:20), but even the smallest amount of faith will transform a sinner into a child of God. Our faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). Gifts need only to be received, not worked toward. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:15, "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift."

The second story is the servant who comes to the master at the end of a hard day's work and is required to prepare his master's dinner. No matter what we do for God we will always be in His debt because of the grace we have received. No matter what we do it would never be enough to repay His grace towards us.

How does this increase our faith? Simply because when I am less than the Christian I should be, when I have little faith, I am indebted to Him. When I am obedient, and have much faith, I am still indebted. This way we can stop worrying about the quantity of faith we have, if it is enough or not.

Final Exhortation: Holiness & Contrition

Isaiah 57:15 says, "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite." Our God's name is holy! Our God inhabits eternity! And yet Isaiah tells us that God dwells with the contrite where He revives the spirit and heart.

When God dwells in our hearts we are a new creation. We have a heart transformed. And it is all because of the work He does in us. Our faith, love, trust, and obedience are gifts He has given us. Ephesians 5:1 says that we are "imitators of God." We are changed! If we aren't changed then we must question our belief and our faith.