WHAT FAITH REALLY IS

What is faith? For most people in our Orthodox Church, faith is belief in the existence of God and Jesus Christ.

Psalm 14:1 tells us: "The foolish man has said in his heart there is no God." But the believer confesses there is a God.

We usually feel at ease with such a confession of faith. In our judgment it is adequate in the sight of God and generally places us in a right relationship with God. Our fellow-believer who hears this expression of belief ordinarily feels reassured. He is content that supposedly God's basic requirement is met.

It is commonly accepted in our Churches and by our priests that faith is essentially believing in the existence of God. The object of faith ultimately turns out to be the mere existence of God. God exists perhaps someplace out in space, but Who He is and how He relates to the believer somehow recedes into the background. This does not seem to be relevant to the believer, it seems to be of secondary importance.

Nothing, however, could be more disastrous to the Church member than to content himself with such a fallacious conception of faith. It proves to be the primary reason why so many of our people live a defeated life, though they claim to be faithful Christians. Their Christian life is one glaringly lacking in victory power. They sit as easy prey to the predaceous designs of Satan.

Faith as belief merely in the existence of God is absolutely worthless. It serves only the purposes of the enemy of our soul. And yet this religious deception continues to rob Orthodox believers of the fullness of their spiritual inheritance. Their lives demonstrate how meaningless and barren their faith is.

It's like trusting your fellow-man. You can tender some trust in him only after you have received some indication of his personality and disposition.

The only way we can have any assurance of God's character and attitude toward us is by what He has spoken to us. Throughout history He has singled out certain men through whom He has spoken to us: "God, who at various times and in divers ways spoke in time past unto the fathers through the prophets, Hath in the last days spoken unto us through his Son whom he hath appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the ages" (Hebrews 1:1f).

Consequently, the unshakable conviction of the believer is that God is not mute. He is a God who is vocal, and because He is incorporeal and Spirit, He does not speak except through special men He appoints and calls to be his mouthpieces. There are some exceptions when God the Father has spoken directly without, however, revealing His face, as, for example, in the case of Moses, at the burning bush and at the time of the Transfiguration of Christ on Mt. Tabor, and at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.

But ordinarily God reaches His people through messengers He calls and commissions to speak His Word. When you read the messages of the prophets, for example, you know instinctively that it is not man who is speaking but God Himself: "I am the Lord. I shall speak and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass…The word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 12:25). "I will hasten my word to perform it." (Jeremiah 1:12). "My word that goeth forth out of my mouth shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish the thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11).

It could be expressed in this manner: "I believe in every word that comes out of the mouth of the Lord." "I believe the Lord really means what He says and says what He means. I trust in the integrity of His Word."

Consequently, the true believer takes seriously everything in the holy scriptures. Faith is trusting in the Word of God for all our needs. The Bible is simply a collection of promises God has made to man.

The key to faith is the truth that God backs up everything He has spoken, every Word that He promises. His throne is behind His Word. He said, "I watch over my Word to perform it," and "I will hasten my word to perform it." (Jeremiah 1:12)

Faith is to believe that God is unfailing in His promises. Once we have resolved this in our hearts then we begin moving in the dimension of the supernatural. What in the natural is impossible becomes possible by faith. What the senses tell us cannot be done, faith assures it can and will be done. Why? And on what grounds? On the basis that the Word promises it as the result of faith. "That which is impossible with man is possible with God." (Matthew 19:26) "All things are possible to him that believeth." (Mark 9:23) Jesus said it. I believe it. End of discussion. How do I believe in His Word? By acting on the Word. That means confessing the Word out loud and confessing repeatedly the answer to the need you brought to the Lord in prayer.

If, for example, the need is one of physical healing, then you begin confessing the answer to your prayer the moment you finish the prayer. Begin thanking the Lord for His unfailing promise, quote back to the Lord His promise, and begin confessing you are now receiving your healing with thanksgiving and audible praise in your heart and on your lips.

The secret to getting your prayers answered is to thank the Lord, claiming His promise, before you even feel the healing. You thank Him and confess the healing despite the symptoms. You defy what the senses tell you and you stand on God's Word.

That kind of faith the Devil cannot stand. He takes flight and withdraws his hands from our body. This occurs especially if you throw at him the promises of the Lord. Quote repeatedly the Word of God out loud for his benefit. Remember the "Word of God is the sword of the Spirit" and "sharper than any two-edged sword" (Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12). If it worked for Jesus in His confrontation with Satan in the desert, then it will work for you and me.

This principle is the very key to victorious living. Unfortunately, it is not taught nor preached in our Churches. The word "faith" is frequently mentioned from the pulpit. It is probably the most familiar religious term used by our priests. However, "faith" strangely seems to remain somewhat of a religious abstraction. As a result, many of our people, though devout, live below the level of their spiritual inheritance. They live basically defeated lives, rarely if ever experiencing victory in Christ in their confrontation with sin, poor health, sickness, emotional disorders, financial failures, other attacks of the enemy and the powers of darkness.

So, evil of every description originates with Satan. He is bent on wiping us out. But the purpose of Jesus is to give us the abundant life, that is, a life of victory over the designs of the enemy, a life to its fullestūnot sufficing but abundance, that is more than we need. We cannot help then but to cry out with thanksgiving in our hearts: "My cup runneth over."

It causes me to grieve when I see many of our Orthodox, otherwise God-fearing, to suffer defeats at the hand of the Devil. Because a very important part of my ministry is counseling and ministering to healing and deliverance, I am continuously exposed to personal and family problems. What truly distresses me is to see how spiritually helpless so many people are, even religious people, and how needlessly they suffer and end up being miserable. Much of my ministry is done over the telephone, since I receive calls from distant locations in the country, indeed from Canada and even Greece.

It is awesome to see how the Lord comes through sometimes with instant answers to telephone prayers. The simple explanation to this fact is that I stand on the Word of God and claim His promises. This principle continues to work in my own personal walk with my divine Master and Savior.

Again, let me reaffirm that the basis of faith is the Word of God. It differs from Sense Knowledge faith that says, "When I see it, when I feel it, I will know I have it."

You might ask, dear reader, "Where do I start to be able to exercise faith with such exciting results?"

The First step you need to take is to begin reading and studying the Bible. Remember that the basis of faith is the divine Word. Soak in the sayings of Christ. Note on paper the scriptures that you know relate to your specific and current need. Not only memorize such verses, but make certain the Word dwells richly in your heart.

Secondly, confess what the Word says about yourself, and not the lies of the Devil. You possess what you confess. Confess your position in Christ, the position the Word says you have, and stand on it. Confess not what your eyes tell you, but what the Word declares, because "faith is the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

Thirdly, live in the Word and the Word lives in you. When you dare to act on the Word and speak the Word, the Lord will be in the words that you speak.

Your confidence in the Word makes it a living thing on your lips. God's promises then become a thrilling reality for you.