By David Faust

If you could sum up a person’s life in a single sentence, what would you say? “She loved her children.” “He was a good provider.” “She was an outstanding surgeon.” “He was a faithful friend.”

Here is how the book of Genesis describes one of its main characters: “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). The first part of that verse tells us three important facts about faith.

Faith Must Be Personal

“Abram believed.” We rightly honor him for his faith, but Abram was an imperfect man who lied about his wife and expressed impatience over God’s timing. His faith didn’t come easily. Abram asked a lot of questions; but in the final analysis, he believed.

What about us? It’s not enough to have godly parents and rub shoulders with others who believe. Is our faith truly our own? We’re designed to live in community with others, but we are responsible for our individual choices. Have we embraced the gospel personally and accepted God’s promises for ourselves? If someone wrote a biography about our lives, would the story highlight our strong faith?

Believe Is a Verb

“Abram believed.” In the Scriptures, “the faith” refers to a body of doctrine we affirm and defend. Jude said to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 3). Faith is a noun.

But believe is a verb, because faith is more than intellectual assent—more than a set of ideas we affirm. Believe is a verb the same way live is a verb. “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17). In the Hebrew worldview, faith wasn’t a box to check indicating one’s “religious preference.” It was an overarching way of life. When we acknowledge God’s sovereignty over all, faith impacts the way we approach our work, rest, relationships, health, finances, worship, recreation, sexuality, problem-solving, and everything else we do.

Faith Is Only as Valid as Its Object

“Abram believed the Lord.” In a small group discussion, a seeker considering the gospel asked me, “Is the power of faith in the act of believing itself? As long as you’re sincere, no matter what you believe, isn’t it enough simply to have faith?”

My answer? “Faith can be misplaced. It’s true that believing something strongly can make a positive difference. If a baseball coach convinces his players to believe they can win a game, their chances of victory improve. But facts are facts. Over the course of a long season, the team with inferior players won’t win the World Series! If I jump off the Empire State Building sincerely believing I can fly, my sincerity won’t suspend the law of gravity. Truth is truth. Faith is only as valid as its object. According to the apostle Paul, if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead our faith is futile. I am a Christian because I’m convinced that Jesus the Messiah rose from the dead and he is the way, the truth, and the life.”

Abram didn’t devote himself to an abstract theoretical concept called “faith.” He believed in the Lord. He trusted the one true God who has revealed himself as Creator, Judge, Redeemer, Father, and Savior—whose Son proclaimed, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58).

David Faust serves as the Associate Minister at East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Based on International Sunday School Lesson, © 2013, by the Lesson Committee. Scripture quotations are from the New International Version ©2011, unless otherwise indicated.

As you apply today’s Scripture study to everyday life, read Engage Your Faith by David Faust and the correlating Evaluation Questions.

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