Belief, trust, and loyalty to a person or thing. Christians find their security and hope in God as revealed in Jesus Christ, and say "amen" to that unique relationship to God in the Holy Spirit through love and obedience as expressed in lives of discipleship and service.
The Old Testament. The Hebrew language has six terms that develop the fundamental ideas of belief, trust, and loyalty. The root bth [j;f'B] expresses an individual's feeling of safety, and so means to feel secure. At times this confidence is self-centered ( Eze 33:13 ) or related to warriors ( Hosea 10:13 ) and riches ( Jer 49:4 ). But security that is a result of a trusting relationship with God is most important. It can be combined with the fear of the Lord and obedience to his Word so that the one who walks in the dark is encouraged to "trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God" ( Isa 50:10 ). It can also be equated with acknowledging God in all our ways in contrast to relying on our own understanding ( Prov 3:5-6 ).
The term hsh [j;v}j] describes the state of one in need of help who is dependent on another for protection. In Jotham's parable the thornbush challenges the trees who invite it to be their king: "If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade" ( Judges 9:15 ). While being pursued by an enemy, David asks the Lord to "save and deliver" him based on a similar assertion: "I take refuge in you" ( Psalm 7:1 ). The idea of taking refuge can also be contrasted with trusting in people or princes ( Psalm 118:8-9 ). It is not surprising then that "those who seek refuge" in God are the same as the godly who experience the love and salvation of God ( Psalm 17:7 ). To acknowledge dependence on God for protection when in need of help is a unique mark of the godly.
The terms qwh [h"w'q], yhl [l;j"y], and hkh [h'k'j] express persistence, a simple hope, or a waiting for. Isaiah promises: "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength" (40:31). David prays: "May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you" ( Psalm 33:22 ); he confesses: "We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield" ( 33:20 ).These descriptions that express a hope in God that involves patience and persistence are expressions of faith. During the siege of Samaria, Ahab, who blamed his troubles on the Lord, showed a lack of faith when he asked, "Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?" ( 2 Kings 6:33 ).
The term mn [m'a] with its stress on firmness and stability emphasizes the varied activities of God and our responses to him. Deuteronomy 7:9 majestically calls us to an understanding of who God is: "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands." Because the person of God and his word are one, Solomon prays: "And now, O God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true" ( 1 Kings 8:26 ); and the prophet threatens, "I proclaim what is certain" when speaking of God's sure judgment ( Hosea 5:9 ). The proper response of individuals to this firm and stable activity of God is modeled by Abraham, who is chosen by God. Because his heart is faithful, God enters into a covenant with him that involves a homeland ( Neh 9:7-8 ).
The recognition and acknowledgment of the relationship into which God enters with people is a declaratory saying of "amen" to God and a special religious attitude of the people of God. The commands of God demand a proper response. Individuals are to acknowledge his demands, regard him as trustworthy, and be obedient to him. Faith is a spiritual attitude involving activity. The children of Israel stood condemned because they rebelled at God's command to take possession of the land he had given them. Fundamental to this rebellion is the claim: "You did not trust him or obey him" ( Deut 9:23 ). On the other hand, Abram stood approved when he acknowledged the promise of God, and trusted God's power to perform what he had promised: "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness" ( Gen 15:6 ). The Lord indicated to Abram his plan for history, and Abram believed it to be something real and was filled with a firmness and security in the Lord. His subsequent exercise of patience and obedient actions are clear indications of the meaning of faith.
The setting and origin of the term "faith" as used in the Old Testament are intimately linked to the covenant between God and his people. The term sums up all the ways by which people express their relationship to God. Isaiah dares to equate existence and faith when he claims that the people of God have their particular manner of being, and are established through their faith ( Isa 7:9 ). This understanding is in sharp contrast with the picture of Ahaz, who rejects God's invitation to confirm the truth of his word, and then ironically is given the promise of Immanuel ( Isa 7:14 ). In the fulfillment of this promise lies the challenge of the New Testament to redefine faith.
The New Testament. The transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament understanding of faith involves an appreciation of the continuity between them and that which is unique in the New Testament. The concepts of covenant, people of God, revelation, and the activity of God in history continue from the Old Testament to the New Testament. The unique understanding in the New Testament is defined by a new covenant, and the people of God being identified by their response to God's Son, Jesus. In the language of the New Testament, the common Greek of Jesus' day, we are told how God enters history as the Christ in the person of his Son Jesus, and remains active in the world through his Holy Spirit and the church.
The Septuagint, as a transitional text between the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament, fixes the theological vocabulary that the church uses to define what God has done, is doing, and will do. The meaning of faith in the New Testament is then both a reflection of its continuity with the Old Testament and an expression of its uniqueness in a different historical and cultural setting. In the representative selections from the Old Testament that we have examined, only one term, mn [m'a], is consistently translated in the Septuagint by a single concept, pisteuein/pistos [pisteuvw/pistov"]. It is this concept that the Synoptic Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and the Johannine writings use to examine and illustrate the meaning of faith in the New Testament.
