The Scriptures are saturated with passages describing the
importance of faith and trust in our relationship with God. Following are
several passages that leads us to the importance of faith.
“Even
though he was old and childless, Abraham believed God’s word that his offspring
would outnumber the stars. God declared him righteous because of his faith
(Genesis 15:1-6).
God
declared that a generation of Israelites would die in the dessert, never
enjoying the promised land, because of their lack of faith (Numbers 14).
God
allowed the next generation of Israelites to defeat their enemies and occupy the
promised land because of their faith (I Chronicles 15:18-22).
Hezekiah
had no equal among the kings of Judah. God blessed him and made him successful
in whatever he undertook because of his obedience and faith (2 Kings 18:5-7)
Jehoshaphat
and the people of Judah trusted God to defeat the vast armies of Moad and Ammon.
He destroyed their enemies before they even reached the battlefield because of
His people’s faith (2 Chronicles 20:1-26).
David
wrote, “In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered
them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not
disappointed” (Psalms 22:4-5).
Solomon
wrote, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is
kept safe” (Proverbs 29:25).
Isaiah
wrote, “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In
repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength’”
(Isaiah 30:15).
Jeremiah
wrote, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who
depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He
will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it
comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where
no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence
is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that send out its roots
by the streams. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit’” (Jeremiah
17:5-8).
Jeremiah’s
life was spared because of his faith (Jeremiah 39:18).
God
spared Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from certain death in the fiery furnace
because of their faith (Daniel 3:28).
Daniel
escaped from the mouths of lions because of his faith (Daniel 6:23).
When
Jesus’ disciples were being unusually think-headed, He called them “you of
little faith” (Mathew 6:30).
Jesus
commended the centurion for his great faith (Matthew 8:10).
To the following individuals, Jesus told them, “Your faith
has healed you”
a
paralytic (Matthew 9:1-2)
a
woman who had been sick for twelve years (Matthew 9:10-22).
two
blind men (Matthew 9:27-29).
Bartimaeus,
a blind man (Luke 18:35-43).
Jesus
did not do many miracles in His hometown “because of their lack of faith”
(Matthew 13:58).
Jesus
said if you have faith as a small as a mustard seed, “nothing will be impossible
for you” (Matthew 17:20).
After
His resurrection, Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith (Matthew
16:14).
Jesus
told Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who
have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
We
are saved by faith (Ephesians 2:8).
We
are justified by faith (Romans 3:28).
We
are to live by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 2:20).
We
receive the Spirit by faith (Galatians 3:14).
We
approach God “all the flaming arrows of the evil one” with the shield of faith
(Ephesians 6:16).
We
are commanded to pursue faith (2 Timothy 2:22).
We
overcome the world through faith (I John 5:5).
“Without faith it is impossible to please God”
(Hebrews
11:6).
