Was does faith mean ?
Faith means Trust
"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth."
The Bible: Psalm 145, Verse 18
Faith is not an illusion or a feeling. Faith also has nothing to do with "positive thinking" or a person's particular spiritual state. Faith is also not an ability that only certain people possess. The word translated "faith" in the Bible means "trust." To believe means to trust that God exists and that God will fulfill everything He promises us in the Bible, even if we don't yet see some of it. Thus, faith is a decision. In this respect, every person is fundamentally capable of believing. Faith in God is more than just an inner conviction; it is an experiential reality. Various people presented to us in the Holy Scriptures—including Noah, Abraham, Moses, Job, Daniel, and many more—are meant to serve as role models for us in faith.
God always acts for our best, even if we don't understand some of what happens in the world or in our lives. Our understanding and judgment are limited. God's will and ways, however, are perfect in every respect. This means that God—unlike us humans—never makes mistakes. With this knowledge, we can rely completely and completely on God at all times—more than on ourselves. God can turn even the most hopeless life situation around, if a person is willing to trustfully place their entire life in God's hands. For with God, nothing is impossible.
Faith means Strength
"Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage."
The Bible: Psalm 84, Verse 5
Faith means being aware that God is there, that God loves us, and that He guides and directs our lives. For our entire life lies in God's hands. God gives us answers to our questions, offers us support in our needs, and carries us through the suffering of this fallen world. A life of faith gives us confidence and strength, as well as comfort and support in challenging times, including in the face of persecution and death. With the almighty God at our side, we no longer need to struggle through life on our own. Instead, we can entrust ourselves to God's guidance—even when God's decisions for our lives do not correspond to our personal ideas or wishes—and count on His help at all times. This firm certainty allows us to walk through this world without fear, regardless of external circumstances, and to see all the challenges we encounter as opportunities to prove ourselves in our faith. For with God, nothing happens without a reason.
God is the only secure foundation in our lives. Everything else people place their hope in is uncertain and transient. This also applies to earthly riches. A person who is connected to God can consider themselves rich and happy in every way, even if they have little. For whoever builds their life on God will always remain firmly established.
Faith means Relationship
with God
"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers."
The Bible: 1st Peter chap. 3, Verse 12
The simplest way to come into contact with God is to pray. Prayer is a conversation with God. God promises that everyone who earnestly seeks Him will surely find Him, and that God will reveal Himself to everyone who asks for Him with a sincere heart. This can happen in many different ways. Prayer is an essential part of the lives of believers and a visible expression of their connection with God. Prayer directs our gaze toward God. It enables us to be close to Him and, in doing so, continually draw new strength for our daily lives. In prayer, we can bring all our concerns, worries, and needs before God. Even if God does not answer every request, we can firmly trust that God always gives us everything we need and everything that is good for us. We can also pray for other people. At the same time, we can praise and thank God for all the good we receive from Him every day. God takes pleasure in this.
In prayer we can not only talk to God, but also let God speak to us. It doesn't matter where you call on God from. A quiet room where you can give God your full attention without distraction is best. The Lord's Prayer and the prayers and psalms handed down in the Bible can serve as an example of a trusting prayer to God.
Faith means Freedom
Jesus Christ says:
"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
The Bible: John chap. 8, Verses 31-32
God wants to give us humans a life of freedom through faith in Jesus. True freedom consists in the redemption of humanity from the slavery of sin, which destroys us and separates us from God. Furthermore, true freedom means not allowing ourselves to be determined by worries (e.g., about food, clothing, or wealth), inner constraints (e.g., pressure to perform), selfish attitudes (such as pride, greed, envy, jealousy, or hatred), material or sensual desires (e.g., for money, food, or sex), or the standards of this world (e.g., the opinions of others or the desire to conform to a certain ideal). The key to this freedom lies in trusting God and his Word.
The Bible reveals to us the truth about God and our lives. If we accept it and are willing to do what Jesus says, we can overcome everything that holds us captive. For God's Word is healing for body and mind. Whether it's fears or worries, depression, trauma, emotional wounds, experiences of violence and abuse, or addictions of any kind: everyone can experience the liberating and life-changing power that faith in God gives. Countless people all over the world can confirm this from their own experience. Healings from illness and physical ailments are also possible with God—even those that are medically considered "incurable." Numerous miracles occur in the name of Jesus all over the world, as people are supernaturally healed from suffering and pain that have sometimes lasted for years.
Faith means Hope
God the Lord says:
"Behold, I make all things new."
The Bible: Revelation Chap. 21, Verse 5
Every person in the world desires peace, health, and a long and happy life, without fear for their existence and without worry about the future. What for most people in this world today seems like a distant dream or illusion, God wants to give us. Through faith in Jesus Christ, God gives hope to humanity; a hope that is not limited to this short earthly life. For God promises to create a new world where neither suffering nor injustice nor death will exist anymore, just as it was in the beginning, before mankind turned away from his Creator. To all people who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God promises to participate in the resurrection of the dead to imperishable life in this world to come (see: The Way to Salvation). (See: The way to redemption).
Faith means to love
Jesus Christ says:
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
The Bible: John chap. 13, Verses 34-35
God wants us to understand His love for us humans and to love Him with all our hearts. Since God's nature is love, and God created us humans in His image, our thoughts and actions should always be determined by love for our fellow human beings. But as a result of turning away from God, humanity has increasingly lost this natural love. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, shows us through His life what true love means:
Jesus showed us a love.....
- which is completely pure and unselfish
- which is independent of feelings
or sympathies
- which is free from pride, greed, jealousy, envy
or other selfish motives
- which always only looks for the best
for its fellow human beings
- which values the needs of fellow human beings higher than one's own and which does not
think first of herself in times of need,
but of one's neighbor
- which does not repay evil for evil,
but always clings to good in order
to dissuade others from evil
- which always speaks the truth, pointing
out the will of God to protect a person
from wrong ways that separate him
from God and lead to perdition
- which speaks the truth even when people
find it uncomfortable or react with
hatred and rejection
- which can forgive even the greatest enemy when he sincerely regrets his act
- which is ready to give the own life
for others; if necessary, even to death
In the same way, Jesus gave his life out of love for humanity, to give eternal life to everyone who believes in him. Furthermore, through his perfect love, Jesus overcame the evil that has filled this earth since the Fall. At the same time, Jesus left us an example to follow and thus also overcome evil in the world. When we are united with Jesus, we too are able to love God and our fellow human beings in the same way that Jesus modeled for us. Jesus himself says that it is love that reveals who truly belongs to him.
Faith means: A New Existence
Jesus Christ says:
"unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
The Bible: John chap. 3, Verse 5
The goal of faith is to become like Jesus. He is the perfect human being, made in God's image and thus the model for all other people. Because God is holy, we humans are also called to be holy. To do this, God wants to change our hearts and free us from all sinful attitudes and habits that have dominated our lives up to now. This total transformation, which no human being can accomplish on our own, is accomplished by God through his Spirit – the Holy Spirit. Everyone who believes in Jesus, the Son of God, receives this Spirit. The Holy Spirit renews our minds and helps us understand God's will. He enables us to behave in a way that pleases God while resisting everything that contradicts God's will. In this way, we can become more and more like Jesus. In short, the Holy Spirit helps us see things as God sees them.
Baptism in the name of Jesus by immersion in water expresses a person's confession of Jesus as their Lord and Savior and thus also their membership in His church. It symbolizes, on the one hand, the death of the old, sinful person and, on the other, the resurrection of the new, holy person, cleansed in conscience, whose new life as a child of God is characterized by truth, righteousness, and selfless love for their fellow human beings.
Faith means Peace
Jesus Christ says:
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you."
The Bible: John chap. 14, Verse 27
Through connection to God and a life in reconciled fellowship with our Creator and Father, we humans find peace; a peace that each of us longs for deep within; a peace that overcomes all fear, all hatred and all bitterness of this world and that nothing and no one on earth can give us humans except our Father in heaven.
God gives this unique peace to all people through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world.
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No matter who you are, where you come from and how you have lived your life so far... no matter whether you are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or atheist: God's promise applies to you too!
(see: Your step to new life)
Faith means LIFE
"He who has Jesus has life."
The Bible: 1st John chap. 5, Verse 12