Growth in faith is not a matter of quantity, but of confidence. And it has 2 aspects. One for the Believer, and one for the Unbeliever.

Faith is the “assurance”: This is for the Believer.

When I am believing God, trusting in His person and promises, I have true assurance. In other words, faith grasps the word and promises of God as realities, and not theories or mere wishes.

This faith is then evidenced by how we live. Do we live in the light of these realities? If so, that is faith. If not, we are faithless and cannot please Him.

Faith is the “evidence”: This is for the Unbeliever. That Believers DO have faith, is the evidence of the unseen work of God in their hearts, and of the reality of the things they testify to, and to the reality of God’s being.

There are two parts to this very familiar verse.

It would seem that in this chapter, faith in what is unseen is particularly the promise of becoming heirs of the world, and ruling and reigning with Christ. How many of us have our daily thoughts informed by this being the end for which He has saved us – and thus live our lives with this end in view – as Participating in moving toward it consciously? Few indeed.

And the absence of this faith, is why we seek earthly, political and social power, now.

Components of genuine saving faith:

a. That God IS

b. That God has CREATED

c. That God has SPOKEN

d. That God is GOOD

e. That God is to be BELIEVED

f. That God is ABLE

g. That God is to be OBEYED

h. That God REWARDS as promised

3 Things faith is NOT: Presumption. Mere or baseless hope. Blind.

3 Things faith DOESN’T DO: Deny reality. Deny evil. Deny discomfort.

3 Things faith DOES: Steadies us. Frees us. Pleases God.