"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." (Isaiah 7:9)
What does it mean when someone says they “believe” in something?
What does it mean to have emuna or faith?
Who or what do we believe in and what do we base our faith on?
How much faith do we need to endure?
I have been dealing with these questions for some time now as my faith plays an important role in my life.
Sometimes I think that faith is one of the common senses like sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Faith is a strong inner conviction about or in something.
Faith in God
Our belief in God has grown out of the Bible and without it, belief in God would not exist. Otherwise, the word faith stands there as worthless as any other word. People feel safe and protected in their faith. Belief in a God gives people comfort, strength and courage.
Faith concerns the question of who or what God is . A believer is convinced that God exists. He also trusts this God in many things, especially when it comes to life after death. Faith means firmly relying on something or trusting someone. It is not just an opinion. It means attaching yourself to something .
In the New Testament, in the letter to the Hebrews, we find the following definition of faith:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1)
Our faith is already laid down in the Ten Commandments, because the first commandment speaks about faith, faith in God: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." God insists on our faith. In doing so, he conveys security, care and love. The second commandment reinforces the first, according to which we should not serve any other gods besides him.
Faith (Hebrew Emuna (אמונה) means to be firm, secure and confident
The Hebrew word for faith , Emuna (אמונה), appears several times in the Bible and always refers to trust between man and God. I realized that the universal meaning of life was already anchored in the Ten Commandments between God and man.
Emuna occurs in Deuteronomy 32:20 and Habakkuk 2:4. We translate it in our Bibles as "faith," but "emuna" contains the Hebrew word "emun" (אמונה), which means trust. The word goes back to "aman" (אמן) (to be firm / sure / reliable). The well-known Hebrew word "Amen" is derived from the same root. Amen [אָמֵן] can therefore be translated as "That is certain!", or "So it is!", or "So be it!".
Faith (Hebrew: Emuna) means finding a reliable support and a solid foundation in God and his word and building on it.
“And Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
Abraham made the word of Yahweh's promise a foundation on which he could stand. He made it the foundation of his life. He believed and trusted God. Abraham believed God, that is, he stood firmly on God, he trusted God completely. As we can see, Abraham sometimes had doubts and asked for signs so that his faith could be strengthened again.
Is our faith strong enough? Or do we have doubts and need proof? Does Emuna - faith in God - have to be learned?
When God promised Abraham the land as his property, he had doubts.
“O Lord Yahweh,” Abram replied, “how can I know that I will ever possess it (the inheritance, land)?” (Genesis 15:8)
God then made a covenant with him.
We see that Abraham, just like us, had to learn to trust and believe. He received signs and confirmations. But his faith in God, his trust in God - was also often tested, because Abraham's faith also had to grow in order to maintain the necessary stability. Abraham learned to trust God more and more, to talk to him, to wait for God's answers.
"Emuna" means trusting in God. In order for this to be possible, we must get to know him. This happens by immersing ourselves in his word and his instructions throughout our lives and learning them. This faith means actively turning to God. It is not about passively recognizing the creed, but rather about building and nurturing a personal relationship with God the Father, with His Son Jesus Christ, together with the Holy Spirit. But it is also about interpersonal relationships. We must learn to act in faith and trust in God every day.
Emuna - faith in God is based on fundamental trust, ie we believe and trust God or we do not believe. There can be no half measures. Our faith or our trust in God is often challenged in difficult times. Is our faith strong enough? Are we faithful to God or do we turn to other gods or bring pagan ideas into our faith? Are we sincere or is our soul insincere? God lets Habakkuk know:
“Behold, the presumptuous man has a false soul within him, but the righteous will live by his faith.” (Hab 2:4)
Faith challenges us to find who we are in Christ and to trust in His path to the Father.
Jesus answered Thomas, who had great doubts:
“I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me!” (John 14:6)
Our faith should be firmly founded on Jesus. He is not only the way, the truth and the life, but he is also our cornerstone. He is the light of the world and in him we place our hope; in him we build all our trust and our faith.
Our Creed / Credo
The explicit confession of one's own faith before God and the community was already a central concern in Judaism. One of the oldest creeds of the Israelites can be found in Deuteronomy 26:5-8:
5 My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt and lived there as a stranger with a few men, and he became there a great, strong, and numerous nation. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and oppressed us and made us do hard labor. 7 So we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers. And the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression. 8 And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with mighty and awesome deeds, and with signs and wonders. 9 And he brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
The Shema Yisrael
However, the “Shema Yisrael” (Hear, O Israel) became the most important creed of this people, which owes its existence to YHWH’s acts of liberation throughout history:
Hear, O Israel: יהוה our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
In the Shema Yisrael we find a special confession of faith in the one God who has revealed himself to his people and who also forms the basis of our Christian faith.
The Creed of our Lord Jesus
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ quotes the Israelite Shema Yisrael as his own creed. He summarizes it, just as was already common at the time, by giving the commandment to love one's neighbor an equal status to the first commandment to love God (Mark 12:29-31).
The Early Christian Creed
In Acts 2:32-36 we find such a confession. The followers of Christ look back on God's saving deeds and in praise of his actions they proclaim:
"This Jesus God raised up; we are all witnesses of this. […] Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ [Messiah, Savior], this same Jesus whom you crucified!" (Acts 2:32-36)
We find another confession of faith in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve. (1 Cor 15:3-5)
Our current creed
With a confession , Christians say what we believe. I have now become acquainted with a number of different confessions of faith that summarize the central content of the faith.
I grew up with the Apostles' Creed. It is recited together in most Protestant congregations during church services. The Christians of the early church agreed on these statements in the fourth century to confirm their faith. They were passed down over the centuries.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ,
his only begotten Son, our Lord,
conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
crucified, died and buried,
descended into the realm of death,
on the third day rose from the dead,
ascended into heaven;
he sits at the right hand of God,
the Almighty Father;
from there he will come,
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
Communion of Saints,
forgiveness of sins,
resurrection of the dead and eternal life.
Amen.
Is your faith enough? Are you ready to receive Jesus Christ when he returns? What are you doing to strengthen your faith? What can you do to prepare yourself for the coming of Jesus?
Our faith in God the Father, in his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit challenges us to find who we are in Christ. We begin by repenting, asking for forgiveness and then confessing our faith and taking the next steps together with Jesus Christ, our Savior. He will build, challenge and encourage our faith.
I know that without faith I will not survive. We are in a spiritual battle and for this we need the closeness of our holy and eternal God.
I challenge you to write your own personal statement of faith. If you like, you can send it to me so we can discuss it.
I also recommend that you remain under the protection of the Most High. The Almighty is my refuge, my stronghold. He is my God, in whom I trust. (Psalm 91)
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