🌿 Fresh Eyes: Saving Faith, Living Faith, and ‘The Faith’

🌿 Fresh Eyes: Saving Faith, Living Faith, and "The Faith"

The Question

When the Bible talks about faith, does it always mean the same thing? In James 2, faith is connected to works. In Ephesians 2, faith is completely apart from works. In Jude 1:3, believers are told to “contend for the faith.” Are these contradictions—or does the Bible use the word faith in more than one way?

Saving Faith — The Foundation

Saving faith is the faith that brings us into God’s family. It is a one-time act of trusting in Jesus’ finished work on the cross, repenting of our sins, and receiving Him as Savior and Lord.

Saving faith gives us peace with God through Jesus—we are declared righteous and brought into a restored relationship with Him.

Romans 5:1 — “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Without Christ, we were enemies, but through faith in Him we are reconciled.

Romans 5:10 — “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Our sin once separated us from God, but saving faith brings us back into His fellowship.

Colossians 1:21 — “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.”

Because of saving faith, our judgment is gone—we are secure in Christ.

Romans 8:1 — “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…”

Faith makes us children of God, adopted into His family forever.

John 1:12 — “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

Repentance and faith go together. Turning from sin is part of trusting in Christ.

Mark 1:15 — “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel.”

The heart of the Gospel is Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 — “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

Saving faith is not just intellectual belief—even demons believe and tremble. It is wholehearted trust in the risen Christ, confessed openly.

Romans 10:9–10 — “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

James 2:19 — “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”

In other words: Saving faith is not just believing facts about Jesus. It is repenting of sin, trusting His death and resurrection for forgiveness, and receiving Him personally as Savior and Lord.

Living Faith — The Outworking (the visible result or evidence of faith)

Living faith is the daily trust in God after salvation. It shows itself in obedience, endurance, Spirit-led works, and visible fruit.

Faith is not just for the moment of salvation; it is the way we walk every day after salvation.

Romans 1:17 — “The just shall live by faith.”

Living faith trusts God beyond our understanding—when we can’t see the reason or the path forward.

2 Corinthians 5:7 — “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Living faith is active. If it never produces anything, it’s lifeless.

James 2:17 — “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”

Examples of Living Faith:

Obedience:

Abraham left his homeland without knowing where he was going, simply trusting God’s call.

Hebrews 11:8 — “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”

Spirit-led work:

The widow gave her last meal to Elijah, following God’s word through the prophet, and God multiplied her food.

1 Kings 17:15–16 — “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.”

Endurance:

Job endured suffering and still declared his trust in God.

Job 13:15 — “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”

Fruit:

Jesus said living faith produces fruit that others can see.

John 15:5 — “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

In other words: Living faith is not about being saved—it’s about showing you are alive through Christ.

“The Faith” — The Truth We Believe

Sometimes Scripture uses the word faith not to describe our act of trusting God, but the truth of Christianity itself—the Gospel message and the teachings of Christ.

“The Faith” refers to the truth of the Gospel handed down to believers.

Jude 1:3 — “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

To “depart from the Faith” means to abandon sound doctrine, not just to struggle in personal trust.

1 Timothy 4:1 — “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”

Paul once tried to destroy the Christian message itself, but later he preached the Gospel.

Galatians 1:23 — “But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.”

In other words: “The Faith” means the body of truth we believe—the Gospel and the teachings of Christ. It is the foundation of saving faith and the guide for living faith.

How They Work Together

– Saving Faith → begins our relationship with Christ.
– Living Faith → shows that relationship in daily life.
– The Faith → anchors both in the truth of God’s Word.

🌿 Fresh Eyes Insight

Faith is not a one-time event. It begins with saving faith that anchors us to Christ, it continues as living faith that moves us to trust and obey Him daily, and it is grounded in the Faith—the truth of the Gospel handed down to us in God’s Word. Together, they reveal the full picture of what it means to belong to Jesus.

👉 Reflection

Do I only have saving faith—or is my living faith active and growing?

Am I holding fast to the Faith—the truth of God’s Word—that keeps both strong?