The word “faith”, translated from the Greek πιστις (pi’stis), was primarily used in the New Testament with the Greek perfect tense and translates as a noun-verb hybrid; which is not adequately conveyed by the English noun. Pi’stis in the New Testament context is a physical action, based upon a mental belief and sustained with confidence. Belief, in this context is non-synonymous with faith because, belief primarily conveys the mental action, thought of confidence, trust, and/or firm persuasion, not the physical act.[1]
We all know that a noun is a person, place, or thing just as we know that a verb is something that conveys action. But this word pi’stis – it means both of them at the same time. So faith is a combination of the both a noun and a verb put together. Think about it. Faith and the action of faith are the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Without both, possessing faith and the action of using faith, it is impossible to please God. So it’s not enough to just have faith in things but we must also put our faith into action. It takes both to please God. Some might ask, “Is it possible to have one and not the other?” It is. You see, you could have faith that a chair might hold you if you were to sit down. You can protest to people walking by, “This chair will hold me if I choose to sit in it.” That’s having faith in the chair. But to exercise that faith, to receive the benefit of having the chair in your life, you need to go and sit on it. It goes the same for things in your life. You can have faith for things and have faith that things will happen. But without exercising your faith for those blessings and promises, you will never receive the benefit of them.
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[1] Taken from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_in_Christianity
