Faith Definition in the Bible: Trust and Faithfulness
The faith definition in Bible passages involves trust, belief or faithfulness according to the word and context.
Last updated October 15, 2026
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The faith definition in Bible passages involves trust, belief or faithfulness according to the word and context. Habakkuk, Romans and Hebrews develop related but distinct arguments. A short dictionary gloss cannot replace those arguments or establish one universal list of kinds of faith.
Faith is more than a label for a feeling in the selected texts. Habakkuk speaks amid a contrast about the righteous; Romans discusses Abraham and reckoned righteousness; Hebrews follows assurance language with acts of trust. Compare the Hebrew emunah and Greek pistis entries without assuming that every occurrence has one identical English sense.
Faith Definition in the Bible: source entries
| Term | Entry ID | Historical entry wording | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| emunah | 530 | […] literally firmness; figuratively security; morally fidelity: […] | Strong original Hebrew |
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| Term | Entry ID | Historical entry wording | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| pistis | 4102 | […] persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; […] | Strong original Greek |
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Habakkuk: steadiness within a contrast
Habakkuk 2:4 contrasts the proud person with the righteous person. The historical Hebrew entry includes firmness and fidelity language. The surrounding complaint and response give the sentence its force. The gloss alone does not tell the whole story of waiting for an answer.
Translations and later uses of the verse raise questions about faith and faithfulness. Those questions should remain visible. A word range can support careful comparison, but it cannot serve as a shortcut around the grammar and the passage's contrast.
Romans: Abraham and the argument about works
Romans 4 asks what Abraham found and cites his belief in God. The argument compares reckoning in relation to work with trust in the one who justifies. A definition that omits that contrast leaves out what Paul is doing with the example.
This page describes the selected argument. It does not attach a later denominational system to every use of the English word faith. Readers can compare those systems, but an attributed theological claim is not the same as a lexical entry.
Hebrews: assurance becomes action
Hebrews 11:1 introduces the chapter with assurance or substance and conviction or evidence language. Verses that follow name people who act. The opening sentence therefore belongs to a chapter of examples, within an appeal for endurance.
Faith in this setting is not a promise that a person can make any desired event happen. The chapter also includes people who suffer and do not receive the full promise in their lifetime. The Hebrews 11 explanation retains that larger movement.
Wording and context in three editions
Habakkuk 2:4
King James Version (eng-kjv2006, standard 1769 text)
4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
World English Bible Classic (eng-web, US spelling)
4 Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.
American Standard Version (eng-asv)
4 Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him; but the righteous shall live by his faith.
Before (WEB Classic): 2 Yahweh answered me, “Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who runs may read it. 3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hurries toward the end, and won’t prove false. Though it takes time, wait for it, because it will surely come. It won’t delay.
After (WEB Classic): 5 Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous: an arrogant man who doesn’t stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol; he is like death and can’t be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations and heaps to himself all peoples. 6 Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’
Hebrews 11:1-6
King James Version (eng-kjv2006, standard 1769 text)
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
World English Bible Classic (eng-web, US spelling)
1 Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.
2 For by this, the elders obtained approval.
3 By faith we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away, so that he wouldn’t see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. For he has had testimony given to him that before his translation he had been well pleasing to God.
6 Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
American Standard Version (eng-asv)
1 Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.
2 For therein the elders had witness borne to them.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear.
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts: and through it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God translated him: for he hath had witness borne to him that before his translation he had been well-pleasing unto God:
6 and without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him.
After (WEB Classic): 7 By faith Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went.
Romans 4:1-5
King James Version (eng-kjv2006, standard 1769 text)
1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
World English Bible Classic (eng-web, US spelling)
1 What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh?
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward God.
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
4 Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed.
5 But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
American Standard Version (eng-asv)
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, hath found according to the flesh?
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not toward God.
3 For what saith the scripture? And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.
After (WEB Classic): 6 Even as David also pronounces blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
FAQ
Is faith the same as a prediction that life will go well?
No. Hebrews includes both deliverance and suffering among its examples. The object and setting of trust matter. A definition should not become a guarantee about a reader's next event.
Related meanings
The Hebrew word for grace and its Bible context
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Verdict: Faith Definition in the Bible
A faith definition in Bible reading should retain the object of trust and the argument around it. Abraham's example and Hebrews' appeal for endurance supply more than a one-word gloss.