Faith is trust in God for what cannot yet be seen. These King James verses show what Scripture says faith is, where it comes from, and how it holds when it is tested.
The Bible defines faith in Hebrews 11:1 as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Scripture presents faith as trust in God and his promises, received as a gift, strengthened by hearing his word, and shown in a faithful life. The KJV verses below are grouped by theme, each with context and meaning.
Faith is one of the central words of the Bible, and our glossary entry on what faith means in Christianity traces how the word is used. For a closer look at one of the best-loved verses on trust, read Proverbs 3:5-6 explained, or read the whole of Hebrews 11, the Bible's great chapter on faith.
The verses most often used to define faith.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The writer of Hebrews opens the chapter often called the hall of faith, written to early Jewish Christians tempted to turn back.
Faith is a settled confidence in what God has promised, treating his word as real even before it is seen.
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.
The same chapter, just after recalling Enoch, who walked with God.
Coming to God begins with trusting that he exists and that he responds to those who earnestly seek him.
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.
Hebrews 11 applies faith first to the creation of the world.
Believers accept by faith that the visible world was made by God's word, not from something already visible.
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
Paul writes to the church at Corinth about living in this life while longing for the life to come.
The Christian life is guided by trust in God rather than by what can be seen and measured.
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
The risen Jesus speaks to Thomas, who had doubted until he saw him.
Jesus calls those who believe without seeing him blessed, a word for every later generation of believers.
How Scripture connects faith with grace and new life.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Paul explains to the believers at Ephesus how they came to new life in Christ.
Salvation comes by God's grace and is received through faith, and Paul calls it a gift of God rather than an achievement.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Paul explains to the church in Rome why the message about Christ must be preached and heard.
Faith is born and nourished as people hear the word of God.
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
God answers the prophet Habakkuk, who was troubled by injustice and coming invasion.
In contrast to the proud, the righteous person lives by steady trust in God.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Paul states the theme of his letter to the Romans and quotes Habakkuk.
The gospel reveals God's righteousness, received and lived by faith from beginning to end.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Paul describes to the Galatian churches how his own life changed in Christ.
Faith is a daily union with Christ, rooted in his love and his self-giving for the believer.
Faith as everyday reliance on God.
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
A father's instruction to his son in the book of Proverbs, traditionally linked to Solomon.
Wholehearted trust in God, rather than leaning on one's own understanding, leads to a straight and guided path.
What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
A psalm of David, which its heading places at the time the Philistines seized him in Gath.
Faith does not deny fear; it answers fear by choosing to trust God.
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Jesus speaks to his disciples after they notice the fig tree he had cursed has withered.
Jesus points his followers to faith placed in God himself, not in their own strength.
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Paul holds up Abraham, who trusted God's promise of a son in old age.
Strong faith is being fully persuaded that God is able to do what he has promised.
Honest verses for doubt, weakness and trials.
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Jesus answers his disciples after they could not heal a suffering boy.
Even faith as small as a mustard seed, placed in God, can face what looks immovable.
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
A desperate father asks Jesus to heal his son.
Faith and doubt can live side by side, and an honest prayer for help with unbelief is welcomed.
And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
The apostles respond after Jesus teaches them to forgive again and again.
Faith can grow, and asking God to increase it is a prayer the apostles themselves prayed.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
James encourages believers to ask God for wisdom in the middle of trials.
Prayer offered in steady trust is contrasted with a mind tossed back and forth like a wave.
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Peter writes to scattered believers facing suffering for their faith.
Trials test faith the way fire tests gold, and tested faith is described as more precious than gold.
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Following the hall of faith, the writer urges readers to keep running the race.
Believers fix their eyes on Jesus, who begins and completes their faith and who endured the cross.
Faith shown in action, endurance and victory.
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
James addresses believers who claimed faith but neglected people in need.
Genuine faith shows itself in action; a faith with no fruit at all is called dead.
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
John writes to believers about love for God and obedience to his commands.
Faith is the means by which those born of God overcome the pressures of the world.
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Paul describes the armor of God for spiritual struggle.
Faith works like a shield, protecting the believer against the attacks of the evil one.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Paul writes to Timothy near the end of his life.
A life of faith is pictured as a fight fought and a race finished, with the faith kept to the end.
The Bible presents faith as trust in God and his promises. Hebrews 11:1 calls it "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," and 2 Corinthians 5:7 sums up the life of faith: "we walk by faith, not by sight." Scripture shows faith beginning in God's grace and growing through his word.
Hebrews 11:1 is the most quoted, because it defines faith directly. Many readers also hold to Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding," and Hebrews 11:6, which says that without faith it is impossible to please God.
Romans 10:17 says "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," so Scripture points to God's word as the ordinary way faith grows. The apostles also prayed for more faith in Luke 17:5, saying "Increase our faith," and James and Peter describe trials as times when faith is tested and strengthened.
Ephesians 2:8 teaches that people are saved by grace "through faith," and James 2:17 says "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." Christian traditions explain the relationship in different words, but they broadly agree that living faith shows itself in love and good works.
Many turn to Mark 9:24, where a father prays "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief," and to Psalm 56:3, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." Matthew 17:20 promises that faith as a grain of mustard seed is enough, and 1 Peter 1:7 describes tested faith as more precious than gold.
The phrase comes from 2 Corinthians 5:7, where Paul writes "For we walk by faith, not by sight." It means living day to day by trust in God and his promises, even when circumstances do not yet show the outcome. Paul wrote it while describing the hope of life with the Lord beyond this present life.