Romans 1:16-17
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation [from His wrath and punishment] to everyone who believes [in Christ as Savior], to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “THE JUST and UPRIGHT SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
Faith in the simplest of terms simply believes what God says, period. As one preacher said it, “If God says it, I believe it and that settles the matter!” Our belief in God and what he says is demonstrated by how we live our life, as it says, the just shall live by faith.
Faith is our response to God’s grace. It is not faith that saves us, Jesus is the one who saves us but we lay a hold of that salvation through faith which in itself is also a gift from God. Just as we receive Christ by faith, we also live by faith. Our faith is in Christ and the complete work that he did on the cross thus Paul tells us not to build on any other foundation a part from that which has been laid which is Christ Jesus.
Romans 10:17 (AMP)
17 So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ.
You cannot be a man or woman of faith if you are not a man or woman of the word. Faith comes through hearing the word and thus to ignore the word is to put aside faith. The response to faith is thanksgiving and praise because you have laid hold of God’s word and you believe it despite what you see in the natural. Murmuring and complaining is the display of a lack of faith just like it was with the children of Israel in the wilderness. They did not believe what God told them through his servant and thus they murmured and complained.
To have faith is not to believe that he will do, but rather it is to have that assurance that Christ has already done it, remember when he completed his work on the cross he said it is finished and he breathed his last and gave up his spirit.
Faith believes in Christ and what he did!
