Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Regarding reliance upon Christ for salvation, faith gives us a firm foundation to rest our lives upon and the proof we need to consider the matter of eternal life settled once and for all. The faith of the patriarchs and pious men from the Old Testament is recorded in Hebrews 11 as a testimony to those who believed in God even before Christ was born. What we know from this record is that very few of the people who descended from Abraham believed in God. In fact, the nation of Israel as a whole was considered to be living in unbelief throughout most of the Old Testament (Romans 11:23).

God did many miracles when he brought the people of Israel out of Egypt to bolster their faith (Exodus 4:1-9), and yet, when they arrived at the Promised Land, they didn’t have enough faith to go into the land and take possession of it (Numbers 14:11). Even Moses and Aaron’s faith faltered and caused them to die in the wilderness (Numbers 20:10-12). Forty years later, as they prepared to enter the land of Canaan, Moses told the people, “At Taberah also, and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath. And when the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying ‘Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God and did not believe him or obey his voice. You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you” (Deuteronomy 9:22-24).

Rebellion against God causes unbelief (Numbers 20:24). The Greek word apistia (ap-is-teeˊ-ah) in a negative sense means disbelief or “unfaithfulness (disobedience)” (G570). A similar word, apistos (apˊ-is-tos) is “spoken of persons: withholding belief, incredulous, distrustful (Matthew 17:17; Mark 9:19; Luke 9:41; John 20:27; 2 Corinthians 4:4). By implication, heathen, pagan, i.e. those who have not believed on Christ (1 Corinthians 6:6; 7:12, 13, 14; 14:22)” (G571). Jesus referred to his disciples as faithless or unbelieving when they were unable to heal a boy possessed by a demon. Jesus asked them, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?” (Matthew 17:17).

It says in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God, “for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” The Greek words that are translated rewards, misthapodotes (mis-thap—od-otˊ-ace) which means “a recompenser” (G3406) and ginomai (ghinˊ-om-ahee) which is spoken of persons being born or coming into existence (G1096) suggest that the reward for believing in God is being born again, regeneration. This is consistent with John’s statement in his first letter, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Jesus explained recompense to a ruler of the Pharisees who invited him to dine at his house. Jesus said, “When you give a dinner or banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:12-14). The resurrection of the just is when believers will be raised to life again (G386). Jesus said of this resurrection, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him” (Luke 20:34-38). Jesus was speaking of living, “in the sense of to exist, in an absolute sense and without end, now and hereafter: to live forever” (G2198).

It says of the Old Testament believers in Hebrews 11:13-16, “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” The purpose of believing in God is to achieve a better outcome from life than is possible from a material perspective. On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples about the heavenly city that God is preparing for his human sons and daughters. Jesus encouraged them to, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms, if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Believing in God is not something that comes natural to humans. It says in Ephesians 2:1-3 that we are dead in our trespasses and sins, “following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now are work in the sons of disobedience…and were by nature children of wrath” before coming to know Christ. Paul explained in his letter to the Ephesians that, “God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:4-9).

Although believing in God is not something we can do through our own efforts, it is something that God wants us to do. Therefore, it is an achievable task. Paul indicated in his letter to the Romans that the message of salvation is meant for everyone and “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). What is necessary for one’s faith to be ignited is hearing the gospel. Paul asked, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord who has believed what he has heard from us? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:14-17). The key to believing in God is obedience. You must obey the gospel, do what it tells you to, if you want to receive God’s free gift of salvation.