by Most people believe there is a God. James 2:19 says, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” Here, if believing and FAITH are the same, then the devils will not go to Hell simply because they believest. Yet, we know this is not going to happen. The context of James 2 is stressing the point that God is not satisfied with mere acknowledgement of His existence.
DOES YOUR FAITH HAVE SUBSTANCE & EVIDENCE? Read Hebrews 11:1,3,6 and let me explain…
- substance means “essential nature of an entity” = FAITH in God
- evidence means “presenting evidence for the truth” = FAITH in God’s Word
The substance of our FAITH is the realization that God is exactly who He says He is, and the evidence of our FAITH is the conviction that the word of God is absolute truth. This realization and conviction are not dependent upon what we see, as 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us, “We walk by faith, not by sight:” Thus, our FAITH is demonstrated when we believe and trust that God will fulfill the things hoped for in accordance with His Word, even when there are things not seen.
Hebrews 11:6 tells why the substance and evidence of our FAITH are so important. Without these, it’s impossible to please God. God requires our complete reliance to be upon Him for everything. It’s the substance and evidence that we put our FAITH in that determines our eternal destiny, FAITH that points to Jesus Christ alone. Romans 6:23 tells us, “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 3:25 spells it out further, for eternal life, our substance and evidence must be “faith in his blood.”
After FAITH for our eternal life, 1 Timothy 6:12 tells the believer to “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called.” Christians are not called to retreat. By FAITH, we are called to keep fighting, pressing forward, and taking ground from the devils. We can only do this when our substance and evidence are in God and His Word, for it is then that we are able to “continue in the faith grounded and settled” (Colossians 1:23).
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
