Faith is a basic word in the Christian vocabulary. Unfortunately, some people associate faith with desire. If they desire something and desire it enough, perhaps their desire will cause it to happen. This approach to faith takes place in the secular mind and is perpetuated by religious racketeers in the charismatic movement.

Another false approach to faith was expressed on a complimentary pocket calendar: "Faith believes the incredible." The word incredible actually means "not credible; unbelievable; too improbable to be possible." Such a statement contradicts everything the Bible says about faith because Biblical faith is credible and believable.

To fully understand Biblical faith, three inseparable, interwoven aspects must be viewed: objective faith, subjective faith, active faith. In other words, a person cannot experience genuine intellectual faith without experiencing volitional faith and behavioral faith.

Let’s look at the three intrinsic, inseparable aspects of faith.

Objective faith deals with the irrefutable facts in the Bible.

•  God created me.
•  God loves me.
•  God desires the best for me.
•  God became a man through the virginal conception for the purpose of dying for my sins.
•  God rose bodily three days after the cross.
•  God saves me when I repent of sin and accept Jesus Christ as Saviour.

These facts are the basis of faith. Again, faith is not believing what one desires to believe but accepting what God says in the Holy Bible (Romans 10:17).

Subjective faith acts upon the objective faith by receiving Jesus Christ.

•  You believe what God says.
•  You take Jesus as Saviour.
•  You commit your soul to Him for safekeeping.

A person who exercises objective faith and subjective faith will always exercise active faith: living what you say you believe. To say you believe in Jesus without living Jesus is to contradict the Bible. James 1:22-25 and 2:14-20 state that saving faith in Jesus Christ produces a life that reveals Christ.

Several verses state that a faith life is a transformed life.

Romans 6:12-13,12, " Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."

Hebrews 5:9, "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"

I Thessalonians 1:7-8, "So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing."

Romans 16:19, "For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil."

II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Romans 16:26, "But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:"

Matthew 7:16-20, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

Works do not transform one from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God. Lifestyle, however, does reveal the presence or absence of objective faith, subjective faith, and active faith. Ephesians 2:8-10 clearly states the principle: ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."