Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 5:7, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." This verse emphasizes trusting in Christ for divine guidance, protection, provision, and total well-being, even amid uncertainties or when circumstances defy logic. Rather than depending on physical senses or human reasoning, believers rely on faith in Jesus.
Walking by Faith expresses continual trust in Christ over visible evidence. This applies to all life areas, prioritizing spiritual conviction over sensory perception.
We are also to understand that walking by faith, which also refers to our faith walk, is all about these two things. First of all, it's about what the Word of God does in us and then secondly, it's also about what we do with the Word of God.
Now, what does God's Word do in us? We should understand that whenever we listen to the Word of God or hear the Word of God, the Word of God creates an effect or impression in us, in our hearts. It creates effects. It creates impressions in our hearts whenever we hear it. This effect can be, first of all, a conviction of the heart to some truth from the word of God that we hear.
Second, this effect or impressions can also be an enlightenment. Which, the Word of God brings to us in whatever area of our lives which help us to take a stand on the truth of what the Word of God is saying.
The third effect the word of God also creates in us is persuasion. Persuasion. The Bible says in Romans 4, that Abraham was persuaded that God was able to do what he had promised. Praise the Lord Jesus!
The fourth effect that the word of God also has in our hearts is assurance. It creates an assurance of God's promises, which brings us joy and peace. Praise the Lord Jesus! These very four points are so important. These are the effects that the Word of God creates in our hearts whenever we hear the Word.
Conviction: Heart agreement with a truth from God's Word.
Enlightenment: Illumination in life areas, enabling a stand on Scripture's truth.
Persuasion: Confidence God will fulfill promises, as with Abraham in Romans 4.
Assurance: Certainty of God's promises, yielding joy and peace.
The Word of God creates these effects in your heart. These effects or impressions which the Word of God creates in our hearts, become faith. They become faith in us when we receive, embrace, or accept from the heart the truth or light that God's word sheds on us and all he has accomplished for us in his redemptive or finished work. Praise the Lord Jesus! This is what becomes faith in us.
These impressions become faith (Greek: pistis, a noun) when received, embraced, or accepted from the heart—specifically truths about Christ and His redemptive, finished work. This aligns with Romans 10:17: "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (or "hearing the word about Christ").
Let's proceed to knowing the difference between faith and belief.
This belief comes from our hearts. It's not something that comes from our brains.
It's not something that is based on sense knowledge. Hallelujah! It is not sense knowledge, but heart response to the truth of God's word. And the Greek word is pisteuo. And it's a verb. Hallelujah! While faith, on the other hand, is a noun.
Now, faith and belief are like two sides of a coin working together and can never be independent from one another. Praise God! And that's why in the Bible they are sometimes used interchangeably by translations. Praise the Lord Jesus! Various translations or translators use these two expressions faith and belief interchangeably.
They are so interwoven, so interrelated, just like the two sides of a coin. You cannot do away with the other side. The two faces of a coin make the coin complete.
Faith (pistis, noun) arises from embracing the Word's effects. Belief (pisteuo, verb) is the heart's act or response—receiving, embracing, accepting, and responding to that conviction, enlightenment, persuasion, or assurance.
Not from the brain or senses: Originates in the heart as a response to God's Word truth.
Interrelated like two sides of a coin: Inseparable, often used interchangeably in Bible translations and preaching, but distinct—faith as the substance, belief as the action.
So you see, faith and belief are both the driving force that motivates or prepares us to receive or respond to God's word. They walk hand in hand. Your belief is a driving force. Praise God! Your faith is also a driving force. They drive us. They move us. They propel us to respond to what God has said in his word.
When we live our lives based on these convictions. When we live our lives based on this persuasion. The persuasion of the truth that comes from the word of God. When we live our lives based on the assurance that comes from the word of God. That's what it means to walk by faith. That's what our faith walk implies.
So, walking by faith means basing life on the Word's convictions, truths, enlightenment, persuasion, and assurance about Christ—what He has done, provided, and declared about believers in Him. This is the essence of a faith walk: living propelled by heart responses to Scripture, not sight.
(A Prize Chukwuka Teaching)
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