If you believe all these things, see that ye do them – Mosiah 4:10
President Nelson testifies, “The first principles of the gospel begin with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. . . . Dynamic faith in the Lord leads to complete conversion and a consummate commitment to His holy work. We become children of the covenant; we become His children” (“Fatih in Jesus Christ,” Ensign, Mar 2008, 29–30).
There’s a stark contrast between historical and contemporary understandings of “faith,” largely stemming from its changing definition. This makes it tough to figure out what faith meant in the Bible. Dr. Brent Schmidt’s book, Relational Faith points out that faith used to be all about doing and connecting, but now it’s more about quiet thought.
Here’s a breakdown of the differences:
Modern Definition of Faith
Mentally Accepting God: Today, faith often means accepting God or Christ intellectually and agreeing with mainstream Christian beliefs. It is seen as a “mental exercise in knowing that someone or something exists or will act”.
Emotional, Mystical Inner Feelings Equated with Instant Salvation: The idea of faith has been “contaminated by later thinking” to primarily mean emotional, mystical inner feelings equated with instant salvation, or “salvation by faith alone” (sola fide).
Passive on the Part of the Believer: This modern understanding often renders faith as an “amorphous idea that was intricate, confusing, complex, and ultimately passive on the part of the would-be believer”. It has become “devoid of knowledge, emphasis on proper Christian action, and the ordinances earlier associated with faith”.
Separation from Works: The concept of “faith alone” prevalent in many modern Christian traditions leads to the belief that one “need not repent of their sins and cease sinful behavior” because salvation is achieved solely through faith, contradicting biblical passages such as James 2:17 and 2:24, which state that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone”.
Ancient Definition of Faith
Ancient faith (Greek pistis, Latin fides, Hebrew emunah) wasn’t just about believing; it was about acting, building relationships, and being true and faithful. It was more about what you do than what you know.
Hebrew – Emunah: Firmness, Steadfastness, and Support:
The Hebrew word for “faith” is emunah (אֱמוּנָה), which is often translated as “belief” or “trust”. However, it implies more than just intellectual consent; it encompasses a way of life characterized by faithfulness, loyalty, and reliance on God. Emunah is not a passive state but an active, ongoing process of trusting and acting upon that trust. Derived from the root aman, meaning “to be firm or secure”. It means “something that is firm and steady” or “faithfulness”. It is an action-oriented word meaning support. Unlike the Western concept where action is on the one believed in, emunah places the action on the one who “supports God”. For example, in Exodus 17:12, Moses’ hands remained “steady (emunah)” because Aaron and Hur “held his hands up”. Jeff Benner points out that to say, “I have faith in God” from a Hebraic perspective means, “I will do what I can to support God”. Emunah embodies reliability, dependability, stability, steadiness, and truth.
Greek – Pistis and Latin – Fides: Active Loyalty, Trust, and Covenantal Relationship:
Dr. Schmidt notes that in the first century, pistis implied “active loyalty, trust, hope, knowledge, and persuasion in the patron-client relationship or within the new covenant brought about through Christ’s Atonement”. Even when not directly translated as “loyalty,” pistis words “frequently reflect active forms of conduct” consistent with these meanings.
Pistis and fides were “based in relationships and rooted in loyalty, trust, and reciprocity”. They implied “active commitment rather than an absolute conviction”. The Latin fides is derived from a root meaning “to bind” or “to hold something together,” connoting the “binding influences of knowledge, persuasion, faithfulness, and trust”. Ancient faith was not about “intellectual belief in the correct creeds or a mysterious gift that ensured salvation, but about relationships”.
The Change and Its Impact
The change in meaning between the New Testament and the age of Augustine and other theologians dramatically reshaped Christian thought.
Transformed Meaning: Latter-day Saint scholars point to an alarming evolution in the word’s meaning, shifting from “committed faithfulness via covenant” to a passive notion.
Creeds: The Latin-speaking church preferred credo (meaning “I believe” from the heart) as its term for commitment, and this word slowly became more important than the relational and active parts of faith, without being linked to pistis or fides. This led to a loss of connection to “obligations, rites, and covenants with God”.
Loss of Original Context: This historical trajectory of distortion “clouded” the “most basic, plain and precious part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” leading to a loss of understanding of humanity’s relationship with God and the essential role of covenants and obedience. Paul’s writings in particular have been “distorted in translation” because the original context of pistis was lost.
Faith as a Dynamic Process: The ancient understanding emphasizes faith as a “dynamic verb, an active pursuit and process that requires constant cultivation”. It requires “a leap of action, not just a leap of faith”. “What you do is more important than what you know”. The ancient Israelites exemplified this active faith at Sinai: “We will do and [and through doing] we will understand”.
Faith and Works Intertwined: Ancient faith means “action based on loyalty and obedience, not mere intellectual acknowledgement”. It “involves repentance of sin, entering into covenants such as baptism, and enduring in loyalty to God”. Emunah is not faith alone; it is faith completed by works. Receiving help from Heaven is a response to faith, obedience, and the proper use of agency.
Essentially, ancient faith was akin to constructing a solid house; needing not only belief (blueprints) but also consistent action, loyalty, and commitment (building the house). The modern understanding, however, frequently stresses simply having the designs or a sense of homeownership, ignoring the actual construction, causing a disconnect between belief and the essential, tangible labor.
