Belief, Faith, Trust

Belief, Faith, Trust

Belief, faith, and trust are words that are intricately related. The difference between them is small, but I think looking into it can be helpful.

Here are the definitions according to Oxford Languages (via Google Search)

Believe – (pisteuo) to accept something as true; to feel sure of the truth of

Belief – (piste/doxasia) an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists; trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something

Faith – (piste) complete trust or confidence in something or someone; strong belief in God or the doctrines of a religion based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof

Trust – (empistosune) firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something

I note an interesting progression here that I think brings significant clarity to these terms.

To believe a thing is to accept it as true. When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we accept that He is who He claims to be (God in human flesh) and does what He claims to do, namely, forgive sins and provide everlasting spiritual life. This, to me, is something like level one in the realm of faith.

Level two would be faith. Faith is complete confidence or strong belief based upon spiritual apprehension. When we choose to believe on Jesus, we know little about what life in Christ means. We are certainly unclear about the difference between living by sight (using our senses to decide and react) and living by faith in the Spirit of God. Once the Holy Spirit changes us, we begin learning who He is as a person. We begin to understand that He is present with us and guiding us and prompting changes in our thinking and behavior. We begin to have stronger and more certain belief. We begin to exercise faith.

Trust, it is said, is earned. I agree with this even in the context of our relationship with God. I do not mean to suggest that God needs to earn anything from us. What I am saying is that as we continue to live in Christ and He in us, we come to know Him better. We learn that He keeps His promises. We learn that He is always working for good. We learn that He is unconditionally loving. More and more we give Him our trust. We come to have a firm and unshakable belief in His reliability, truthfulness, and ability in all things.

Trust then, is belief become faith and fully formed and matured.