Are Faith and Trust Synonymous?

Trust and faith go hand-in-hand in our relationship with God. But do they mean the same thing?

The last definition of faith on Dictionary.com is “the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved”. The very definition itself shows us that faith is rooted in trust. And because of this faith in God, we trust that his Word is true.

However, the meaning of faith found in the Bible comes from Hebrews 11:1, which reads:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (ESV)

Here, Paul is making the connection between faith and belief. He is stating that our faith is the belief that causes us to trust God to turn invisible existence into physical, tangible reality.

The very bedrock of this faith, this belief, is trust. Faith in God without trust is empty. In fact, how can we say we have total faith in something if we do not trust the very thing we claim to have faith in?

To have faith in God means to trust his divinity, his omniscience, his omnipotence. It’s a soul-reaching, lifetime commitment to govern ourselves according to the laws of his kingdom. It’s to trust that God will always lead and guide us to all truth (John 16:13). That he is, in himself, all truth.

When we become followers of Christ, we get to completely experience his nature. As we encounter the love, grace, kindness, and goodness of God, we can confidently trust that his nature is true and unchanging. Therefore, when we live life and go through its trials (because trials will come), we have faith to know that God will move on our behalf. How awesome is that? 

Are faith and trust the same thing? Honestly, I don’t know. I do believe that they are so closely related that they can become interchangeable. Whether you believe trust is the same as faith or that trust is a building block to faith, this truth remains: you need both in your relationship with Jesus.  

Featured Image by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash ; In-Text image by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

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