Bible Word Study on "Faith" (Should we have blind faith?)
Word Study on “Faith”
Uncover the meaning of passages like “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” in John 20:29, “For we walk by faith, not by sight" in 2 Corinthians 5:7, and “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” in Hebrews 11:1.
Welcome to a WORD STUDY on “faith.” Below are the questions and approach the Chara team chose to take, but feel free to use other questions or Bible passages, as you dive into this word study. For ANSWERS from the Chara team on these questions, check out the video below.
INTRO TO A WORD STUDY
It’s not uncommon to hear someone claim that faith is blind. Often what is meant by this statement is that faith is blind to reason. This study guide will help you explore the relationship between Biblical faith and reason, but it is a bit unique from the majority of our study guides that use the CHARA Bible Study Method to study one verse or passage. This study guide will walk you through how to do a WORD STUDY on the topic of faith…and we’ll sprinkle in a few of our CHARA study questions along the way!
Before we get started, here are steps you can take to do a WORD or TOPICAL STUDY in the Bible. We’ll use several of these, but not all to study the topic of faith.
Look up the word in a dictionary
Look up the original Greek meaning of the word
Use a concordance (or cross references) to find where the word has been used elsewhere in the Bible
If doing a topical study, use a thesaurus to find similar words and then a concordance to find where else the Bible talks about that topic (for instance: if studying “faith”, also look up “believe” or “trust”).
Read CONTEXT around each verse
DEFINING FAITH
Before we dive into our word study on faith, let’s explore how this word is used in our culture today.
Yield: What personal, cultural, or religious bias and assumptions do you bring to the topic of faith? What do you believe is the relationship between faith and reason? How might the world describe this relationship?
Where one may say faith is believing something that counters reason or evidence, another might say faith is a feeling that can’t quite be explained. The question we want to explore is how does the Bible define faith? And does the Bible say we should have blind faith?
Use the concordance in the back of your Bible to look up the word “faith.” You’ll find there are many mentions of this word in the Bible! Look up any that stand out to you.
For the purpose of this study we chose to focus on three verses that seemed to center around this idea of blind faith. Look up each verse and write them down below. What do all these verses have in common?
John 20:29 (notice this verse doesn’t use the word “faith,” but rather “believe”)
2 Corinthians 5:7
Hebrews 11:1
JOHN 20:29 - “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (CSB)
Read John 20:29. Has there been a time in your life when you doubted Jesus? What evidence or understanding would’ve given you confidence in Jesus during that season?
CONTEXT
Immediate: What is the theme or main idea found in the surrounding paragraph(s) and how does that help determine what the verse means? (Hint: Read John 20:19-29, which picks up after Jesus had risen from the grave).
Jesus graciously gave Thomas the evidence he needed to confess Jesus as “My Lord and my God!” But He gave us something too. Read what the author, John, recorded next in John 20:30-31. How can those of us who have “not seen” the risen Lord find reason to believe?
Bible: What additional understanding does Romans 10:17 give?
HISTORY
John is the only gospel writer to record Jesus’ interaction with doubting Thomas after His resurrection. Why is this story included in the Bible?
2 CORINTHIANS 5:7 - “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (CSB)
Read 2 Corinthians 5:7. What does it look like to walk by faith?
AUTHOR
Related Text: What is revealed through the comparison of earthly bodies and the future heavenly body of a believer? (Hint: Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:8).
How does 2 Corinthians 4:18 build on 5:7? If you were to summarize these two verses into one, using your own words, what would you say?
Person: Who was the author and how did their experiences influence what they communicated? (Hint: See 2 Corinthians 1:1, 1:8-9, 4:8-9, 11:24-27).
How did Paul refer to his afflictions in 4:17 and how was he able to have this perspective?
In 2 Corinthians 5:1-8, Paul portrays both strong emotion and confidence saying “we groan” (repeated 2x) in our earthly body and believers can be confident (repeated 2x) in our heavenly home, because God’s Spirit has been given as a down payment guaranteeing this inheritance to come (5:5). How do you see emotion and reason/knowledge work together here instead of as opposing forces? What understanding does Luke 10:27 add?
Has your answer to the first question changed after studying this passage - What does it look like to walk by faith?
HEBREWS 11:1 - “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” (CSB)
Read Hebrews 11:1. Two common practices for a WORD STUDY are 1) look at different Bible translations/versions to see how else the original word may be translated and 2) look up the word meaning in the original language. We’ll practice both in Hebrews 11:1.
RESEARCH
Translations: Does another Bible translation (or version) add perspective or clarity on what the original language was trying to communicate? Hebrews 11:1 is a fun verse to read in multiple Bible translations! (Hint: check out NIV, KJV, ESV, CSB)
Original Language: What does “faith” mean in the original language? (Check out a Greek lexicon, such as blueletterbible.org or biblehub.com)
HISTORY
How would the original audience have heard this message? It’s highly possible that how we define and use the word “faith” has changed over time. From what you’ve just learned surrounding Hebrews 11:1, do your best to communicate how the original audience would’ve understood faith?
Containing numerous examples from the Old Testament, Hebrews 11 has been referred to as the faith hall of fame. We’ll focus on two of these faith heroes.
According to Hebrews 11:11, why was Sarah, who was long past child bearing age, able to have faith in God’s promise that she would have a son?
Read Hebrews 11:17-19. According to verse 19, what gave Abraham the confidence to offer up his one and only son-of-a-promise, Isaac?
Abraham and Sarah had a lifetime of experiences that led to trust in God’s character and His faithfulness to His promises. Can you think of a time when your trust in someone’s character gave you confidence that they would do what they said they would do? Would you say your faith in that person was blind to reason? Why or why not?
CONTEXT
Bible: Does my interpretation hold true throughout the rest of the Bible? Hopefully by now you’ve gained a better understanding of the Biblical relationship between faith and reason. It’s time to check out some other verses from around the Bible to see if you’re on the right track. How do 1 Thessalonians 5:21 and Acts 17:11 add to your understanding?
APPLY
Yield: Let’s revisit the first question regarding any bias and assumptions you may have brought to the topic of blind faith. What do you need to surrender, if anything, to be in harmony with the Bible?
Pray: “Lord, what do you want me to learn and how should I apply this to my life? How does James 1:5 encourage you as you live this out?
Join the Chara Project team as they showcase how to do a word study on "faith" and see their ANSWERS to the questions asked from the CHARA Bible Study Guide.