What Really Is Faith? An Inductive Study of Hebrews 11:1

Isn’t it amazing that our entire Christian life rests on faith, yet faith remains almost a mystery to many Christians today?

Everything we have in Christ comes to us by grace, and we receive it through faith. Yet understanding what this means in daily life can be hard.

And if you think this struggle is only for new Christians, think again.

A pastor once wrote to me about this. He came from a church that strongly preached faith. He believed in God. Yet he admitted that he struggled to see the reality of faith in his own daily life.

Today, I want to bring two things together that could transform the way you study the Bible and the way you live.

First, we will discover what faith is—not simply from what preachers or teachers have said, but from Scripture itself.

Second, I will show you how to use the Inductive Bible Study method to understand a verse correctly and then allow that truth to transform your life.

Our verse is not hidden somewhere in Scripture. You probably know it already:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” — Hebrews 11:1, KJV

Here we can explore one of the most important concepts in the Christian life while practicing one of the most powerful skills you can learn: studying God’s Word yourself.

The Verse: Hebrews 11:1

Faith is described throughout Scripture, but Hebrews 11:1 is different. Other passages show us where faith comes from, how it works, and what a life of faith looks like. This is the only verse that gives us a direct definition.

That deserves our attention. If we want to understand faith, here is God’s own definition, given in two parts:

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for…” and

“…the evidence of things not seen.”

To keep this manageable, we will focus on the first part. But that also gives you something to try. Watch how I study it, then use the same principles to study the second part yourself.

Share your findings in the comments section of the article, and I will respond there. You will discover two things. First, you can study the Bible yourself using simple, high-quality skills. Second, as you follow through and allow the Spirit to use what you study, your life of faith can literally be transformed overnight.

Faith does not come from studying Scripture. It comes when the Spirit of God breathes God’s Word into your spirit as you take His Word in.

A Quick Refresher: Inductive Bible Study

At the beginner level, Inductive Bible Study has three simple steps:

Observation — What does the text say?

Interpretation — What does the text mean?

Application — How does this truth apply to my life?

That is it.

You do not need a theology degree. You do not need to know Greek or Hebrew. Every Christian reading this newsletter can begin using this method today.

So let’s do it together.

STEP 1
Observation

Observation simply asks:

What is actually in the text?

Do not rush to explain it.

Do not ask yet what it means to you.

First, look.

One easy tool is the Kipling Six:

Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

Let’s apply these questions to Hebrews 11:1:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” — Hebrews 11:1, KJV

Who?

No person is directly named in this verse.

The main subject is faith.

What?

Several important things appear:

• Faith
• Substance
• Things hoped for
• Evidence
• Things not seen

At this point, identify the kind of word you are looking at, such as a verb or noun. Then note whether a noun is singular or plural, or what tense a verb is in. These small details matter for correct interpretation.

Also look at how the words relate to one another. Resist the temptation to explain them yet. If an interpretation comes to mind, write it down and save it for later.

Faith is connected to things hoped for and things not seen.

It states the definition clearly: “Faith is…”

And notice that “things” is the only word that appears twice in the verse.

When?

The verse begins with the word “Now.”

At this stage, simply notice it. We can decide what “now” means during interpretation.

Where?

No place is mentioned in this verse.

And that is fine.

The six questions do not always have six answers. We are not trying to force answers into the verse.

Why?

The verse itself does not directly tell us why.

But the surrounding passage gives us a clue. The writer is about to show us many people who lived by faith.

Notice that we ask “Why?” during both observation and interpretation. At this stage, we are only looking for an answer stated directly in the text.

How?

How is faith described?

In two ways:

Faith is the substance of things hoped for.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen.

Congratulations. You have just observed Hebrews 11:1 with me. We have looked carefully at what God put there without trying to interpret it yet.

Those of you who have taken the intermediate course will recognize that this is not the full process. But it covers most of our needs at the beginner level.

STEP 2
Interpretation

At the beginner level, two basic questions will guide your interpretation:

1. What did the author mean?
2. What are the implications?

The order matters. Our first question is not:

“What does this mean to me?”

It is:

“What did the author mean when he wrote it?”

We will focus on the first part:

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for.”

There are three main questions:

What is faith?

What is substance?

What are the things hoped for?

Then we put the answers together to understand the whole statement.

What Does “Substance” Mean?

This is where Bible study becomes exciting.

The KJV uses the word “substance.” What does it mean here?

Here are a few tools for studying an important word:

• Quick expert perspective: Look at two or three different English translations.
• English meaning: Use an English dictionary. These are now available online. I usually use Merriam-Webster, but use whichever dictionary you prefer.
• Context: Look at the meaning within the sentence itself, then the surrounding verses. Look at how the author uses the same word elsewhere in the chapter or book.
• Lexicon (optional): This is a Greek or Hebrew word dictionary. It is extremely helpful for deeper study, but not mandatory.

Notice the order.

You do not have to begin with Greek.

And most importantly, I have not even mentioned a commentary.

A word of caution:

Be careful with Greek and Hebrew word studies. A Greek word may have several possible meanings. That does not mean every meaning belongs in your verse.

The question is still:

What did the author have in mind when he used the word “substance” here?

The Greek word translated “substance” can carry the idea of assurance (confidence, certainty, and so on) or a firm reality. These are closely related but distinct meanings.

Did the author mean that faith is the firm reality of things hoped for, or our assurance concerning them?

To decide, we turn to the tools above: the rest of the chapter and other places where the author uses the same word. Something very helpful happens when we do this in Hebrews.

The same Greek word appears in Hebrews 3:14, where the KJV translates it as “confidence.”

“For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;” — Hebrews 3:14, KJV

Now we are getting somewhere.

In Hebrews 11:1, the context strongly points us toward the idea of assurance or confidence.

Faith is a settled conviction.

It is being persuaded that something is true.

The rest of Hebrews 11 brings this out further, as do the ESV and Amplified translations.

ESV

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,”

AMP

“Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed),”

Now let me show you something remarkable. What exactly is assurance or confidence?

Yes, those are English words. But it sometimes pays to look them up again in the dictionary and be sure.

Merriam-Webster defines assurance as “a state of being assured,” such as being certain in the mind, or “confidence of mind or manner.”

Pause here. Look at what God Himself calls faith: assurance, or being assured in the mind.

I know some of you Pentecostals might gasp for air because we have often been taught that faith is in the human spirit and not the mind.

God says faith is assurance of the mind.

I have covered this extensively in other articles and teachings, so I will only make a brief detour here.

This explains why many Christians assume they have faith. They think it is some mysterious thing in their spirits, while their minds do not accept God’s words as true in the very areas troubling them.

Please study this further yourself.

What Are the “Things Hoped For”?

To keep this brief, I will focus on the key details rather than examine each word as closely as we did “substance.”

What are these “things”?

Again, context helps us.

Elsewhere in Hebrews 11, Noah is warned of “things” to come. What were those things? The flood. So the word covers events, people, places, and circumstances that God has spoken about but that are not yet there.

For example, God has told some of you that by His stripes you were healed. That healing is one of the “things” you are hoping for. It is not yet real in your body, but God spoke it.

Look through Hebrews, and you will see similar examples of “things” with Abraham, Sarah, and others.

These were not random wishes or things these people simply wanted badly. They were connected to what God had said.

That is critical.

Biblical faith is not:

“I really want this, so I am going to believe hard enough that it will happen.”

Faith begins with God.

God speaks.

We become persuaded that what He has said is true.

Then we live accordingly.

Putting It Together

Now we can put the phrase “substance of things hoped for” together.

Faith is the firm conviction or assurance in someone’s heart concerning things they cannot yet see or have physically, but that God has spoken about or promised them.

That is powerful.

We have answered interpretation’s first question: What does it mean?

The second question is equally important:

What does this imply?

This is a tricky one, and it is perhaps one of the most powerful secrets of applying Bible truth.

An implication is something that must also be true if the stated truth holds, even though it is not directly said.

We have established that faith is conviction or assurance. Here are a few things that follow:

• If faith is assurance or conviction, then faith operates in the human mind, because that is where we are convinced or certain of a truth. The Bible does not directly say this, but based on what is said, it is true.
• If faith is assurance, it starts inside a person, in their heart. You cannot see someone’s thoughts or convictions. You can see their actions or hear their words, but this verse defines faith exclusively from the perspective of the human heart, without mentioning actions.
• If faith is being certain of things hoped for, it means the things we are hoping for, though they are not physically real, should already exist. Faith is simply being convinced they are already there.

Do you see how powerful these questions can be?

But here is an important guide: every implication must align with the verse and the rest of Scripture. Look for a supporting passage.

For example, compare what we have learned about faith in the mind with Romans 10.

It says that with the heart man believes.

Hebrews says faith is conviction, and we have established that conviction is in the mind.

Do you see how these two verses now come together beautifully?

With our hearts we believe, become convinced, become sure.

And what is the heart in Romans 10?

Read alongside Hebrews 11, the heart here is the totality of the inner life, functioning through the mind. It is not the human spirit treated as a separate entity, as Pentecostals often mistakenly understand it.

Heart and mind in these two verses are synonymous. There is NO implication of separating them or attempting to separate the human spirit from the mind in its operations here.

STEP 3
Application

Now we come to the part that I love—I sure love all of them, but there is something about this part. It is where i find solutions to my problems!

This is where Experiential Bible Study begins. If you ever want to see the Holy Spirit powerfully bring Scripture home, this is the step. Pay attention.

Observation tells us what the Bible says. The Spirit guides you to identify the facts.

Interpretation tells us what it means. The Spirit guides you to know what those facts mean.

Application brings that truth into my life today. The Spirit takes God’s Word and brings its wisdom and power to your issues today.

God gave us His Word in real human language that a careful reader can understand.

But the Holy Spirit does something more.

He takes that Word and shines His light into our lives. He might instruct, correct, direct, empower, or simply transform us.

He takes a verse that we have read one hundred times and suddenly makes us see ourselves in it.

Even unbelievers and unsaved theologians can grasp the Bible’s basic literal meaning. You do not need to be a Christian to understand what Jesus meant when He said to Peter, “Follow me.” Those are ordinary words, not some spiritual mystery.

But connecting the power of that Word to people’s lives today is what separates empty theology from Experiential Bible Study. You can read the Bible cover to cover and still be oppressed by things you clearly see God says you should not be oppressed like them, like fear. Or you can meditate on that Word and experience the joy of the Spirit. That is the difference between information and powerful transformation.

Let’s see how this works. Remember our two interpretation questions:

What does it mean?

What does it imply?

You can apply both to your life.

So now take what we learned about faith:

Faith is being persuaded that what God has said is true.

Then turn that truth toward yourself.

Imagine you are facing what I faced a few years back, when demons harassed me and defied all my prayers and fasting. The Spirit asked me a question that changed me: “Do you really believe what I said about demons?”

“I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions.”

Ask:

Am I really persuaded? Have I accepted this verse as true?

When I became honest with myself and let go of my Pentecostal pride in being a man of faith, I realized that I did not truly accept these things in my mind.

That is when my life of faith started to change. I could no longer assume there was faith down there in my spirit while my mind remained unconvinced of the Word of God.

Or imagine you are in great need right now.

The Scripture says that my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches.

Hebrews 11:1 tells you that faith means being sure God will provide.

It then raises the question: Are you really convinced about this?

Then bring that second powerful part of interpretation into application. This one will blow your mind if you allow the Spirit to do His thing.

It does not just ask what the author meant and how it applies to me.

It asks: What does this truth imply in my life now?

Watch this.

Suppose you are going through a painful situation right now, and your heart is full of anxiety and fear.

Then the Scripture says, “The LORD is my shepherd.”

If you accept that Christ is your good shepherd, what does that imply for your life?

If He is your shepherd, then He will give you food, ensure you have the money you need, and protect you from those seeking your hurt.

If God is my shepherd and I accept them as true, these are the things I should expect

Watch anxiety die when your heart truly believes God’s Word, before you even see anything change.

Your Turn

This has become a long newsletter, but I deliberately chose not to cut it short. It is so critical that, if you have enough trouble in your life, you will make time to read it as many times as it takes.

I am not asking you to pay for the newsletter.

I am not asking you to sow any seed, support the ministry, or do anything like that.

I am simply asking you to learn to study God’s Word and train your heart to believe the Word.

It will cost you something. Not money. Time to study, meditate, and spend time with the Holy Spirit.

As you often hear me say, faith has a price. Never allow your heart to be deceived into thinking that you can give God five minutes a day and expect power in your life to deal with million-dollar problems.

I have given you only a glimpse of what Inductive Bible Study can do.

And this method is not only for studying faith.

You can bring it into whatever you are facing right now:

Healing.

Money.

Marriage.

Children.

Ministry.

Fear.

Your future.

Find the Scripture God is bringing before you.

Then:

Observe it.

What does it actually say?

Interpret it.

What did the author mean?

Apply it.

What does this truth expose or change in my life today?

Remember, the goal of Bible study is not simply to collect more information. The world is already saturated with it.

What is missing is truth at work in people’s lives, delivering them from sin and breaking the bondage of pornography, addictions, anxiety, depression, poverty, and demonic oppression.

And I can tell you that God’s Word in your hands, and hopefully in your heart and mouth, is the most powerful force on earth to change human circumstances. We are on a journey to learn how to operate in His Word.

Here Is Your Challenge

Go back to Hebrews 11:1:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” — Hebrews 11:1, KJV

We studied the first part together, and even that only partially.

Now complete the first part and continue to the second part of the verse:

“…the evidence of things not seen.”

Start again with observation.

Use the Kipling Six.

Then interpret the words.

Study the context.

Ask what the author meant.

Finally, bring it before the Holy Spirit and ask:

How does this apply to my life right now?

And then write and tell me:

What is going on in your life right now?

What Scripture is the Lord putting on your heart?

What are you discovering as you study what it actually means?

And most importantly:

What would change in your life if you became fully persuaded that what God said is true?

That is where Bible study becomes transformation.

At the end of the newsletter, leave your study notes and comments, and I will respond and join you in prayer as needed. If anything personal, respond to the newsletter and send me an email.

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