Faith in God means taking God at His Word — believing what He has said simply because He is the One who said it.
Les Feldick teaches that faith is not merely believing that God exists; it is believing God — receiving His words, promises, and statements as true and reliable (Clips 1, 2, 4). This trust is like sitting in a chair without examining it, convinced it will hold you (Clip 0). Faith does not depend on feelings or visible proof; it rests on the fact that God has said it in His Word (Clips 3, 5).
Hebrews 11:1 — This verse contains the Bible's own definition of faith, which Les points to as the foundation for understanding what it means to have faith in God.
Romans 10:17 — This verse explains how faith comes — by hearing the Word of God — which Les uses to show that faith begins when God speaks.
Romans 1:17 — This verse declares that the just shall live by faith, showing that faith is the ongoing principle of the believer's life.
Hebrews 11 opens with Scripture's own definition of faith: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is therefore not built on visible proof but on the certainty of what God has promised. Verse 3 adds that through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Romans 10:17 declares that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Faith in God is produced when a person hears what God has said. Hebrews 11:6 further shows that a person who comes to God "must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him." Romans 1:17 states that "the just shall live by faith," and Romans 3:25 shows that God set forth Christ "to be a propitiation through faith in his blood." Faith and the blood of Christ belong together in the work of salvation.
Les Feldick teaches that faith in God is best defined in one simple phrase: taking God at His Word (Clips 1, 2, 4, 7). He draws a sharp distinction between believing in God — which most Americans admit — and believing God, which means believing what He has said. Faith begins when God speaks and a person responds by trusting what He says (Clip 1). Les illustrates this trust with a chair: as people sit in a chair with absolute confidence that it will hold them, so believers can trust God without examining Him, because God will never fail anyone who seeks Him (Clip 0). He insists this is not blind faith; his faith is documented because the Word of God proves its own validity (Clip 6). Faith does not depend on feelings or understanding. A believer can say "I know I'm forgiven" not because he feels perfect, but because the Book says it has happened — and believing the Book is what pleases God (Clip 3). Even in salvation, faith in the blood of Christ and the shedding of that blood belong together: without shedding of blood there is no remission, and without faith there is no salvation (Clip 7).
Les Feldick points out that most Americans say they believe in God, but that is not the same as believing God. To believe in God may only be to acknowledge that He exists; but to believe God means to take what He says and believe it — and that is faith (Clip 1). He applies this to the Gentiles, who for thousands of years may have believed in some god but did not believe God (Clip 1).
Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," and Les explains that faith is the only way to comprehend what cannot be touched or seen (Clip 5). Because believers are dealing with the invisible, through faith they understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God (Clips 5, 6). In the same way, a believer may not feel any different, but can still be certain of forgiveness simply because the Book says it has happened (Clip 3).
Les teaches that God set forth Christ as a propitiation through faith in His blood, and the two cannot be separated: without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and without faith there is no salvation (Clip 7). This is why Scripture says the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17) — believers are saved, walk, and live by taking God at His Word (Clips 3, 4).
When someone calls it "blind faith," Les disagrees. His faith is not blind — it is documented. There is so much in the Word of God that proves its own validity that doubt is unnecessary (Clip 6). Faith has a foundation: the Word of God itself.
Trusting God as Naturally as a Chair
Les shows that faith in God is like sitting in a chair without examining it — you trust it will hold you. In the same way, you believe God's Word before you see results, because God never fails the one who seeks Him.
Believing in God vs. Believing God
Most people believe in God's existence, but faith means believing God — taking what He says and believing it. That is the difference between ordinary belief and faith.
Faith Comes by Hearing the Word of God
Faith cannot be exercised until God speaks. Just as Joseph trusted God's promise that Israel would leave Egypt, believers today can have faith in what God has said in Scripture.
Knowing Forgiveness by Faith, Not Feelings
When a believer says "I know I'm forgiven," that confidence comes not from feeling different or being perfect, but from believing what the Book says — and that is what pleases God.
Les's Definition: Taking God at His Word
Les states his clear-cut definition of faith — taking God at His Word — and points to Hebrews 11 as the Scripture's own definition of the word.
Faith Is Evidence of Things Not Seen
Les explains Hebrews 11:1-3: faith is the substance and evidence of things not seen, and with it believers comprehend the invisible, such as how the worlds were framed by the Word of God.
Faith Is Documented, Not Blind
When someone calls it blind faith, Les answers that his faith is documented — the Word of God contains so much proof of its validity that he has no doubt.
Faith in His Blood
Les connects faith with the blood of Christ: without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and without faith there is no salvation. The difference between Cain and Abel shows that not believing what God said was Cain's problem.
Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
This is the Bible's definition of faith — trusting in what God has promised even though it cannot be seen.
Hebrews 11:3: Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Faith is how believers comprehend the invisible reality of creation.
Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him.
Faith in God requires both believing that He exists and trusting that He rewards those who seek Him.
Romans 10:17: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Faith is generated when a person hears what God has said in His Word.
Romans 1:17: For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
The just live by faith — faith is the ongoing principle of the believer's life.
Romans 3:25: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Salvation comes through faith in the blood of Christ, which God set forth as the propitiation for sin.
Not exactly. Les Feldick draws a line between believing in God and believing God. Most people admit God exists, but faith means taking what God says and believing it — that is what Scripture calls faith (Clips 1, 2).
His one-sentence definition is "taking God at His Word." He says that is all faith is, and he uses Hebrews 11 as the Bible's own definition of the word (Clips 4, 5, 7).
No. Les says his faith is documented, not blind, because the Word of God contains so much proof of its own validity that he does not have to doubt (Clip 6).
Les teaches that God set forth Christ to be a propitiation through faith in His blood — without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and without faith there is no salvation (Clip 7).
Watch the Teaching: Can We Trust God? Understanding His Character & Faith