Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is … faith”
Faith is very essential to living the Christian life. It has no substitute, nor can it be faked. You either have it or you do not.
Many believers today do not understand the need for faith in daily life. They know they had it for salvation, but that is about it.
Four times the Bible declares that “The just shall live by faith” (Ha. 2:4; Ro. 1:17; Ga. 3:11; and He. 10:38). We are told in Hebrews 11:6 that “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 diligently seek him.”
It is the Spirit that produces the faith needed to please God. When a believer is living in sin and not close to God, doubts can creep in – sometimes these may be strong enough that the individual even doubts their salvation. It is a form of chastisement to hopefully bring the believer back to God.
Even though faith is a fruit of the Spirit, He uses means to generate faith – the Word of God. A Christian that does not stay in the Word will not have much faith and lives a defeated life. God tells us that “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Ro. 10:17).
Faith is also essential to get victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil. In Eph. 6:16, we are told: “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Notice that it says “all the fiery darts” of Satan and his demons.
We also need faith to obey God. Once we understand His will, it takes faith to go forward, trusting His leadership day by day. Some people never obey the call of God to some form of Christian service. Faith says that God is able to direct and keep us – as He promised.
Christian, do you have enough faith to live for Christ every day? If not, ask for help to do His will and start getting in the Word every day – reading it, studying it, and obeying it.