The differences and similarities between faith and trust.

There are differences in the nuances of the words but, in reality, genuine, God-honoring faith should always lead to trust in God. If we genuinely believe God, we will trust him. Believing God should bring trust, reliance, assurance and confidence in him. If we don’t trust him, then can we say that we really believe him? If we don’t trust him, our faith in him is immature, weak, and faulty.

There is a difference in “believing in God” and in “believing God.” Many people believe in God, that is, they believe that God exists, but they do not believe God, that is, they do not accept his word as true or obey him. If we go beyond “believing in God” to “believing God,” then we will accept his words and obey him. If we believe God, the next, logical step is to trust him to be who he says he is and to do what he says he will do. For example, we can look at a chair and say that we believe that it will hold us up if we sit in it. But until we actually sit down on it or in it, our words are nothing but idle talk. Our faith is real only when we sit in the chair and trust it to support us. Likewise, faith in God and trust of God are demonstrated, not by just saying it, but by accepting God’s word as true and acting on that persuasion.

Believing God is to “bet your life on God.” It is a trust that casts himself on God for life or death. It is the faith that says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). If we do not trust God, how can we say that we believe him?

Genuine, biblical faith is both believing in God and believing God. We not only believe that “God exists” but that he “rewards those who obey him” (that is, “we trust him to do what he says he will do,” Hebrews 11:6).