Some people say, "Faith is a blind leap into the dark" or "Faith begins where reason ends."
But faith is not belief where there is no evidence. For example, we take a person at their word because we have reason to believe what they say. We are convinced that they are trustworthy and have no reason to believe they are not telling us the truth.
Faith is described in the Bible as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1, NASB).
The Greek word for <I>assurance</I> in this verse refers to <I>essence</I> or <I>reality</I>. Faith regards things hoped for as realities. The things hoped for, in this context, are the promises of God (Hebrews 11: 9, 11, 17; 10:36). So, when we trust God to keep his word, we treat His promises as realities and we have assurance they will come to pass.
The second part of the verse teaches us that faith includes the conviction that things not seen are true.
The word <I>conviction</I> in this verse was used in a court of law and refers to a conviction, which is based on evidence (cf. Luke 16:31; Acts 28:23-24; Romans 14:22).
The things not seen are things invisible to man but made known to us by God. So, faith is the means by which future and unseen realities are considered certainties - because we have God's word on it.
"And without faith it is impossible to please Him . . ." (Hebrews 11:6).
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