“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”-Hebrews 11:1.
” … Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Romans 14:23.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7.
“To Ellen White, faith was a simple, uncomplicated experience just trusting belief as a child would trust a father.”-E.G White Biography, The Lonely Years, 1876-1891, p. 469:6.
Since “the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19), believing is therefore only the first prerequisite.
“The faith in Christ which saves the soul is not what it is represented to be by many. ‘Believe, believe,’ is their cry; ‘only believe in Christ, and you will be saved. It is all you have to do.’ While true faith trusts wholly in Christ for salvation, it will lead to perfect conformity to the law of God. Faith is manifested by works. And the apostle John declares, ‘He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar.’ “-Review and Herald, Oct. 5, 1886, par. 20.
“…Faith is not sight; faith is not feeling; faith is not reality…. It is to rely entirely, to trust implicitly, upon the faithfulness of God.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 341:3.
“…He who simply takes God at His word, and reaches out to connect himself with the Saviour, will receive His blessing in return.” The Faith I Live By, p. 122:2.
“…What is faith? It is simply taking God at His word; it is believing that God will do just as He has promised. We should be a far greater power of good than we now are, if we would comply with the conditions that God has laid down in His word, and trust Him implicitly.”- Signs of the Times, September 9, 1889, par. 2.
“True faith lays hold of and claims the promised blessing before it is realized and felt. We must send up our petitions in faith within the second veil and let our faith take hold of the promised blessing and claim it as ours. We are then to believe that we receive the blessing, because our faith has hold of it, and according to the Word it is ours. ‘What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ Mark 11 :24. Here is faith, naked faith, to believe that we receive the blessing, even before we realize it.”-Early Writings, p. 72:2.
“Faith is trusting God-believing that He loves us, and knows best what is for our good. Thus, instead of our own, it leads us to choose His way. In place of our ignorance, it accepts His wisdom; in place of our weakness, His strength; in place of our sinfulness, His righteousness. Our lives, ourselves, are already His; faith acknowledges His ownership and accepts its blessing. Truth, uprightness, purity, have been pointed out as secrets of life’s success. It is faith that puts us in possession of these principles.”-Education, p. 253:1.
“…[Faith] is the hand by which we lay hold upon Christ, and appropriate His merits, the remedy for sin.”- The Desire of Ages, p. 175:4.
“Often the Christian life is beset with dangers, and duty seems hard to perform. The imagination pictures impending ruin before, and bondage and death behind. Yet the voice of God speaks clearly, Go forward. Let us obey the command, even though our sight cannot penetrate the darkness. The obstacles that hinder our progress will never disappear before a halting, doubting spirit. Those who defer obedience till every uncertainty disappears, and there remains no risk of failure or defeat, will never obey. Faith looks beyond the difficulties, and lays hold of the unseen, even Omnipotence, therefore it cannot be baffled. Faith is the clasping of the hand of Christ in every emergency.” -Gospel Workers, p. 262:1.
“…Where there is not only a belief in God’s word, but a submission of the will to Him; where the heart is yielded to Him, the affections fixed upon Him, there is faith-faith that works by love and purifies the soul.”-Steps to Christ, p. 63:2.
“Many pass long years in darkness and doubt because they do not feel as they desire. But feeling has nothing to do with faith. That faith which works by love and purifies the soul is not a matter of impulse. It ventures out upon the promises of God, firmly believing that what He has said, He is able also to perform. Our souls may be trained to believe, taught to rely upon the Word of God. That Word declares that ‘the just shall live by faith’ (Rom. 1: 17), not by feeling.”- Our High Calling, p. 119:1.
“Faith is not a happy flight of feeling; it is simply taking God at His word- believing that He will fulfill His promises because He said He would.”-Id., p. 119:4.
“All we have to do with is this one day. Today we must be faithful to our trust. Today we must love God with all the heart and our neighbor as ourselves. Today we must resist the temptations of the enemy, and through the grace of Christ gain the victory. Thus we shall watch and wait for Christ’s coming. Each day we should live as if we knew that this would be our last day on this earth. If we knew that Christ would come tomorrow, would we not crowd into today all the kind words, all the unselfish deeds, that we could? We should be patient and gentle, and intensely in earnest, doing all in our power to win souls to Christ….“-In Heavenly Places, p. 355:4.
To live each day as if it were our very last means that we would have the wedding garment on all that day, we would manifest the Christlike deportment, and we would keep “short accounts”-letting no sin escape without being quickly confessed. “You must be there. Whatever you lose here, be determined to make sure of eternal life.”-8T 131:2.
“What we do not overcome will overcome us and work out our destruction.” – Steps to Christ, p. 33:0.
The army of the Lord moves together. We are not like “strong, untrained horses” (Gospel Workers, p. 487:3) but like those of Joel 2: “The appearance of them is as…horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run… they shall not break their ranks.” Joel 2:4,7.
