I have shifted my focus as a Christian quite significantly over the years. I used to believe that circumstances in my life (whether good, bad, or indifferent) were a result of my thoughts, which determined what I received in life. For anyone unfamiliar with this doctrine, I am talking about The Law of Believing. This belief system is very formulaic and can be stated as “confession of belief yields receipt of confession” or in plain English – What you believe for or expect in this life you receive. The Law of Believing is supposed to be a universal law that works for saint and sinner alike; where positive thoughts bring positive results, and negative thoughts bring negative results. I wholeheartedly applied the Law of Believing for years with seemingly great results. However, it’s one thing to claim financial prosperity, work for it, and attain success due to one's hard work. It’s an entirely different scenario when it’s life or death health problems and you realize things are not what they seem. Allow me to explain.
My son was born with several serious health issues and nearly died the first week of his life. During this time I was willing to stake my life and well-being on the practices dictated by the Law of Believing. While there were notable miracles that God wrought during this time, I believed those miracles were a result of my positive confession: or my own good works. I was very proud and that’s never good because pride goes before a fall and fall I did. As time went on my son’s health stabilized and it became very apparent to me that his medical conditions were going to be a lifelong struggle. For me this was unacceptable. So I doubled down on my confession and my positive thoughts; my spouse was fully on board. We enlisted the help of others who believed as we did so they could have their “believing focused” on what we wanted to happen. We spent several years trying to believe for our son’s health problems to disappear. I was very demanding that my desired reality come to pass as I commanded; I even had scriptures wrapped around my actions at every turn. Well, that desired reality never came to pass because all of my confidence was in my believing action and the believing action of others, and frankly life just doesn’t work this way. God was merely a passive observer who had already given everything and I simply could not reach the cookie jar. I was unable to accept reality because that would have been a negative confession.
Eventually I fell off into a very dark place mentally and emotionally. I was filled with self-condemnation/hatred because I could not believe big enough to cure my child. The fact that I was unable to attain my confession intensified my self-condemnation as I spiraled off into deep depression who happened to travel with a friend named Anxiety. They eventually led me to alcohol abuse which led to an entirely new set of problems. My pride kept me from humbling myself before God and The Lord Jesus Christ and accepting their help. I was stuck on a spin cycle of failure and self condemnation that only ceased when I turned to God with a ready mind to accept the truth. I do want to add that my son is very healthy today, thanks to God’s many mighty works in his life, combined with a very generous and compassionate organ donor in 2012. He received his transplant at the age of five. The miracoulous has occured: As of 2024 my son had a kidney biopsy done where the real miracle was revealed. His donated kidney shows no signs of chronic change, a condition that precedes organ failure, which medically is to be expected. There is slight scar tissue present but otherwise the kidney is the same as the day of the transplant. His nephrologist and others were astounded. This particular doctor is very pragmatic and leans towards pessimism as a precaution due to the precarious nature of a transplanted organ. His prognosis based on the biopsy was he could very easily go thirty years or more on his transplanted kidney making the entire time 42 years or more. I cannot over emphasize how unusual this is, yet with God all things are possible. So my son's condition has changed from one of failure to the miracoulous. Yes, God loves us in spite of our failures. God knows that we are but dust; his grace and mercy endure forever just as we will too. But this illustration begs the question where was the failure and what changed? Was it doctrinal error in The Law of Believing? Or was it me who just couldn’t muster the believing action to make it work? Those questions will be answered in detail but let me summarize that I went from faith in my own works to faith in Jesus Christ, from faith in my own failures to faith in Christ's enduring victory.
In this article I will cover The Law of Believing not only Biblically, but also historically so we can see who introduced these concepts into Christianity and our Churches. We need to know what the originators of this doctrine really practiced/believed and then we will cover several key scriptures used to support The Law of Believing. To see the true nature of The Law of Believing we need to understand where it originated, who made it popular, how it’s evolved over the years, and especially how it grew to be accepted in modern Christianity. It’s important to note there are elements of Biblical truths interwoven throughout The Law of Believing. A little leaven leavens the entire lump of dough. However, this doctrine does not originate in the Bible but instead uses Christian trappings to appeal to Christian followers. (Not only so but this herectical doctrine changes its clothes to appeal to the secular self help crowd who follow the law of attraction but we will save the secular for another time.) This doctrine redefines fundamental scriptural concepts (such as faith) and takes key scriptures out of context for support. The end result is God is relegated to being a passive observer who has given all his blessings, health, and wealth to anyone who is focused enough on their ability to claim it. It’s really an atheistic system that nullifies God’s relationship with his Children and puts God’s favor to the one who has the strongest believing or who is strong enough in their own ability to lay claim to God's power which is inseperable from God himself. Before we proceed further please understand that I am not here to bash anybody’s beliefs – I have no axe to grind. I would like to acknowledge that I am swimming upstream, these concepts are deeply rooted within modern Christianity and modern thought and many of you may scoff at the information I am about to present and that’s fine. However, as Christians, we should take what we believe and prove it according to God’s Word; without partiality for any person’s reputation, and especially not for the claims anyone has made of themselves (1 Thessalonians 5:21-23). Perhaps you feel The Law of Believing is Biblically sound (as I once did), and I would like to encourage you with the following scripture.
Acts 17:11
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Acts 17:11 is talking about Judeans in Berea who were taught by the apostle Paul himself and what did they do? They were open-minded and eager to hear what Paul had to say, and he had one heck of a reputation both as a former Pharisee trained at the feet of Gamaliel, and as the leader of the gentile Church. Perhaps it would have been easy for the Bereans to just accept what he said based on his reputation but they didn’t. Instead, they eagerly heard what Paul had to say AND they searched the scriptures daily to see if what Paul was saying about Jesus Christ was scripturally accurate. Scripture should have the final authority. So here’s my point: If we take closely held concepts we believe are true to the Bible and they stand as Biblically sound then we have proven ourselves to God as workmen of the Word who have rightly-divided the Word of truth; who need not be ashamed. If on the other hand closely held concepts fail to stand as Biblically sound then we can reject the error and hold fast what is good. Even if we are working topics we believe are proven research, those same topics should stand up to scrutiny no matter where or when they are challenged. My hope with the work I am presenting is each of us becomes closer to God, and our Lord Jesus Christ, by following the teachings of Christ. Lets add a few more encouraging words of wisdom.
All of this sounds simple enough but our enemy the devil has made the world a wilderness (Isiah 14:7). He is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). Satan weaves kernels of truth with plausible lies and those who believe those lies are many times held captive in a web of error. Let’s look at Colossians 2:8 to see what I am talking about.
Colossians 2:8
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
This verse is pretty straightforward but let’s dive a little deeper. We are told to "Beware lest" - Lest is a little word with a big meaning and formal English; perhaps many of us have not heard this word utilized simply because not many of us use formal English.
[1] Lest - for fear that —often used after an expression denoting fear or apprehension worried lest she should be late - hesitant to speak out lest he be fired.
Paul, was taught his doctrine by Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:11,12 (AV1611)
1:11 But I certifie you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me, is not after man.
1:12 For I neither receiued it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the reuelation of Iesus Christ.
Paul has given us a stern warning from The Lord Jesus Christ himself that we need to beware for fear that any man spoil you. When men spoil you, they corrupt you. We can be corrupted in a multitude of way through philosophy and vain deceit given after the manner of men. Philosophy literally means lover of wisdom. Scripture tells us over and over to seek wisdom, if we lack widom ask and it shall be given, widsom is the principal thing, fools despise wisdom, etc, etc, etc. Wisdom is vital! However, there is another counterfiet source of wisdom and the only true wisdom comes from God Almighty. Second Corinthians sheds further insight.
1 Corinthians 2:6
Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect (or mature): yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
The world has it's own wisdom and it's not God's wisdom. The wisdom of this world comes from the princes of this world and that wisdom profits us nothing except a snare for our souls. The wisdom of the world corrupts our minds and hearts from following Jesus Christ according to scripture and directs us down paths that are ungodly and come to nothing. Colossians 2:8 makes the same distinction as 1 Corinthians 2:6 concerning the source for our wisdom. Are we following wisdom after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world? Or are we following God's wisdom that will profit us in life to the fullest which will echo into eternity? Conceptually, all of this sounds simple enough. Just stick to God's path and we should be fine...right? Yes! However, the devil is an expert counterfeiter who is the true source for worldly wisdom and the end result of his worthless wisdom can be mental blindness, where a person is unable to discern the truth because they have believed and been confused by a very convincing counterfeit causing cognitive dissonance and perhaps other posychological stress that blinds us from the truth. First Corinthians speaks on this very thing:
2 Corinthians 4:4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
We can clearly see that the god of this world is blinding minds and darkening hearts because his twisted words lead people away from the true God of Faith to a heart of unbelief, that is unable to discern truth from error. This is the end result of being corrupted by worldly wisdom. So who is the god of this world?
2 Corinthians 11:14,15
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Satan has been transforming himself into an angel of light since the days of creation in Genesis chapter 3. Satan transformation is superficial as he remains evil to his very core and appears to be helpful, wise as a serpent, benign, and as God himself at times to the unwary. The context of Genesis 3 is the fall of man when Eve was tempted by the devil in the garden of Eden and believed his lies. Let’s take a look at Genesis 3.
Genesis 3:1-4
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
The serpent, a.k.a Satan, told Eve two basic lies that have been repeated since Eden ad nauseum.
1) She wouldn’t die
2) Her eyes would be opened – He promised her enlightenment, he promised her hidden knowledge.
Remember when I stated earlier that Satan wants to be like the most high God? Well, here we see him offering his own delusions of grandeur to Eve. He lied and told her she wouldn’t die if she disobeyed God and instead she would be like God, to be like the most high. This is still one of the fundamental lies the devil is pushing today, and his phony enlightenment sits at the very foundation of the devil’s systems of deception. We do not want to be deceived by Satan’s fake light. As Christians we are to have our spiritual perception exercised to the point of discerning good from evil (Hebrews 5:14). So we do not want to be deceived by these spiritual forces who have led men to build philosophies and empty lies on their rudimentary principles from which all of their doctrines are based. Satan masquerades as the true light through deception, and his ministers follow the same path offering enlightenment. The devil uses the same lies, re-branded to suit our tastes – this we want to avoid by following the teachings of Christ. So encouragement is very powerful and I pray that I have inspired encouragement in my readers to tackle what is perhaps a difficult subject to some.
Now, we are about to trace The Law of Believing historically. The Law of Believing was taken from what is known as Word of Faith, or loosely, the Word of Faith movement. What is Word of Faith? (Funny you should ask)
The Word of Faith movement is a loose collection of preachers and teachers who put great emphasis on worldly success and the power of a Christian to control their own future
through positive thoughts and acts. At this point I would like to mention Matthew 6:24:
Matthew 6:24
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (meterial posessions or wealth).
Worldly success has never been the point of Christianity, although, God certainly desires us to live full, prosperous lives. So where did Word of Faith originate? (Funny you should ask)
Word of Faith was taken from [2] The New Thought Movement of the mid-1800s. The New Thought movement essentially teaches that bodily illnesses can be overcome by positive thoughts. The common ideology is mind over matter, it’s the belief that a person’s thoughts control the world around them and speaking those thoughts make them so. This is the major emphasis in all these doctrines, though they can vary somewhat.
Now to understand these doctrines better we need to consider the overall time frame where these beliefs gained traction in Western society which was toward the end of The Age of Enlightenment (also called The Age of Reason). You can think of the age of enlightenment as an umbrella over New Thought, Word of Faith, and The Law of Believing. The following simple but cheesy illustration will help tie together this last paragraph.
Age Of Enlightenment
{---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------}
New Thought Movement >>>Word Of Faith>>>Law of Believing
Admittedly, this illustration is an oversimplification because Word of Faith and New Thought are their own “umbrellas” for many Christian variants and many self-help sects, but I digress. Now, let’s take all of this a step further.
Age of Enlightenment
Ephesians 4:14
"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;”
[3] The Age of Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. The time frame was a very interesting time for all the wrong reasons. This so called enlightenment is easily [4] traceable to the Bavarian Illuminati, [5]Adam Weishaupt, and the house of Rothschild; which should account for its occultic principles. They essentially infiltrated the already corrupt Masonic Lodges of their day with their Luciferian illumination and in turn infected every facet of society that they could. As Lorraine Day, M.D. reveals in her article, How the New World Order is Using the Christian Churches and their Pastors – to Destroy
Christianity, it was during the 1800s the Rothschild family, sent a Jewish Illuminist by the name of Jacob Schiff, to America with an assignment, which included among other things, the destruction of religion in the United States, especially that of Christianity. Although, these entities deserve a study of their own, we simply need to stay focused.
[6] Many of the leading philosophers during The Age of Enlightenment were Atheists or deists. This should come as no surprise since this is the period of time where men decided that God and the Bible were unreasonable and that the newly discovered laws of science could explain the creation without God. Well this leads us to ask the question, what is deism?
“[7] Deism is the philosophical position that rejects revelation as a source of religious knowledge and asserts that reason and observation of the natural world are sufficient to
establish the existence of a Supreme Being or creator of the universe.”
“[8]At least as far back as Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Christian thought has recognized two sources of knowledge of God: revelation and "natural reason". The study of the truths revealed by reason is called natural theology. During the Age of Enlightenment, especially in Britain and France, philosophers began to reject revelation as a source of knowledge and to appeal only to truths that they felt could be established by reason alone.” They essentially elevated natural knowledge over spiritual knowledge and went so far as to reject revelation knowledge of God and spiritual matters. Such philosophers were called "deists" and the philosophical position that they advocated is called "deism". That’s the exact opposite of true Christianity, which reveres revelation knowledge above natural knowledge. Revelation knowledge comes from scripture as well as knowing Christ fully in our relationship with him.
Ephesians 1:17
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the most glorious Father, would give you a wise spirit, along with revelation that comes through knowing the Messiah fully.
It’s safe to say that thinkers during this time period reasoned God out of the equation. Deists believe there is a God but after the initial creation period he has had no further interaction with his creation(remember how I stated earlier that The Law of Believing relegates God to a passive observer?). I would place this train of thought in an anti-Christ category, because God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. (John 3:16).
Many sources outright call Deism a cult and Jesus Christ is conspicuously absent from their reasoning. Deism not only spread across Europe but also America. [9]A large number of United States' early founding fathers were deists or had strong deist leanings. These deists include Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, James Madison, and John Adams. So you can easily see that Deism permeates American thought as well. While I encourage you to study this topic in-depth, it is beyond the scope of this article to go any further. I included it to set the context for the New Thought Movement. Suffice it to say this Age of Enlightenment is deeply entrenched into most every aspect of Western thought and even the underpinnings of the U.S.A. This really should come as no surprise because 1 John 5:19 plainly states “the whole world lieth in wickedness.”
New Thought Movement/New Thought/New Thought Metaphysics (not to be confused with the new age movement)
In this section I will list several authors/contributors to the New Thought Movement. This is a lengthy topic with many contributors so I will do my best to be concise. I encourage you to follow the reference list I have compiled to see how deep this rabbit hole goes; there are many rabbits who have helped dig the hole. We will touch on a few of them as it relates to Word of Faith/Law of Believing doctrines, but understand there’s a lot of contributors whose works form the foundation of many, many, secular self help books. Notable among these is The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, except she calls The Law of Believing The Law of Attraction, again, I digress.
The Father of New Thought:
Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802 – 1866) [9] Quimby was a student of spiritism, occultism, hypnosis and other expressions of parapsychology; and he was himself was a philosopher, mesmerist (hypnotist), healer, and inventor. Quimby taught that disease is a matter of wrong belief, a cure is simply a correction of belief. Please note that Quimby’s focus was using the mind as a means of healing people from sickness and disease and he claimed that he healed himself of Tuberculosis from his positive thinking.
Mary Baker Eddy (1821 – 1910)
[10] “Christian Science founder, Mary Baker Eddy was born in Bow, New Hampshire, in 1821. Her parents were devout Christians and she joined a Congregational Church at age
seventeen. She was chronically sick growing up with many ailments including paralysis, hysteria, seizures and convulsions. At twenty two, she married her first of three husbands, George Glover, who died within six months from yellow fever. Following Glover’s death, she began to be involved in mesmerism (hypnosis), and occult practices of spiritualism and clairvoyance.
Still ill, she married Daniel Patterson, a dentist and homeopathic practitioner, in 1853. It was during this time she met mental healer Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, whose influence would shape her belief of Christian Science. Even though she claimed that Quimby cured her because she suddenly improved, later her symptoms returned. Mary Baker Eddy
developed a “psychic dependence” on Quimby, drawing on his spiritual presence, claiming even visitations by his apparition after his death in 1866.”
E.W. Kenyon (1867-1948)
[11] Essek W. Kenyon was the Grandfather of the Word of Faith movement who had ties to the metaphysical cults of New age and New thought. He attended the Emerson College of Oratory where the New age metaphysical cults were prevalent. He also taught health and wealth are obtained by the believer’s positive confession. [12] It was E.W. Kenyon who first presented to the church the idea of 'now faith'; that faith 'is a confession'; that 'what I confess, I possess'; and that we create reality with the words of our mouths - 'Faith's confessions create realities'. Kenyon also taught the basic principles that make Positive Confession possible: that man is a little god 'in God's class and therefore can utilize the same universal forces that God does and which are available to Christian and non-Christian alike.
Summary
I’m not saying that all of these people were pure evil and everything they said should be disregarded. I’m sure many of them were well meaning individuals who did the best they could and I am equally sure there are some who mislead on purpose, either for financial or ideological gain and were false prophets sent by Lucifer to deceive. It’s not my intent to judge these people, that job belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ on that day. On the other hand I am saying just as plain as the nose on my face that The Law of Believing is a false doctrine. A person’s thoughts simply do not have the power to alter reality and that belief has caused untold damage in the lives of those who believe it. Somewhere along
the line false ministers introduced outright lies into Christian doctrine and called it enlightenment. It’s by the fruit of these false teachers that allow us to detect their fingerprints. We see that E.W. Kenyon taught that man was god junior and could shape his own micro creation by speaking it into being. He literally told us we could be like the most high God and many of us have been led astray as a result.
A person cannot heal themselves by their thoughts – end of story. Prosperity doctrines are false as well. It’s simple. New Thought adherents made a logical step with their error. If you can heal yourself by your thoughts then you can become wealthy by your thoughts. Both doctrines are straight out lies and are not Biblically sound, but I will admit they are convincing counterfeits. At the heart of these doctrines is the idea that man can save himself, and they ignore the truth that we need a savior, that we need Jesus Christ as well as God’s grace and mercy. We should turn to God for healing. We should turn to God for our prosperity, not ourselves because it is not in man to save himself.
I want to be fully transparent that in my studies I realized there are two versions when it comes to leaders in New Thought, Word of Faith, and The Law of believing. There is the historically accurate versions that acknowledges that they were occultists, or pushing occultic doctrines either willingly or ignorantly. Then there’s the white-washed versions that present them as great men of God/ or revolutionary thinkers who brought great enlightenment by their doctrines. What I’ve come to realize is that those individuals whose organizations and livelihoods are based on New Thought/Word of Faith/Law of Believing doctrines have a vested interest in promoting the white washed versions of their
founders.
What’s painstakingly clear for those with eyes to read and a ready heart to comprehend is these Word of Faith based doctrines in modern day Christianity are a mix of centuries old occultic beliefs and scripture. The truth is that the Law of Believing contains some truth but that truth is contaminated by serious error. Those who follow The Law of Believing, and I used to be this way, tend to be veryjudgmental towards those who struggle in life and may even say “Where’s your believing!?” (actually making matters worse). Since I have repudiated The Law of Believing, I eventually humbled myself and began to take an honest account of what I believed, why, and if those things were truly Biblical. With open face, I have turned to our Lord Jesus Christ and asked him to guide me. Accordingly, I have changed my attitude from demanding results, to simply asking God to provide for me. God is our father and provides for all of our needs many times before we even ask. I’ve learned to place my faith in God, to trust him at his Word: is there anything too hard for our God?
So, it’s not up to me to “confess” into existence the things I desire, but to respectfully ask the Father in prayer and patiently expect his goodness to come to
pass as I just stay faithful. Instead of carrying the heavy burdens myself, I have given them to God as our Lord has instructed in scripture. We have covered in some detail what is wrong with these doctrines and now let’s move on to a few verses that have been used to support The Law of Believing, as well as the true biblical definition of faith. But first let’s handle Proverbs 23:7
Proverbs 23:7
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:
I can honestly say that for many years this is all I read when I went to Proverbs 23:7. Not only that, I have quoted this verse inaccurately for many years in teachings, and other settings. There is a self help book written by James Allen with the title – “As a Man Thinketh.” This verse has been misquoted to change the focus from someone else to oneself. I used to literally believe that it meant that “as I think in my heart so am I.” Now – there are certainly valid points in this wrong scripture quote and I am not
here to argue that. If you really believe you are a thief and act accordingly you are a thief. However, when we misquote scripture we are no longer accurately quoting scripture, but our version of scripture – not God’s. But is the verse talking about as I think in my heart so am I? If not, then what? Well let’s read the entire verse.
Proverbs 23:7
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. This scripture is actually talking about someone else thoughts and heart, not mine.
Let’s read it from the Amplified Bible.
Proverbs 23:7 – Amplified Bible
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he [in behavior—one who manipulates]. He says to you, “Eat and drink,” Yet his heart is not with you [but it is begrudging the cost].
Proverbs 23:7 is referring to an individual who is pretending to be a generous host with you as the invited guest. The hospitality is fake and the host is really begrudging the cost to feed you even though he tells you to “eat and drink” at his table. You're being hosted by a greedy skin flint that wants to manipulate you. I will state most emphatically that this verse is NOT saying that your thoughts move anything outside of your physical body as has been erroneously taught. Proverbs 23:7 is used to prove that the thoughts we incubate in our hearts become reality. The Law of Believing ties this false concept into our confession. We will handle the main departure point for the things we say becoming reality in just a minute, but first let’s take a look at faith and set the record straight on Biblical definitions.
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 diligently seek him.
So, right here we see the absolute, vital importance of faith. It’s simply impossible to please God without it. So what is faith? Adherents to The Law of Believing say that faith is from the Greek word Pistis, and is a verb, and should be translated believing action. The problem with this blanket, oversimplified definition is pistis is not a verb but a noun.Pisteuo is the verb form of pistis and both forms are used in Hebrews 11:6. The first occurrence of faith is a noun while the second occurrence is a verb.
Faith (Noun - Pistis) - Faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.
Faith (Verb - Pisteuo) - From pistis; to have faith, i.e. Credit; by implication, to entrust
Here is the significance between the two in Hebrews 11:6:
Pistis is a noun, not a verb, it is not something that we do. So in Hebrews 11:6 we see that “without
faith it is impossible to please God”. This first occurrence is a noun and places the emphasis on the things believed, not actions we take on the things believed. Pisteuo is a verb translated “believe”. The meaning is to trust in and rely on.
Pisteuo emphasizes the act of believing not the things that are believed. It refers to the actions we take based on the things we believe. So to please God according to Hebrews 11:6 we need to believe what God says, take action on what God says, and believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. God, in the book
of James says it this way:
James 2:17
Even so faith (pistis-noun), if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
So it’s not enough to believe that the things God says are true we have to have works as well. Likewise, it’s not enough to take action on the things God says and not trust they are true. We trust God at his word by learning to trust/believe what he says and we take action on these beliefs trusting that as we do he will be right there to fulfill the words he has given us.
But what about my confession and what I say? Let’s head over to Matthew 11.
Mark 11:23
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
I spent years reading this verse as if it meant if I concentrate enough to the point of believing that I could have whatever I desired! Just speak it over your situation and it will happen! In other words: all of the emphasis is on the one "believing" to operate God's power, as we have covered earlier. But that's not what it says and that's not the context. The emphasis isn't how much I concentrate or even how focused I am. I have a simple question: Is God operated? Is his power a separate container somewhere that is accessed and leveraged? Are we reaching up into an imaginary cookie jar? No! The focal point of Christianity, and the heart of our Father is a loving faith based relationship with us, his children. So let’s back up in the text just one verse to grasp the context more clearly.
Mark 11:22
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
This verse is situated in between Jesus cursing a fig tree and it dying from the roots up. There is much significance in Jesus cursing this fig tree that is beyond the scope of this discussion, however, he used this event as an illustration that begins with “Have faith in God.” Then he moves on to say doubt not the things you say because God will back you up when you have faith in God! If it sounds like I am contradicting myself, I am not. Let’s consider Jesus Christ for a moment. If ANYONE would have taught The Law of Believing it would have been Jesus Christ. Yet let’s see what Jesus said of himself as recorded in John.
John 5:30
I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Our Lord Jesus Christ plainly said he couldn’t do anything by himself. The context of John 5:30 is Jesus healed a man who couldn’t walk and the Jewish religious leaders wanted to kill him for it because he healed on the Sabbath day. Jesus plainly stated that he couldn’t do anything by himself. If The Law of Believing were truly interwoven throughout scripture wouldn’t he have said so at times like these? It is only by having faith in God that Jesus was able to do the powerful works he performed during his
ministry to Israel. As we bring this work to a close remember John 14:12
John 14:12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Keep your faith focused on God! Trust him to do the things he says he will. It’s the relationship of a father with his children. That's the same relationship we have because of what Christ accomplished as our Lord and redeemer.
References
1. Lest Definition - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lest
2. http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/occult/new-thought.htm
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment
4. https://antideists.wordpress.com/age-of-enlightenment-and-the-rise-of-the-deist-new-world-
order/
5. http://newworldorderuniversity.com/weishaupt-and-rothschild/
6. http://www.illuminati-news.com/enlightenment-freemasonry-and-illuminati.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism
8. https://www.learnreligions.com/deism-95703
9. http://www.letusreason.org/WF61.htm
10. https://bereankenyan.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/introduction-to-the-word-of-faith-
movement/
11. https://bereankenyan.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/introduction-to-the-word-of-faith-movement/
12. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~emcd/WordFaith_RootsHistoryInfluences.htm
For Further Study
https://www.equip.org/PDF/JAW755-1.pdf