Biblical Theme of Faith in the Old and New Testament - Research Paper Example

The Old Testament and New Testament are different in certain ways, but at the same time, share common characteristics that are clear and overt. For instance, the Old Testament demonstrates the creation of God’s Law, whereas the New Testament illustrates how Jesus, the Son of God, has fulfilled this law. Although both testaments fight for the same cause, the fact remains that the various biblical themes presented in both are different. In this light, the paper at hand focuses on the biblical theme of faith, how it is portrayed in the Old Testament and how the theme has been developed in the New Testament.

Concerning the opening verse presented in this paper, it is a known fact that Hebrews 11 contains the best and strongest depiction of the biblical theme of faith. ‘The conviction of things not seen as well as ‘what is seen was not made out of things which are visible,’ are elements that arise out of the faith of the individuals. It is quite hard to believe what cannot be seen, however, faith in Christianity enables the individual to believe in the divine almighty even though He cannot be seen and there is no solid proof of His existence. However, faith here plays a monumental role, as it is faith that facilitates belief in things not seen, and enhances a Christian’s understanding as to the fact that whatever is seen now, that is, the whole world, was not made from visible things, but rather, by that invisible phenomenon on which the whole of Christianity depends. Thus, Christians achieve salvation in justification that comes through faith and transcends beyond any “mortal efforts” of the individuals in trying to gain the satisfaction of God’s justice in the redemption of fallen men (Lensch 1).
On the other hand, Old Testament brings to the fore the fact that God has selected the Jews as His chosen people, whereas in the New Testament the focus is placed on God’s dealings within His churches. The Old Testament using the doctrine of the trinity try to harmonize the concepts of Jewish monotheism, Jesus’ pre-existence as well as the Holy Spirit, whereas, the New Testament focuses more on interpreting the present and future about Christ, thus giving importance to issues of origins and existential questions of life regarding faith (Burton 37). Therefore, it becomes clear that the Old Testament shows faith to be a highly strong belief in just one true God and thus, the presence of never-ending obedience to God’s will as well. Faith here is depicted in the way that the truest faith becomes that, which is not necessarily supported by organized religion, but by the individuals who trust the most in God during times of calamity and disaster.

Thus, as mentioned before, the biggest part of the virtue of faith is that the individuals must possess the ability to continue having conviction in God even when he is not seen, which does not merely mean the physical ability to see him but extends beyond, implying that God should be trusted even when the individuals face several ordeals that might make them question the existence of God. However, true faith will never make individuals question His existence, and even when it seems like God shows indifference to their sufferings, individuals will believe that it is merely a test and that it will pass. For instance, Israelites lacked faith in God before He displayed His miracles at the time of Exodus from Egypt, but once those miracles are shown, Israelites have no doubts in God whatsoever, and they gain complete faith and trust in Him.

On the other hand, the Old Testament presents Noah, Abraham as well as Elijah as its three main heroes who throughout the books show their deep-rooted faith in God, and thus, encourage the individuals to have faith in God, to a level of intensity that would make even the irrational feats appear rational. For instance, in the case of Noah, God had no contact with humankind for generations, however, He sends messages to Noah, which the latter picks on and accordingly builds an ark, thereby saving every species of animal pairs. Noah does not question God or his decision of choosing him as the means to create the ark, and thus, through his faith, obediently follows the orders of God. Noah The 40 days of the flood that followed were indeed a test of Noah’s faith, however, Noah never lost faith in God, and at no point seemed doubtful in his conviction, thus, he survives in the end with his faith, against all odds placed by the destructive violence forced upon by mother nature. Read More