Bible verses about

Bible Verses About Faith

12 verses · ESV & King James Version

Faith is the word men most often think they are failing at. Not because they doubt the whole thing, but because they suspect the real article is a settled certainty they have never quite had.

Almost nothing in these twelve passages describes that.

The measure named is a mustard seed. The requirement in Hebrews is two propositions long. And the clearest example in the gospels is a man who says plainly that he does not have enough, asks for help with the shortfall, and is not corrected.

12 verses for when you need them

  1. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

    Hebrews 11:1 ESV

    Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

    Hebrews 11:1 KJV

    The nearest thing to a definition in Scripture, and both words used — substance, assurance — are concrete. This is not a feeling about the future but a present holding of something not yet visible, which is closer to how a man holds a deed than a hope.

  2. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

    Mark 9:24 ESV

    And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

    Mark 9:24 KJV

    The most honest sentence in the gospels, and it works. A father with a desperately ill son admits he is short and asks for help with the shortfall — and the healing follows anyway. Faith here is not certainty; it is bringing what you have.

  3. He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

    Matthew 17:20 ESV

    And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

    Matthew 17:20 KJV

    The two columns differ — KJV has “unbelief”, ESV “little faith” — a genuine manuscript variant. Either way the measure named is a mustard seed, the smallest thing in the illustration. The issue is not quantity.

  4. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

    Hebrews 11:6 ESV

    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.

    Hebrews 11:6 KJV

    The bar is set at two things: that he is there, and that seeking him is not wasted. That is a smaller creed than most men assume they need to sign before they are allowed to start.

  5. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

    Romans 10:17 ESV

    So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

    Romans 10:17 KJV

    Faith is described as arriving through a channel rather than being generated internally. If yours feels thin, this verse points at input rather than effort — which is a practical instruction disguised as a doctrinal one.

  6. So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

    James 2:17 ESV

    Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

    James 2:17 KJV

    James is not adding a second requirement. He is saying that a faith with no visible consequence is not a lesser faith but a dead one — the works are the vital signs, not the payment.

  7. for we walk by faith, not by sight.

    2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV

    (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

    2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV

    Walking, not standing or leaping — the ordinary, repeated, unremarkable motion. The KJV even puts it in brackets, an aside dropped into a longer argument. Most of it looks like nothing much.

  8. And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

    Genesis 15:6 ESV

    And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

    Genesis 15:6 KJV

    The verse the whole New Testament argument rests on, and it happens before the law, before circumcision, before Abram does anything. He is childless, elderly, and has just been shown the stars. He believes, and that is the transaction.

  9. “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

    Habakkuk 2:4 ESV

    Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

    Habakkuk 2:4 KJV

    Quoted three times in the New Testament, and its original setting is a prophet complaining that God is not acting. The answer he gets is not an explanation but an instruction about how to live in the meantime.

  10. The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

    Luke 17:5 ESV

    And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

    Luke 17:5 KJV

    Men who had watched him work daily asking for more, which suggests proximity does not settle it. Worth noting the request is addressed to him rather than resolved among themselves.

  11. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

    Ephesians 2:8 ESV

    For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

    Ephesians 2:8 KJV

    Even the faith is described as given. That closes off the last place a man might look to take credit, and it also removes the anxiety about whether he has produced enough of it.

  12. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

    1 John 5:4 ESV

    For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

    1 John 5:4 KJV

    The ESV puts the victory in the past tense — has overcome. The outcome is described as already settled, which changes what the ongoing effort is for.

Two things run against the grain here.

The amount required is small. A mustard seed. Two propositions in Hebrews 11:6. A man who says outright that he does not have enough and asks for help with the deficit — and gets what he came for.

And it is repeatedly described as given rather than produced. Ephesians says the faith itself is the gift. Romans says it arrives through hearing. Nowhere is a man told to work himself up into it.

Which makes Mark 9:24 the verse to keep. If you have ever suspected your faith is not the real thing because it comes with doubt attached, that father is the clearest case in the gospels — and Jesus does not correct him.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version, which is in the public domain. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.