Theological Glossary
Six Christian traditions define Faith below — each in its own words, paraphrased from its official documents. These are attributed positions, not assertions of fact.
The Catholic Church teaches that faith is both a gift of God and a free human act — the believer's personal adherence to God and assent to all he has revealed. It holds that faith without works is dead, and that living faith 'works through charity' and must be nourished by hope and love.
Source: CCC 150–165; 1814 ↗
The Orthodox Church teaches that faith is living trust in God, inseparable from a life of repentance, worship, and participation in the Church's sacramental life. It holds that faith is not mere intellectual assent but the whole person's entrustment to Christ, shown forth in works of love.
Lutherans teach that faith is the trust of the heart by which the sinner receives God's promise of forgiveness for Christ's sake. They hold that faith alone justifies — not as a human achievement but as the empty hand that grasps Christ — and that genuine faith inevitably bears the fruit of good works.
The Reformed tradition teaches that saving faith is a work of the Spirit by which the believer assents to the truth of the gospel, receives Christ, and rests on him alone for salvation. It holds that this faith is always accompanied by repentance and good works, though it justifies only as it lays hold of Christ.
Baptists teach that faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and the commitment of the entire personality to him as Lord and Saviour. They hold that repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace, and that there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ.
Source: BFM 2000, IV.A ↗
Methodists teach that faith is the human response to God's grace — trusting in Christ for pardon and new life, and evidenced by love and good works. In the Wesleyan way, saving faith includes both assent to the gospel and a heartfelt trust that brings assurance of God's love.
Source: UMC What We Believe; Wesley, The Witness of the Spirit ↗
See how the traditions compare on related topics: