Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
Trust
Old Testament
Verb: ˆm'a;: (´aman), GK H586 (S 539), 97x.´aman means “to believe, trust.” In its participial form it has the nuance of “trustworthy, faithful.” See believe.
Verb: jf'B;: (batah), GK H1053 (S 982), 118x. This word means “to trust, rely on, depend on,” with the sense of being completely confident and feeling utterly safe (cf. the related noun bet[ah@, GK H1055, which means “safety, security”). Trusting God is one of the fundamental lifestyle characteristics of the people of God.
New Testament
Verb: pisteuvw: (pisteuo), GK G4409 (S 4100), 241x. pisteuo generally means “to believe, be convinced of something,” and in a more specific way “to have faith” in God or Christ. It can also mean “to entrust something to someone.” See believe.
BELIEVE
Old Testament
Verb: ˆm'a;(´aman), GK H586 (S 539), 97x.´aman means “to believe, trust.” In its participial form it has the nuance of “trustworthy, faithful” and can also be used to express the type of support a guardian might provide for a child (Num. 11:12 
; Ruth 4:16 ; 2 Sam. 4:4 ; Isa. 49:23 ).
´aman addresses the nature of God and his word as being faithful and true. God is “the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love” (Deut. 7:9 ). Moreover, the Lord “is faithful to all his promises” (Ps. 145:13). Because God is faithful, so is what he speaks: “The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy” (Ps. 19:7). Because God expects his people to look to him for guidance in life characteristics, God also expects faithfulness and integrity from his people (cf. 1 Sam. 2:35 ; Ps. 101:6; Isa. 1:26 ). Moses, for example, was “faithful in all [God’s] house” (Num. 12:7 ).
The most common usage of ´aman connotes belief, recognizing that something is true. When Jacob’s sons tell their father that Joseph is still alive and that he is ruler of Egypt, Jacob is stunned; “he does not believe them” (Gen. 45:26; cf. Exod. 4:1 , 8; 1 Ki. 10:7; 2 Chr. 32:15; Isa. 53:1 ). But the full biblical concept of believing in both the OT and NT is not merely acknowledging something to be true, nor is it the popular notion of belief that implies little more than having a deep emotional resonance with something. The biblical concept of believing involves action. “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness,” for his “believing” involved doing (Gen. 15:6; see the argument of James in Jas. 2:20 –24). At least twice before this pronouncement from God, Abraham left his “comfort-zone” to obey God (Gen. 12:1–4; 13:14–18), and later he was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen. 22). Abraham’s basic faith was in God himself as the faithful, covenant Lord.
´aman also involves trusting that God is powerful enough to accomplish his word and that what he says is absolute truth and certainty. “And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant” (Exod. 14:31 ; cf. Num. 14:11 ; Deut. 1:32 ; Ps. 78:22, 32, 37). A key story here is that of King Jehoshaphat, when he faces the threat of Moab and Ammon. The king assures the people that the Lord will fight for them, provided they have faith: “Have faith in God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful” (2 Chr. 20:20). God then destroys the enemy nations gathered against his people.
It is from this same root that we get the word “amen” (GK H589; see Num. 5:22 ; Deut. 27:15 –26; 32:20; 1 Chr. 16:36; Ps. 72:29). Rather than being a perfunctory reply to an agreeable statement, “amen” means “so let it be established” or “let it be so.” Like the idea of faith in general, “amen” is to be followed by a commitment to enact it: “At this the whole assembly said, ‘Amen,’ and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised” (Neh. 5:13 ). To amen the Lord’s commandments is not just to say they are good ideas. It is to say, “I commit myself to obeying them.”.
New Testament
Verb: dokevw (dokeo), GK G1506 (S 1380), 62x. dokeo means “to think, believe, suppose.” See think.
Verb: pisteuvw (pisteuo), GK G4409 (S 4100), 241x. pisteuo generally means “to believe, be convinced of something,” and in a more specific way “to have faith” in God or Christ. It can also mean “to entrust something to someone.”
(1) pisteuo can mean “to believe, be convinced of something” (Mt. 8:13; Jn. 9:18 ; 11:27; Acts 15:11 ; Rom. 6:8 ; 14:2; 1 Jn. 5:1 ). Before healing a group of blind men, Jesus asks them if they believe he is able to do it (Mt. 9:28). Martha is convinced that Jesus is the Christ (Jn. 11:27 ), and Jesus’ disciples finally believe that God sent him (Jn. 16:27 , 30; 17:8). pisteuo is used to express the central convictions of the Christian faith, as in the assertion, “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1 Thess. 4:14).
In particular, pisteuo is used to mean “to be convinced of” what is spoken or written (Mt. 24:23, 26; Mk. 16:14; Jn. 4:21 ; 4:53; 8:46; Acts 24:14 ; 1 Cor. 15:11 ). Mary is blessed because she believes what the Lord said will be accomplished for her (Lk. 1:45). To believe Jesus’ words is to believe the one who sent him (Jn. 5:24 ) and to believe the witness of the OT Scriptures (5:46–47). After the resurrection, the disciples remember and believe the Scriptures and the words Jesus spoke while he was with them (Jn. 2:22 ). People respond to hearing the gospel message by believing it (Acts 4:4 ; 8:12).
pisteuo also means “to accept as true” what someone says. Jesus rebukes the chief priests and elders for not believing John the Baptist, while tax collectors and prostitutes believed him (Mt. 21:25, 32). Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Rom. 4:3 ; Gal. 3:6 ; Jas. 2:23 ). Someone can believe God and still not possess saving faith, since even the demons believe God (Jas. 2:19 ). This indicates that to believe is not simply to give mental assent, but to turn one’s whole being over to God.
(2) pisteuo can also mean “to have faith in” or “trust in” God (Jn. 14:1 ; Acts 16:34 ; Rom. 4:17 ; Tit. 3:8 ). Those who believe in God have their faith credited to them as righteousness (Rom. 4:5 , 24). Often pisteuo means “to have faith or trust in” Jesus (Mt. 18:6; Jn. 2:23 ; 4:39; Acts 5:14 ; 9:42; Phil. 1:29 ; 1 Jn. 3:23 ) and so to receive eternal life (Jn. 3:16 ; 6:40; Acts 16:31 ; 1 Jn. 5:13 ). Believing in Jesus also leads to justification (Rom. 10:4 , 10; Gal. 2:16 ), forgiveness of sin (Acts 10:43 ), and receiving the promises of God (Gal. 3:22 ). Those who believe in Jesus become children of God (Jn. 1:12 ), never thirst (Jn. 6:35 ), are filled with the Spirit (Jn. 7:38 –39), and move from darkness into light (Jn. 12:46 ). Jesus said, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (6:29).
There is a correlation between seeing and believing. Many people do not believe even though they have seen Jesus (Jn. 6:36 ). Thomas says that he will not believe that the other disciples have seen Jesus unless he sees him. When Jesus appears to Thomas and he finally confesses belief, Jesus responds by saying, “Blessed are those who believe without seeing” (Jn. 20:25 , 29; see also 1 Pet. 1:8 ).
There is also a correlation between hearing and believing in that believing is the expected response to hearing the gospel (Jn. 4:39 , 41, 42; Acts 11:21 ; 14:1; Rom. 10:14 –17). Jesus calls for a response of belief to his preaching when he says, “The time has come, the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news” (Mk. 1:15). Consequently, rather than call God’s people “Christians,” the NT often simply calls them “those who believe” or “believers” (Acts 2:44 ; 4:32; 15:5; 21:25; 22:19; Rom. 4:11 ; 1 Cor. 14:22 ; 1 Thess. 1:7). Jesus says that everything is possible for those who believe, because of the power of the God in whom he believes (Mk. 9:23; 11:23, 24).
(3) pisteuo can also mean “to commit or entrust something to someone.” If someone has not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, no one will “trust” him with true riches (Lk. 16.11). Jesus did not entrust himself to those who seemed to believe in him at the Passover feast (Jn. 2:24 ). The Jews had been entrusted with the words of God in the OT Scriptures (Rom. 3 .2). Paul sees the gospel as having been entrusted to him by God for him to preach to the Gentiles (1 Cor. 9:17 ; Gal. 2:7 ; 1 Thess. 2:4; 1 Tim. 1:11 ; Tit. 1:3 ).
FAITH
New Testament
Noun: pivsti" (pistis), GK G4411 (S 4102), 243x. pistis means “belief, trust, confidence,” though it can also mean “faithfulness.”
(1) Faith can refer to the act of believing (see also believe). The NT speaks about faith in God (Mk. 11:22; 1 Thess. 1:8; 1 Pet. 1:21 ; Heb. 6:1 ) and faith in Jesus (Acts 3:16 ; 20:21; 24:24; Gal. 3:26 ; Eph. 1:15 ; Col. 1:4 ; 1 Tim. 3:13 ). It also simply speaks about “faith” with the unspoken object being understood as Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:8 ; 1 Cor. 2:5 ; 15:14, 17). In the gospels, Jesus heals people as an affirmation of their faith and a visual aid of the spiritual healing they experience (Mt. 8:10; 9:2; 15:28; Mk. 5:34; 10:52; Lk. 18:42). In other instances he reprimands people for their lack of faith (Mt. 17:20; Mk. 4:40; Lk. 8:25).
A major theme in Romans and Galatians is that believers are justified by faith and not by works (Rom. 3:28 , 30; 4:5, 11, 12, 13, 16; 5:1, 2; 9:30–32; 10:6; Gal. 2:16 ; 3:8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 22, 24; 5:5; see also Phil. 3:9 ). Paul shows the proper relationship between faith and works. Righteousness is received by faith from first to last (Rom. 1:17 ). At the same time, true faith produces obedience (Rom. 1:5 ; 16:26; see also Gal. 5:6 ; 1 Thess. 1:3; 1 Tim. 1:5 ; Tit. 1:1 ; 1 Pet. 1:5 ). This is well in line with the exhortation of James that true, saving faith is demonstrated by action (Jas. 2:14 , 17, 18, 20). Reflecting these truths, a Reformation saying is that salvation is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.
In one sense, to have faith is equivalent to being a Christian. Paul affirms that “those who are of faith are children of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7 ). Every Christian is saved by grace through faith as a gift from God, and not as the result of anything they do (Eph. 2:8 ). Christ dwells in the hearts of believers through faith (Eph. 3:17 ). Faith gives believers the assurance that they can approach God (Heb. 10:22 ) and is the means by which God gets them to the finish line of their salvation (1 Pet. 1:5 ). Faith is part of the armor of God that protects believers against the enemy (Eph. 6:16 ; 1 Thess. 5:8). Christians are people who “live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7 ). The writer of Hebrews defines faith as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1 ) and follows with a list of OT saints who lived that way. Jesus is the author and perfecter of faith (Heb. 12:26 ).
However, the degree of faith can vary from believer to believer. Faith can be weak (Rom. 14:1 ), can be possessed in differing measures (Rom. 12:3 , 6), and can grow (2 Cor. 10:15 ; 2 Thess. 1:3). Faith can be tested and needs to be strengthened in the face of trials (1 Thess. 3:2, 5, 6, 7, 10). Faith can be renounced, abandoned, or destroyed (1 Tim. 1:19 ; 6:10, 21; 2 Tim. 2:18 ; Rev. 2:13 ). The testing of faith results in perseverance (Jas. 1:3 ).
(2) pistis can also refer to Christian doctrine or collection of beliefs (Jas. 2 .17; Phil. 1:27 ; 1 Tim. 1:13 ; Tit. 2:2 ; Jude 3 ). The word can also refer to the Christian religion as in Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthian Christians to “stand firm in the faith” (1 Cor. 16:13 ; see also Acts 13:8 ; 14:22; 2 Cor. 13:5 ; Gal. 1:23 ; Phil. 1:25 ; Col. 2:7 ; 1 Tim. 3:9 ; 4:1, 6; 2 Tim. 4:7 ; Tit. 3:15 ). As the gospel is preached in the early days of the church, a number of priests become obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7 ), and churches are strengthened in the faith (Acts 16:5 ). There is “one hope, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5 ), and Jesus gives various people in service to the church to build it towards unity in the faith (v. 3). Christians belong to the “household of faith” (Gal. 6:10 ). The Christian faith rests on the resurrection of Christ and has no validity without it (1 Cor. 15:14 , 17).
(3) pistis can also denote a conviction or certainty of belief. Jesus says that if someone tells a mountain to be thrown into the sea and has faith that it will happen, then it will (Mk. 11:23). Paul calls this aspect of faith one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:9 ; see also 13:2). Similarly, pistis can refer to an assurance or proof. God has given assurance that he will send Jesus back to judge the world by raising him from the dead (Acts 17:31 ).
(4) Finally, pistis can mean “faithfulness” or “trustworthiness.” Jesus remonstrates with the Pharisees for neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness (Mt. 23:2). A lack of trusting in people does not nullify the faithfulness of God (Rom. 3:3 ). Scholars debate whether pistis in Rom. 3:22 means “faith in Jesus” or “the faithfulness of Jesus.” Slaves are to show good faith (show that they can be trusted) to their masters (Tit. 2:10 ). Persecution will call for the faithfulness of the saints (Rev. 13:10 ) and will require endurance to be faithful to Jesus (Rev. 14:12 ). Faithfulness is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, which is to mark all believers (Gal. 5:22 ).
So where is your faith and what do you believe and who do you trust ?
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