Bible Verses About Faith (KJV)

A guided study of 25+ KJV Bible verses about faith — what faith is, where it comes from, faith that holds in trials, the faith that moves mountains, how faith and works fit together, and what it means to live and finish the race by faith.

Faith in the Bible is not a vague optimism or a leap in the dark. It is confident trust in a God who has spoken and acted, and it runs through Scripture from Abraham believing a promise to the cross where that promise was kept. The verses below begin with a definition, trace where faith comes from, follow faith through trials, test what it can do, settle the old question of faith and works, and end with the call to live by faith and run to the finish.

King James Version

What Faith Is

Hebrews 11 opens with the Bible's nearest thing to a definition: faith is substance and evidence, a settled confidence in things not yet seen. It is the lens through which believers understand the world and the only way to please God.

1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Hebrews 11:3

6But 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

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

2 Corinthians 5:7

Where Faith Comes From

Scripture is careful to say faith is not self-generated. It comes by hearing God's word and is itself a gift of grace — so that no one can boast, and everyone can ask for more.

17So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17

8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:8-9

Faith in Trials

Scripture never promises that faith exempts believers from hardship; it promises that hardship tests and refines faith. The New Testament treats trials as the furnace in which faith is proved genuine, urging believers to look past what is seen and stand steadfast.

2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

James 1:2-3

7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

1 Peter 1:7

9Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

1 Peter 5:9

18While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18

The Faith That Moves Mountains

Jesus repeatedly tied answered prayer and the impossible to faith — not faith in faith, but faith in God. Even faith the size of a mustard seed, he said, is enough when its object is the One who made the mountain.

20And 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

22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23For 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. 24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Mark 11:22-24

Faith and Works Together

Paul and James are not at war here. Paul insists we are saved by faith apart from works; James insists that a faith which produces nothing was never alive. Faith is the root; works are the fruit that proves the root is real.

17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

James 2:17-18

26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

James 2:26

6For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Galatians 5:6

Living by Faith and Finishing the Race

Faith is not only how the Christian life begins but how it is run. Paul lived 'by the faith of the Son of God,' the just live by faith, and Hebrews points to a great cloud of witnesses and to Jesus, the author and finisher of faith.

20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Romans 1:17

1Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

13Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

1 Corinthians 16:13

Study Bibles & devotionals

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Bible say about faith KJV?

In the King James Version, faith is 'the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen' (Hebrews 11:1), and 'without faith it is impossible to please him' (Hebrews 11:6). The KJV teaches that 'faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God' (Romans 10:17), that the just 'shall live by faith' (Romans 1:17), and that even faith as small as 'a grain of mustard seed' can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). It also holds together two truths: we are saved 'by grace… through faith' (Ephesians 2:8), yet 'faith, if it hath not works, is dead' (James 2:17).

How does the Bible define faith?

Hebrews 11:1 gives the classic definition: faith is 'the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' It is not blind — it is confident trust grounded in God's character and word. Hebrews 11:6 adds that without faith 'it is impossible to please him,' because faith is the way a person takes God at his word and acts on it.

How does faith grow according to Scripture?

Romans 10:17 says 'faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,' which makes Scripture the ordinary soil faith grows in. At the same time Ephesians 2:8 calls faith a gift of grace, not a human achievement, so growth comes both by feeding on God's word and by asking him for more — like the father who prayed, 'Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief' (Mark 9:24).

What did Jesus mean about faith moving mountains?

In Matthew 17:20 Jesus said faith as small as a mustard seed could move a mountain. The point is not the size of the faith but the power of its object. Mark 11:22-24 frames it as 'have faith in God' — confident, believing prayer aligned with God's will. It is a vivid picture of how much God can do through even a little genuine trust in him, not a formula for getting whatever we want.

Are we saved by faith or by works?

Both Paul and James are right, and they answer different questions. Paul says we are justified by faith apart from works of the law (Ephesians 2:8-9), so salvation is never earned. James says 'faith, if it hath not works, is dead' (James 2:17), meaning that a living faith inevitably produces good works as evidence. Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone — Galatians 5:6 calls it 'faith which worketh by love.'