26 Bible Verses about Faith, Necessity Of

Then the people said to Jesus, "What must we do in order to perform the deeds that God requires?" Jesus answered them, "This is the deed that God requires: You should believe in Him whom God has sent [i.e., in Jesus]."

and saying, "The appointed time has arrived and the kingdom of God is near. So, you people should repent [i.e, change your hearts and lives] and believe the good news [about the kingdom]."

After bringing them out [of the jail area] he said, "Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved?" Paul and Silas said, "You and your family can be saved if you [all] believe in the Lord Jesus."

Paul [then] said, "John immersed people who [demonstrated their] repentance, telling them they must believe in Jesus, the One who would come after him."

[You know how] I testified to both Jews and Greeks [i.e., Gentiles], that they must repent [i.e., change their attitudes and behavior] toward God, and have faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

It was through Jesus, and for His name's sake, that we [i.e., I] received God's favor to become an apostle, in order to bring about obedience based on faith from among people of all nations.

And this is His commandment: We should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ [i.e., the person of Christ], and love one another, just He has commanded us to do.

Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father and it [will] be enough for us." Jesus replied to him, "Have I been with you men all this time, and [still] you do not know me, Philip? The person who has seen me, has [also] seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in [fellowship with] the Father, and the Father is in [fellowship with] me? The words which I say to you do not originate with me, but it is the Father, who lives in me, who does His work [in me].read more.
You should believe me [when I say] that I am in [fellowship with] the Father, and the Father is in [fellowship with] me. Or else believe me for the sake of the deeds themselves that I perform.

So, faith results from [people] hearing, and [their] hearing results from [the preaching of] the message about Christ. But I ask, "Did not they [i.e., the Jews] hear [the message]?" Certainly they did! [Psa. 19:4 says], "The sound [of their preaching] went out into all the world, and their message reached to the ends of the earth."

[Actually] He was in the world [already], for the world came into being through Him, but the world did not acknowledge Him. [Then] He came to His own [world, while on earth], but His own [people, the Israelites] did not welcome Him. But He gave all those who did welcome Him the opportunity of becoming children of God by believing in His name [i.e., as the Messiah].

For God's extreme anger is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who restrain the truth [from being known and obeyed] by their wickedness. For what is known about God is plain to these people [i.e., to the Gentiles], because God has made it clear to them. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities of eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, [capable of] being perceived through the things that He has made. So, these people have no excuse [i.e., for not believing in Him].read more.
Now they knew who God was, but they did not honor Him as God or thank Him [for their blessings]. Instead they engaged in their useless speculations and their foolish minds were filled with [spiritual] darkness.

What advantage then does the Jew have [i.e., over the Gentile]? Or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the messages of God [i.e., their prophets received divine revelations]. But what if some [of the Jews] were unfaithful? Does their lack of faith nullify the faithfulness of God? Certainly not!read more.
But let God be truthful, [even if] everyone [else] is a liar. For it is written [Psa. 51:4], "[God], you should be proven right when you speak, and win [your case] when put on trial."

Now may there be glory for ever, through Jesus Christ, to the only wise God, who is able to make you stand firm [in the faith], according to the good news and proclamation of Jesus Christ. This message is the secret which was [eventually] revealed, after having been kept quiet about for long ages. It is now being made known through the writings of the prophets, as commanded by the eternal God, to [people of] all the nations, in order to bring about their obedience to the faith [i.e., so they will believe and obey the truth]. May it be so.

[Jesus continued], "Do not allow your hearts to be upset. You should believe in God, and believe in me also.

May God, [the source] of hope, fill you with complete joy and peace as you believe [in Christ], so that you may have an abundance of hope in the power of the Holy Spirit.

[This letter is being written by] Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith just as precious as ours, through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. [May God's] unearned favor and peace be yours in abundance, through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

And unless one has faith, it is impossible for him to be pleasing to God, for the person who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.

"Truly, truly, I tell you, the person who listens to my message and believes [in] the One who sent me [i.e., God] has never ending life [i.e., as a hope. See Titus 1:2; 3:7]. He will not be judged [and condemned], but has [already] passed from being [spiritually] dead to being [spiritually] alive.

The person who believes in the Son has never ending life, but the person who disobeys the Son will not see life [i.e., will not experience never ending life], but [instead], God's wrath remains on him.

The person who believes in Him will not be condemned, but the one who does not believe in Him has already been condemned, because he did not believe in the name of God's one and only Son.

in order that all those who have not believed the truth, but have taken pleasure in wrongdoing, would be condemned.

For it says in the Scripture [Isa. 28:16], "Look, I am placing a stone in [the city of] Zion [i.e., Jerusalem]. It is a specially selected, very valuable cornerstone. And the person who trusts in the Him [i.e., the One represented by this stone] will never have to suffer shame [i.e., because of unforgiven sin being brought up against him]." To those of you who believe in Him then, this "Stone" is [very] precious. But to those who do not believe [Psa. 118:22 says], "The stone which those in charge of the building project have rejected has been made the principal stone for aligning the whole structure." [And it also says, Isa. 8:14, that He would be], "A stone that people would stumble over and a rock over which they would trip and fall." The way they stumble is by disobeying the Gospel message. They were destined [though not forced] to do this.

But the person who has doubts about eating [a certain food] is self-condemned if he [goes ahead and] eats it, because his action is not based on faith [i.e., if he lacks the conviction that he is doing what is right]. And whatever is not done with such a conviction is a sin.

One person regards a certain day more important than another; the next person regards every day alike. Each person should be fully convinced in his own mind [i.e., concerning their relative importance]. The person who observes a certain day [as specially sacred], does so out of devotion to the Lord. And the person who eats [only certain foods] does so out of devotion to the Lord, for he is thankful to God [for what he eats]. And the person who refuses to eat [certain foods], does so out of devotion to the Lord and he is thankful to God [for what he does eat]. For none of us lives for his own benefit [only], and none of us dies for his own benefit [only].read more.
For if we live, it is for the Lord's [honor]; or if we die, it is for the Lord's [honor]. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

Pay attention, brothers, so that there will not be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, [resulting] in falling away from the living God. But [instead], encourage one another each day, as long as it is [still] called "Today," so that none of you becomes stubborn [as a result] of the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become sharers with Christ, if we hold firmly onto the confidence [we had in Him] from the beginning until the end [of our lives].read more.
As it has been said [Psa. 95:7], "Today, if you hear His [i.e., God's] voice, do not have a stubborn heart like you did when you provoked [God]." For who were they who heard [God] and provoked [Him]? Was it not everyone who was led out of Egypt by Moses? And who was God angry with for forty years? Was it not with those people who sinned, whose bodies fell [dead] in the desert? And to whom did God vow that they would not enter a state of rest with Him? [Was it not] those who were disobedient to Him?

Later on Jesus showed Himself to the eleven apostles as they sat [i.e., reclined. See Matt. 23:6], eating a meal. He scolded them for their lack of faith and stubbornness because they refused to believe those who had seen Him [alive] after His resurrection.