Word of Faith (also known as Word-Faith or simply Faith) is a family of teachings in some Christian churches as well as a label applied by some observers to a teaching movement kindred to many Pentecostal and charismatic churches and individuals worldwide. The basic doctrine preached is that of salvation through Jesus Christ and what that salvation entails. It is based on Jesus’ teachings concerning the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven and the state humans can receive through the atonement and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. These teachers state that this state of new being or creation (found in the biblical passages 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 6:15) can be received only through faith in the Word of God.
The Word of Faith movement has many distinctive features. It shares teachings with prosperity theology, but they are not the same thing. Additionally, many beliefs that the movement holds as essential are often criticised by some Christians as diverging from Christian orthodoxy. Christian author Robert M. Bowman, Jr. states that the word of faith movement is "neither soundly orthodox nor thoroughly heretical". The movement emphasizes speaking, stating, or confessing verses found in the Bible, called the Word of God. The belief is that if one believes the Word of God and confesses it then the believer shall receive what they confess. This act of believing and speaking is said to be described by Jesus in Mark 11:22-23. The term word of faith itself is derived from the biblical passage Romans 10:8 which speaks of "the word of faith that we preach."
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Famous quotes containing the words word of, word and/or faith:
“Take the word of experience, I speak the truth: inaction is safest in danger.”
—Silius Italicus (26–101)
“Out in Hollywood, where the streets are paved with Goldwyn, the word “sophisticate” means, very simply, “obscene.” A sophisticated story is a dirty story. Some of that meaning was wafted eastward and got itself mixed up into the present definition. So that a “sophisticate” means: one who dwells in a tower made of a DuPont substitute for ivory and holds a glass of flat champagne in one hand and an album of dirty post cards in the other.”
—Dorothy Parker (1893–1967)
“Christianity only hopes. It has hung its harp on the willows, and cannot sing a song in a strange land. It has dreamed a sad dream, and does not yet welcome the morning with joy. The mother tells her falsehoods to her child, but, thank heaven, the child does not grow up in its parent’s shadow. Our mother’s faith has not grown with her experience. Her experience has been too much for her. The lesson of life was too hard for her to learn.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)