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A belief in or confident attitude toward God, involving commitment to His will for one's life.
In the New Testament, "faith" covers various levels of personal commitment. Genuine saving faith is a personal attachment to Christ, best thought of as a combination of two ideas-- reliance on Christ and commitment to Him. Saving faith involves personally depending on the finished work of Christ's sacrifice as the only basis for forgiveness of sin and entrance into heaven.
Faith is part of the Christian life from beginning to end. As the instrument by which the gift of salvation is received <Eph. 2:8-9>, faith is thus distinct from the basis of salvation, which is grace, and from the outworking of salvation, which is good works. The apostle Paul declared that salvation is through faith, not through keeping the works of the law <Eph. 2:8,9>.
Finally, in the New Testament, faith can refer to the teachings of the Bible, the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints <Jude 3>. In modern times, faith has been weakened in meaning so that some people use it to mean self-confidence. But in the Bible, true faith is confidence in God or Christ, not in oneself.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)