Four Types of Counterfeit Faith

There are many things in life besides elevator buttons for which there is no adequate substitute. One of them is authentic faith – the charismatic gift of faith that assures us our prayers will be answered. This God-given and God-focused certitude admits of no substitutes. Surrogate forms of faith may render our prayer petitions ineffectual.

The virtue of faith – as distinguished from the charismatic gift of faith – is primarily the belief in God as revealer of truth (by the Spirit through Jesus); secondarily, it is the belief in those very truths, or doctrines, he has revealed. Believing that our prayers will be answered is not the virtue of faith, but the gift of faith.

This gift of faith is a help from God, but we must guard and cultivate it. Unfortunately, many people are deceived and misdirected in matters concerning faith. Here are a few of the forms in which counterfeit faith is usually disguised.

1. Faith in one’s faith. This is perhaps the most subtle form of ersatz faith. It is wrongly directed, since it focuses on oneself more than on God. It often manifests itself as “claiming” faith, putting into action what Jesus says in Mark 11:24: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” But it is important to read this passage in context, for it makes no mention of a God-focus and can be wrongly interpreted with a humanist slant. The truth of its message emerges only when the verse is taken in conjunction with a previous one: “Have faith in God” – or, as one translation has it, “Have the faith of God” (Mk 11:22).

“Faith in one’s faith” is also the most prideful form of counterfeit faith. It is most often found in people who pride themselves on their great faith. (I’m tempted to ask such persons how many mountains they’ve moved lately!) These are frequently the same individuals who wrongly think that by “exerting” their faith their prayers will be answered; they grit their teeth (at least symbolically), striving to believe that their requests will be granted. With all this straining – often accompanied by a sense of being overwhelmed by the problems at hand – it is easy to lose sight of the problem-solver, Jesus.

While Peter had enough faith to walk on water, he began to sink when he shifted his focus from Christ to the threatening waves (see Matthew 14:30). His faith was defective and Jesus rebuked him for it, calling him a man of “little faith .” Peter refocused on Christ with his cry of panic, “Lord, save me” – which Is what we must learn to do. Our faith must be faith in God, not faith in our faith, no matter how pressured we may feel.

2. Faith in one’s prayer. This counterfeit form of faith does not look primarily to God for its power either. It focuses on the prayer itself, rather than leaning on the Lord for help. It is somewhat impersonal and does not reflect confidence in God. When we exercise this type of “faith,” our prayer loses its calm expectancy and trust in God; it becomes intense and acquires an aura of urgency and anxiety. We forget the Lord’s fatherly kindness and his desire to provide for our needs: “If you….know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give…to [his children] who ask him? (Lk 11:13).

Since this form of counterfeit faith tends to be demanding rather than trusting, those who wish to move on in the Lord must make a sort of leap of faith. Like trapeze artists, we have to let go and trust that strong arms will catch us after our dizzying, mid-air somersaults of confusion and questioning, trials and pain. Paul encourages us to exercise this true faith. “Do not be anxious about anything,” he says, “but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil 4:6).

Anxiety-free prayer thanks God even before the answer comes! Jesus exemplified this in his own prayer: “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people…that they may believe” (Jn 11:41-42). Let this be for us a model of the true faith that puts its trust, not in prayer itself, but in the God who answers prayer.

3. Faith in a human as God’s instrument. This form of counterfeit faith, like the two above, also lacks proper God-focus. We see it in certain types of healing services, for example, where attention is focused on human “faith-healers” rather than on the Lord.

Clearly, God gives gifts such as healing to some persons far more abundantly that to others (see 1 Corinthians 12), and some become developed and refined to the point where they are not just gifts but recognized ministries. Sometimes these are so amazing that it is difficult not to focus our faith on the human agent. But we must remember the source, placing our faith in God who gives every good gift (Jas 1:17) and empowers his servants. “In me…he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).

Many healing evangelists and other spiritually gifted persons do humbly give all the glory to God. The problem lies with some of the persons who are healed through their gifts. In theory they acquiesce to the truth, but in practice they praise the human healers without giving glory exclusively to God whose instruments these are. This dilutes their faith and often impedes the work of healing (as it also does with other spiritual gifts such as prophecy and words of knowledge). The psalmist expresses the opposite of this counterfeit faith that centers on the human agent: “I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone” (Ps 71:16).

4. Posterior faith without prior faith. “Prior faith” causes miracles, while “posterior faith” is caused by them. Posterior faith is activated or stimulated by witnessing a healing or miracle. It is an exercise of the virtue of faith that makes us believe more in God’s goodness, omnipotence, or love.

Prior faith, on the other hand, is faith that causes or induces God’s remarkable intervention. Unlike posterior faith, prior faith is not a virtue but a mountain-moving charismatic gift (see 1 Corinthians 12:9; 13:2). Both prior and posterior faith are good, of course, and neither is counterfeit in itself. But Jesus clearly teaches that prior faith is of a higher caliber than posterior faith: “Because you have seen you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (Jn 20:29). To the extent that we lack this more perfect prior faith, which is essential to our spiritual life, then we can be said to have counterfeit faith. If we do not fulfill the Lord’s expectations in this regard, then we are less authentically Christian than we are called to be.

It is clear that Jesus expects us all to be faith-filled miracle-workers, not just faith-excited miracle-observers. “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mk 11:24). “I will do whatever you ask in my name” (Jn 14:13). “Ask and it will be given you” (Mt 7:7). This prior faith is required not just when asking for favors or miracles from God but also for performing miracles oneself.

As with the apostles, our growth may start with the less-perfect posterior faith. This is what they experienced after seeing the water-to-wine miracle at Cana, where Jesus “revealed his glory and his disciples [then] put their faith in him” (Jn 2:11). But Jesus called the apostles to the more sublime form of faith that produces miracles: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these” (Jn 14:12). The Gospels show Jesus charging the apostles to exercise this prior faith (see Matthew 10:1-10, for example; the Acts of the Apostles shows their response.

What kind of people does Jesus expect to be miracle-workers, not just miracle-observers? “Anyone who has faith in me” - namely, everyone who is called Christian. And so we must grow into faith that is authentically Christian – that flourishes because of miracles and that also causes miracles to flourish. Anything less is defective Christian faith.

Just as there are ways of testing counterfeit currency, so also there are ways of testing counterfeit faith. I hope that this attempt to outline four of its most blatant forms will help you grow in the authentic faith to which Jesus is calling you.

This excerpt is from the book The Art of Loving God by John H. Hampsch, C.M.F., originally published by Servant Publications, 1995. This and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/visual materials can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408.