Restoring Apostolic Faith

Like metanoia, pistis is a word the modern church often reduces far too quickly.

In English translation, pistis is routinely rendered as “belief” or “faith,” which easily suggests internal agreement with a set of ideas. Within that frame, faith becomes something one assents to mentally rather than something one lives out faithfully.

But in Greek usage—especially in relational, political, and covenantal contexts—pistis carries far more weight.

At its core, pistis denotes trust, loyalty, and faithfulness, often within a relationship of authority. It is the kind of “faith” shown by a subject to a king, a servant to a master, or a partner within a covenant.

This is not abstract belief.

It is allegiance expressed in fidelity.

The Hebrew Background We Ignore

As with repentance, the meaning becomes clearer once we hear pistis through its Hebrew background, not merely its Greek gloss.

The dominant Hebrew concept underlying pistis is אֱמוּנָה (’emunah)—faithfulness, reliability, steadfast loyalty. In the Hebrew Scriptures, faith is not primarily something one thinks but something one embodies.

To have faith in God means to:

• trust His word,

• remain loyal to His covenant,

• and walk in fidelity to His commands.

Faith, in this sense, is proven over time through obedience. It is demonstrated, not declared.

So when the New Testament calls people to pistis in Jesus, it is not inviting mere agreement about who He is. It is calling for allegiant trust—a lived loyalty that manifests in obedience under His authority.

This is why Paul can speak of pistis and obedience as inseparable (e.g., Rom 1:5; 16:26, “the obedience of faith”), and why Jesus consistently commends faith that acts, risks, and follows (e.g., Matt 8:10; 15:28; Heb 11).

Faith, in biblical terms, is not a substitute for obedience.

It is the posture that makes obedience possible.

Why “Faith Alone” Can’t Survive This Definition

Once pistis is understood as allegiance, the modern slogan “faith alone” begins to collapse under its own assumptions.

If faith means:

• loyal trust,

• covenant fidelity,

• embodied allegiance,

then it cannot logically exist apart from obedience.

Not because obedience earns salvation—but because allegiance that never acts is no allegiance at all.

This is precisely why the apostles never had to warn Gentiles not to “trust their works too much.” Their problem was never excessive obedience. It was divided loyalty.

The danger was not obedience—it was unfaithfulness.

Putting Metanoia and Pistis Together

Read together, the logic becomes unavoidable:

• Metanoia is the turn — a reorientation of allegiance.

• Pistis is the walk — faithful loyalty lived out under new authority.

Repentance answers the question:

Who now governs you?

Faith answers the question:

How will you live under that governance?

Separated, both words are easily distorted.

Together, they form the backbone of Jesus’ call and the apostles’ gospel.

Why This Pairing Is Dangerous—and Necessary

This pairing dismantles two deeply embedded misconceptions:

• repentance as mere emotional regret,

• faith as mere intellectual assent.

It explains why Jesus demands response before explanation.

It explains why the apostles preach allegiance before comfort.

And it explains why early Christian proclamation always resulted in visible, costly change.

The early church could summon pagans, Israelites, and whole communities alike with the same uncompromising call:

Turn—and entrust yourself loyally to the King.

That summons cannot be reduced to “belief alone.”

It is not easy.

But it is coherent.